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"Masters of Horror" Family (2006)


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15 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Landis proves he is one of the "Family"..., 6 November 2006
8/10
Author: Bladerunner• (seanld@tx.rr.com) from Dallas, TX

The second season of Masters of Horror (MOH) got off to a rocky start with The Damned Thing, but Landis puts it squarely back on track with Family, a bright and cheery decent into the mind of a madman.

George Wendt is picture perfect as the neighbor we all wish we had, or at least we think we would like to have. His social skills are spot on, and gone is any trace of the irascible Norm from Cheers. Some might begrudge the obvious mud slinging to all things Republican or Religious Right, but we can forgive those little jabs as simply Landis playing against type.

David and Celia are moving in next door to Harold (Wendt) and all seems like suburban heaven, but something isn't as it seems with Harold. As the new neighbors get to know one another, Harold develops a crush on Celia. It all seems harmless until something happens that gives Harold the opening he was looking for. To give anymore away would be criminal.

The thing that makes this entry so delicious is the environment that Landis creates to unfold this little horror/comedy. He is truly a "master" of the black comedy, as is more than evident in the much lauded American Werewolf in London. As he did in last year's Deer Woman, Landis shows his acute savvy at creating believable characters and surroundings that allow the audience to really hook in. It is this gift which gives his work such power and impact. In too many horror films the circumstances are so alien it is difficult for the audience to identify, but in Landis' work you feel right at home just before the hammer strikes your skull. The darker episodes in MOH have their appeal, but with Landis' entries there is a strange fulfillment that comes after viewing that is difficult to describe. It is as if you are happy that you have escaped the fate of the characters, the connection is that good.

With Family, Masters of Horror once again lives up to its name. Lets hope the rest of the "family" does as well this season.

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17 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Episode of Season 2, 4 November 2006
7/10
Author: hbdale309 from United States

Stars George Wendt from "Cheers" as the ordinary neighbor with a secret. A young couple move into town to start a new. He is an ER doctor and she is an investigative reporter. Their only child recently passed away; and they are trying to get back to normal and prepare to have another child and a fresh start. In the meantime they develop a friendship with the "ordinary bachelor" that lives next door(George Wendt). What they don't know might kill them. Or is it the other way around? This episode is the best of season 2 (out of the two season 2 episodes shown so far on Showtime). It's creepy, gruesome and ultimately horrifying with a great twist to it all. It's a little slow with the story dragging at times, but it's definitely worth watching. 7/10

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10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Pretty funny, 27 November 2006
7/10
Author: BatmanLovesRubber

I watched this On Demand the other day when I couldn't get to sleep. I loved George Wendt in "House" (the horror movie from the 80's, not the Hugh Laurie TV show) and thought he would fit well in the world of MOH. And, he did. This is the story of a man (Wendt) who kidnaps and kills people, melting them down to bare bones and dressing them up as his "family." The creepy thing is that he imagines the "family" in his house, watching TV together, cooking dinner and of course fighting with his wife. A young couple moves in down the block and is completely oblivious to his antics. I'll stop there, because the ending certainly puts a different perspective on it. The acting is horrendous, in a good way. It's the way acting should be in a horror flick. The ending is also horrendous, not so much in a good way. It's pretty stupid honestly, but this is definitely worth watching if you're a fan of horror movies.

Greatest moment: As George Wendt watches the young couple from his upstairs window, we hear him humming "The hip bone's connected to the leg bone..."

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Gives New Meaning to the concept of "FAMILY" Values, 11 November 2006
8/10
Author: Christopher T. Chase (cchase@onebox.com) from Arlington, VA.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

What's THIS??? Could it possibly be that John Landis has finally "got his groove back"??? I've been awaiting the debut of MOH'S second season with much fear and trembling...and not in a good way. Season One was definitely more "misses" than "hits", and quite a few of the same directors have been invited back for encores, though with a few of them I can't possibly understand why.

But in Landis' case, a return is actually a good thing. I really enjoyed his Season One entry, "DEER WOMAN", and I was hoping he would do as well this time around. I'm happy to report that he doesn't disappoint.

His Season Two effort, "FAMILY", written by Brent Hanley (who scripted the excellent Bill Paxton chiller "FRAILTY"), bids us return again to the gorgeous suburbs that have become so menacingly familiar through "BLUE VELVET", "AMERICAN BEAUTY" and even "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES." The gleaming white picket fences, tree-lined streets and trim ranch-style houses have been exposed as repositories of every kind of dastardly debauchery and death, and this story promises more of the same. With a wry twist, of course.

