Masters of Horror – Family (TV)

Family is the second episode of Masters of Horror Season Two, and it could not be more different from last week's entry, The Damned Thing. In pure John Landis fashion, this idiosyncratic comedy does deliver some gore but is definitely more about characters and quirkiness than out-and-out scares.

Mr. and Mrs. Fuller (Matt Keeslar, Meredith Monroe), a young married couple, move from smog-riddled and traffic-ridden California to an idyllic little town in Somewhere, USA. They soon meet their new neighbor, Harold Thompson (George Wendt), an unassuming fellow who putters away in his front lawn at his various landscaping hobbies; however, his enthusiasm is anything but innocent.

Right from the start of this one-hour mini-movie, we are privy to what evil lurks in the depth of suburban basements and inside the bricks and mortar of their rustic yard accoutrements. There are some good acid-melting and flesh-stripping moments of CGI and KNB practical effects, but mostly the corpses we see are bags of bones all dressed up in their Sunday best. (You see, the dead folks are Harold's "family"… but are they blood relatives? That's the question!)

I must admit I am not very familiar with Wendt's entire acting oeuvre, but I was most impressed with his performance in Family and really couldn't imagine anyone else in the role — he's equally as adept at portraying the slightly bumbling, totally harmless everyman as he is the menacing, seething serial murderer.

While I did feel that Family is better than Landis's first Masters of Horror film (Deer Woman), I still thought the comedy outweighed the horror and that there was not enough story to fill the entire hour. Luckily, those shortcomings are buoyed by the excellent acting, surreal moments, and droll dialogue. Fans of Landis and Wendt won't be disappointed.

The episode debuts tomorrow night on Showtime, and will later go to DVD through Anchor Bay.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson