Masters of Horror - Pelts (TV)

The color red. Pools of gore. Needles near eyes. POV shots. Sexual obsession. Worship of the female form. Punishment. Death.

Those are all some various hallmarks of a Dario Argento film, and while he doesn't always stick to his own script (see: Jenifer, or The Card Player for some recent good-but-not-classic-Argento fare), I am pleased to report that the Italian auteur's style is indeed in evidence in the latest Masters of Horror episode.

Pelts, based upon a short story by the eminent F. Paul Wilson, was ably adapted by first time screenwriter Matt Venne (who's got the as-yet unreleased White Noise II in the bag).

This over the top but thoroughly engaging grand guignol tale follows a furrier, Jake Feldman (Meat Loaf Aday), who's obsessed with bagging the flawless body of a local stripper, Shanna (Ellen Ewusie), and finding the perfect pelts for a fur coat to enter in an upcoming prestigious fashion show. He eventually gets both, but at a terrible price.

While I will admit Pelts could have used some more suspense, tension and character motivation, at one-hour long it fills the bill nicely with other attributes like cringe-inducing, truly gory and gooey death scenes, aces acting by Aday (fortunately, that abominable performance of his in BloodRayne didn't ruin him for life), and an offbeat story line.

The tale is bolstered by a top-notch score from longtime Argento collaborator Claudio Simonetti  and gorgeous, lush cinematography by Attila Szalay. K.N.B EFX, the effects makeup and special effects virtuosos, have outdone themselves with this episode, which includes some rather elaborate death and aftermath scenes.

As I mentioned, some of the sequences are cringe-inducing. Animal lovers will be enchanted by the adorable raccoons used in Pelts (real ones, and dummies, and what looks to be a little CGI), but will surely shield their gaze from a particularly brutal trapping and bludgeoning scene (however, rest assured that those bad guys get their comeuppance in spades!).

So far, Pelts is my favorite episode of Season Two, and ranks pretty high on my entire Masters of Horror list.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson