This weeks installment in the MOH camp is directed by John Landis( whose episode last year, titled DEER WOMAN was one of the weakest of the series) and is titled FAMILY. This time around Landis hits a little closer to the mark but still left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
FAMILY tells the tale of Harold wonderfully portrayed by George Wendt as a disturbed home dweller living in a nice suburban neighborhood. Wendt has that nice guy persona that was well cultivated by his time spent portraying Norm on Cheers and you just want to believe that he is the kind of guy that you can hang around with, share a beer and good times with. Wendt plays this role well, hell he has built a career around it but this time around we get a peek at a darker side of his talent. Although Harold lives in a nice house in a great neighborhood he has secrets, nasty horrible secrets.
Landis opens the episode with a quick, floating tour of the nice streets and lawns of this suburban paradise. We float into a well kept, nicely decorated home going from room to room and eventually into the basement. We see the radio from which the music we have been hearing is coming from and then we meet Harold. He is standing at a work bench and appears to be gearing up to start a project. The camera is pulled back to reveal a body in a tub and we are treated to some excellent FX as Harold pours some kind of acid onto the body and it melts away to expose the skeleton beneath. While the FX are superior there is no real shock value in the moment as the set up is a bit long and you know, being that youre watching a show called Masters of Horror, that something shocking is going to happen, it is just a matter of when. There is no real shock value in this moment just the predictable, seen it a hundred times payoff that one would expect.
The real reason to watch this week is for the riveting performance of George Wendt. I have never really thought of Wendt as anything other then "the guy who plays Norm" but I will definitely see him in a different light today. He plays Harold with a smoldering, creepy twist that really lifts the episode out of its "same old, same old" mold and make it a hour worth checking out.
Landis infuses his trademark blend of humor and horror that fans have come to expect and while the episode is good its not great.
FAMILY is worthy of watching, Im just not sure it is worthy of being considered a Master of Horror episode. Check it out if youre looking for some great acting just dont expect to be lead by the hand into horror greatness.