Harold Thompson ("CHEERS" staple George Wendt) meets cute with his new neighbors, thanks to an accident involving his brick mailbox. Young and cute couple David and Celia (Matt Keeslar and Meredith Monroe) have moved into the neighborhood to start a new life after the untimely death of their first child. On the surface, everything seems hunky-dory as Harold and his new neighbors become fast friends. But everyone has secrets they hide, and the people next-door or across the street from you are never quite whom they tell you they are...as Harold's new neighbors are about to discover...

Since this story is one of those classic horror archetypes that doesn't seem to have anything new or shocking to offer, the "Tales From The Crypt"-style ending still comes as a nicely nasty surprise. And since all of the best comedians and comic actors have a dangerously manic edge to them anyway, it's nice to see Landis letting Wendt discover his "inner Norman Bates" here. Adding welcome touches of black humor is Landis' favorite device: mixing the skewed fantasies of a lead character with "real" life, so we get hysterical glimpses of Harold's twisted, wish-fulfillment yearnings while he tries to keep his composure in front of his new friends. (The dinner scene is especially hilarious.) For their part, Keeslar and Monroe play the young couple beautifully, and it's their chemistry and performance together that helps "sell" the later scenes and the "surprise" ending, which I promise you won't see coming...

I've only seen two episodes of this season's offerings so far: this one and Tobe Hooper's "THE DAMNED THING", and of the two, I'd feel a lot better recommending a visit to this "FAMILY"...

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Landis dishes out an unlikely, unsuspecting surprise, 7 July 2007
7/10
Author: Jonny_Numb from Hellfudge, Pennsylvania

'Family' is simply one of the most clever and satisfying scripts to be filmed as part of the "Masters of Horror" anthology; it meets an unlikely (yet wonderful) match in John Landis, well-known for his comedic efforts, but adopting a proper tone of suburban abnormality here. Harold (George Wendt, who has been showing an effectively darker side in the recent works of Stuart Gordon) plays a seemingly contented suburbanite with a proclivity toward abducting random strangers, melting their skin with acid, and making a skeletal 'family' for his happy home. With the arrival of Celia (Meredith Monroe) and David (Matt Keeslar), a married couple going through a difficult spot, Wendt becomes the good-natured confidant whose obsession with Celia grows to a disturbing degree. While Monroe and Keeslar provide just the right amount of intended WASPy blandness, it is Wendt who performs an impressive balancing act between neighborly warmth and psychosis. His performance alone would merit a view, but Landis's direction and Brent Hanley's clever (and not cheating) script make 'Family' a series high point.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
John Landis does it again; Deer Woman with more horror, 29 May 2007
9/10
Author: LoneWolfAndCub from Australia

This is the first episode I've seen from Season 2 and I must say I am very impressed. Considering the amount of flak Season 2 was receiving I was considering just passing them by but I gave in to temptation and I'm glad I did. John Landis yet again proves he is definitely one of the Masters of Horror with "Family." Like with "Deer Woman," Landis blends horror and comedy flawlessly but with this one he adds a little more horror than comedy. The script is very well written, the acting is great and there is a good amount of gore to satisfy gorehounds.

Harold (George Wendt) seems like a peaceful, friendly enough neighbour but in reality he is a murderous psychopath who has his eyes set on his new neighbour Celia (Meredith Monroe) who has just moved in with her husband David (Matt Keeslar, of Scream 3 fame).

As I said before the acting in this is great. George Wendt gives a very funny performance as the Psycho neighbour and Meredith Monroe and Matt Keeslar are great as the married couple. The script is very witty and funny but there are plenty of odd, disturbing bits to make you shiver or squirm in disgust.

Overall a pleasant start to Season 2. I'm hoping for the rest of them to be as good as this.

4½/5

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best of BOTH Seasons, 6 January 2007
10/10
Author: tomcon21

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This episode of MOH was both creepy and thrilling at the same time. The story involves a young couple who has just moved into a nice house in the suburbs. Their next-door neighbor (George Wendt) is a quiet, reserved gentleman with a rather disturbing hobby. I thought I knew where it was going until the last 5 minutes-- what a plot twist! For my money, this was the most complete, well-told, and well-written installment of the MOH series. It didn't feel too short or too long; the length was perfect for the story. While other installments have been unfocused or under-developed, this one was captivating all the way through. Most of the other episodes of this series pale in comparison. Exceptions are: Jenifer and Dreams in the Witch-House, which are my favorites, along with Family.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Fun horror twist, 19 January 2008
7/10
Author: xredgarnetx from Connecticut

