Pelts (2006)

Looking back in my vaults of horror I came across the fabulous Masters Of Horror series. And they are indeed amazing. Back then I never reviewed stuff but I also came across season two and noticed I hadn't seen it. My best friend and horror buff told me to be ashamed of that fact and face it, it's summer so nothing is on the telee or at theatres. What else could a geek do then go back in time.I just picked one DVD out, Let it be this one. Immediately you are into the stories and this follows the same line. Masters Of Horror are known to indeed having the best horror directors on board and having some famous names from the genre in it. This time it's John Saxon as thespian and Dario Argento as director. And Dario doesn't go for a Giallo this time but for a gorefest. Somewhere I was a bit lost when the story slowly turned into a Stephen King look-a-like with the racoons looking through a window just like they had a 'Disney' life. Luckily it picked up strong again to end in a gory final. No boundaries were made, it do has some cruel gore made by the KNB boys and it looks fabulous. We also have a lot of nudity and nothing is cut. So far Imprint from season one was brought out cut in Europe but at this writing it's out there in Germany full uncut on Blu Ray.On part of the gore it has a strange feeling because when they are smashing heads or a head is being cut in pieces by a trap you can easily spot it was some rubber face. And the ending wasn't realistic at all but to be honest, somehow you take it. John Saxon looks great in his role as Jeb 'Pa' Jameson, face it, he was 71 then, I have seen him in flesh around that time and he was walking with sticks so go figure that one out.But for me Meat Loaf as Jake Feldman did an excellent job. What a great performance he gives here. Melissa Gonzalez (Mira) is the one who strips and is walking around naked a lot of times. But while walking in the flesh she not only looks great but performs great too. The end scene with her in the elevator when she got in trouble with her hand did remind me of Tenebre (1982), I don't know if it was a wink by Dario intended for the geeks out there or if I'm too deep into the genre. Nevertheless, this was an outstanding episode not that typical Dario but surely one to pick up. I wont go that far to say that Dario's entries in Masters Of Horror are a statement against animal abuse but there's a small message to catch for those wearing fur...Gore 3,5/5 Nudity 2,5/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

So far this is one of my least favorite episodes of the Masters of Horror series. The premise is crystal clear by the 15-minute mark, and yet the film goes on for another 45 minutes.The idea is simple enough: a trapper scores some very special raccoon pelts. The skins come alive and one by one, everyone who deals with them is compelled to grotesque suicide. There's no suspense, just some over-the-top gore. It reminded me a bit of "The Omen II", which was just a sequence of grisly deaths without any real plot.Nice to see John Saxon in a brief appearance, but while this isn't exactly a train wreck, the story really has nowhere to go.

Gruff, irate furrier Jake Feldman (nicely played by rocker Meat Loaf Adday) is obsessed with sassy and enticing stripper Shanna (the stunningly gorgeous Ellen Ewusie), but she's not interested in him. Jake acquires a bunch of beautiful raccoon pelts from mean fur trapper Jeb "Pa" Jameson (the always excellent John Saxon) and his jittery son Larry (a fine Michael Suchanek). Jake plans on making a fancy fur coat out of the pelts for Shanna to wear at an upcoming fashion show. The only problem is that the pelts cause everyone who comes into contact with them to commit brutal acts of murder and self-mutilation. Director Dario Argento, working from an inspired script by Matt Venne, does a typically expert job of creating and sustaining a genuinely creepy and unnerving atmosphere. Moreover, Argento really pours on the unflinchingly explicit splatter by the disgusting bucketful: grisly highlights include a man's skull bashed in with a baseball bat, a guy's head being crushed with a steel trap, another dude cutting himself open with a large pair of scissors, and a lady sewing her eyes, nose and mouth shut with a needle and thread. Better still, several hot babes strut their sizzling sexy stuff in the buff (Ewusie in particular looks absolutely delectable in her birthday suit). Attila Szalay's glossy, sumptuous cinematography, Claudio Simonetti's lush, classy, haunting score, and a truly startling over-the-top grotesque climax further add to the overall satisfyingly spooky tone of this nasty'n'nifty episode.

Dario Argento is my all-time favourite director. PHENOMENA, TENEBRE, INFERNO and SUSPIRIA all rank on my top 20 horror films of all-time, and I own all of his films available in Australia. So when I viewed his very disappointing Masters of Horror entry JENIFER, I decided not to expect much from PELTS. Thankfully, my low expectations were more than met with this frantic and exciting Masters of Horror episode, restoring my faith in the series after JENIFER, HAECKEL'S TALE, DANCE OF THE DEAD and the abysmal CHOCOLATE bombed out and ruined the credibility IMPRINT, CIGARETTE BURNS and SICK GIRL had built.PELTS follows a slimy, bitter fur trader (Meat Loaf) who is hopelessly in love with a lesbian stripper (Ellen Ewusie). When a sadistic poacher (John Saxon, one of the main reasons I saw this) sells him some mesmerising raccoon pelts, his obsession turns to them and he decides the only way to win the object of his affection is to make her the ultimate coat. But obsession can turn to insanity...PELTS is moral-heavy, but if you ignore those themes it is a simple supernatural revenge film, with a twist. PELTS is gory, fast paced, creepy, unnerving and occasionally hilarious, and the film has an Argento vibe all over it. The acting is fair, but I do think the masters of Horror episodes are too focused on people obsessing.Overall a solid entry to the series and to the horror genre on a whole. 7/10.