The Masters of Horror series has been a real letdown for me overall. I watched most of the first season and came away with only really liking two episodes (John Carpenter's and John Landis') and to be honest I haven't even looked at many of season two. Most of the episodes that i've seen emphasize gore and nudity instead of good story telling. There's a big pissing contest between the directors, who is the goriest? Who has the most nudity? Who is the most disturbing? That in of itself would be great if it really pushed them to create great work but overall the films seem bland and well...stupid.
Sounds Like sidesteps the whole thing and goes straight for good storytelling.
I've been a fan of Brad Anderson ever since I caught Session 9 on IFC one late night. He continued to impress me with the almost Lynch-ian "The Machinist" so when I heard he was doing a master of horror I knew I had to check it out.
Sounds Like is about a man who's son dies tragically young of a heart condition. Ever since his death the man, Larry, can hear exceptionally well, even when he doesn't want to. As his grief grows, so does his hearing ability. Larry refuses to deal with his grief and this sets the stage for a tremendous breakdown.
There is virtually no gore in this episode, the only small ammount being in the last five minutes. The episode plays out more like an episode of the Twilight Zone as the tension and suspense (yeah, remember suspsense? whatever happend to that..) grows and grows. The pace is much slower then most episodes given the psychological nature of the story, but to be honest its a welcome change from previous entries. This is what anthology shows are all about. Great storytelling and suspsense. We actually care about the main character and empathize with his situation. Wow, empathy in a Masters of Horror episode? Imagine that. Too bad there aren't more episodes like this one.
Gore - very mild
Nudity - none
Overall 8/10
Sounds Like sidesteps the whole thing and goes straight for good storytelling.
I've been a fan of Brad Anderson ever since I caught Session 9 on IFC one late night. He continued to impress me with the almost Lynch-ian "The Machinist" so when I heard he was doing a master of horror I knew I had to check it out.
Sounds Like is about a man who's son dies tragically young of a heart condition. Ever since his death the man, Larry, can hear exceptionally well, even when he doesn't want to. As his grief grows, so does his hearing ability. Larry refuses to deal with his grief and this sets the stage for a tremendous breakdown.
There is virtually no gore in this episode, the only small ammount being in the last five minutes. The episode plays out more like an episode of the Twilight Zone as the tension and suspense (yeah, remember suspsense? whatever happend to that..) grows and grows. The pace is much slower then most episodes given the psychological nature of the story, but to be honest its a welcome change from previous entries. This is what anthology shows are all about. Great storytelling and suspsense. We actually care about the main character and empathize with his situation. Wow, empathy in a Masters of Horror episode? Imagine that. Too bad there aren't more episodes like this one.
Gore - very mild
Nudity - none
Overall 8/10
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