John Landis has a go at the popular Showtime series, MASTERS OF HORROR, with a nasty little number about a lonely man (George Wendt of CHEERS fame) who kills folks and makes a family out of them -- after first stripping the flesh off their bones. A young couple moves in next door, and Wendt soon has his sights set on the wife, a sad little blonde who has lost her only child to cancer. The husband, a surgeon, abruptly disappears one day, leaving the despairing wife wide open to suggestion. The ending is not what you'd expect. And the episode is very funny when it is not being gory. It may remind some of a modern TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE story.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Not bad as recent "Masters of Horror" go, 27 May 2007
8/10
Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

I don't have cable so I don't get the station that features "Masters of Horror", obviously, but I have to say that the DVD's I've seen of the second season pale in comparison to those of the first. "Family", starring George Wendt, though, is not bad, in fact it's a decent enough dark comedy. Wendt plays Harold, a seemingly normal bachelor type who lives in a little Wisconsin community. But after a few moments you realize that Harold has a few screws loose, at a MINIMUM, because his house is populated with skeletons dressed in clothing and he often sees them as being live humans. When new neighbors across the way move in, Harold keeps his distance, but when the new neighbors are on their way home from a night out (and too many cocktails), the hubby hits Harold's mailbox (made from bricks) and knocks it down. The next morning they go to apologize and the mailbox is already repaired, and yet they do get to meet Harold, who thinks that lovely Celia is coming on to him while her husband is sitting there, but again, that's all in Harold's little spook-house mind. Now, Celia and husband David seem to squabble a lot, and some of what they seem to be squabbling about is having another child, after their last one died. Then after agreeing with Celia to go through with their decision, David disappears. Of course Harold is delighted and ready to welcome Celia into his little family, as his current nagging skeleton/wife has been getting on his nerves. But then it turns out that what Celia and David had been discussing was of an entirely different nature than having another child and therein lies "the twist that I didn't see coming" to this episode. This is pretty well done & the twist made the episode, because I never suspected for a moment what was going on. Not bad for Landis too, considering that most of his contributions to horror have been made many years ago. 8 out of 10.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
John Landis Delivers Another Comedic Horror Specialty, 21 January 2007
7/10
Author: Gavin Schmitt (gavin6942@yahoo.com) from Kaukauna, Wisconsin

George Wendt plays a man who likes collecting family members, in the most literal way. When two new neighbors move in next door, he becomes obsessively attracted to the wife. Will he be able to collect her, will she be able to escape? Heck, with this type of show, you never know what twists and turns will happen! This episode comes to us from John Landis, the director of "Deer Woman", which I will freely admit was my favorite episode from Season One. And so far, after seeing four episodes of Season Two, he is clearly holding the lead. I have seen people say some negative things about this one, but I think it all depends on what you're looking for in the show. I like the healthy dose of comedy that Landis brings to the table.

The writer happens to be Brent Hanley, best known for writing "Frailty", a respectable film in its own right. How he went from that one to this one is unknown, but a nice change. Hanley appears to be somewhat dynamic and I think we can expect more from him in the future.

The main character of this episode is obviously the one played by George Wendt. Some other reviewer complained they couldn't see him as anything other than Norm from "Cheers". I didn't have that problem. Not only do I not really like "Cheers" ("Becker" is better) but this isn't Wendt's first time doing comedic horror. I guess that reviewer never watched the "House" movies... I think he's great. Adds an element I can't pinpoint, but I'd love to see him in many more films.

The references were nice, such as the photographs of Dick Cheney and George Bush. Not sure how to interpret that, but I think anyone who is as demented as Wendt's character should have Republican figures in his home. The deer mounted on the wall was a good reference to "Deer Woman" (at least that's how I took it). And the Weekly World News with Batboy -- priceless.

Meredith Monroe (best known as Andie McPhee from "Dawson's Creek") played a great neighbor. She still had a lot of McPhee in her, but was different, as well. Some of the dialogue was, um, things you'd never hear from McPhee and I was not sure how to respond (kind of like when you hear about Bob Saget giving oral pleasure for crack cocaine). That is something I'm going to have to make my friend Kristy watch.

A line that really got me was about Jay Leno at the supermarket, because I have an ex-girlfriend who moved to North Hollywood and one of the first celebrities she saw was Jay Leno... in the parking lot at a supermarket. I guess maybe this is something he's known for? Anyway, back to the episode: I really enjoyed it. The gore is fairly light, the humor is really where it's at. If you liked "Deer Woman", you'll love this. The only thing I could complain about is a part where they used computer effect to show how acid works rather than use real acid (or something similar). But, you know, it seemed to fit into the cheesiness. So, I have no problem with it. Still not the greatest, but better than the stuff I've been seeing.

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