''Masters of Horror'' is an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

television series created by director

Mick Garris Mick Garris (born December 4, 1951) is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, as well as making Stephen King adaptations. Early life Garris was born in Sant ...

for the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

cable network.

Origin

In 2002, director

invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

. The original ten "masters" attending were John Carpenter, Larry Cohen, Don Coscarelli,

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon is perh ...

, Tobe Hooper, John Landis,

Bill Malone William Malone may refer to: *Bill C. Malone (born 1934), American musician and writer *Bill Malone (magician) (born 1958), American entertainer *Bill Malone (broadcaster), American television and radio personality *William George Malone (1859–19 ...

, and Garris himself. Subsequently, Garris organized regular dinners with the group and invited other horror and other genre directors to attend, including

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...

, Eli Roth, Wes Craven,

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

, Tim Sullivan,

Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...

, Bryan Singer, Fred Dekker, William Lustig, Lucky McKee, Ernest Dickerson, Katt Shea, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, James Gunn, Mary Lambert, Tom Holland, Peter Medak, Ti West, Lloyd Kaufman, and others. In 2005, Garris created and produced an original anthology television series of one-hour movies, written and directed by many of the "masters," which was originally broadcast in the U.S. on the

cable network. In several international territories, the films were released theatrically. The series debuted to excellent reviews in the U.S. on October 28, 2005, with the premiere episode "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road," co-written and directed by Don Coscarelli, based on the short story by

Joe R. Lansdale Joe Richard Lansdale (born October 28, 1951) is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres - Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense - he's also written comic books and screenplays. Se ...

. New episodes premiered every Friday at 10 p.m. EST throughout the series' two seasons. The show followed an anthology series format, with each episode featuring a one-hour film directed by a well-known

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

director. In 2009, Chiller began airing the show on their Sunday evening line-up of shows, and in 2010, Reelz Channel began airing episodes of ''Masters of Horror'' edited (despite keeping its TV-MA rating) and with commercials.

Series overview

Episodes

Season 1 (2005–06)

Episode 4, "Jenifer", was accidentally made available on-demand to a select audience at the same time as episode 2, "H. P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House". The episode was cut for graphic violence during its initial television broadcast, and the cut scenes can only be viewed in a featurette separate from the film on the R1 DVD release. Episode 13, "Imprint", originally scheduled to premiere on January 27, 2006, was shelved by Showtime due to concerns over its content. Mick Garris, creator and executive producer of the series, characterized the episode as "the most disturbing film I've ever seen". It is available only on DVD and Blu-ray by Anchor Bay Entertainment, along with the rest of the episodes in the first season. "Imprint" was shown in the UK on Bravo (7 April 2006).

Season 2 (2006–07)

Related series

Fear Itself

Series creator

stated that

opted not to show the third season and that film studio Lionsgate had begun funding the series. '' The Hollywood Reporter'' reported on September 25, 2007, that

and Lionsgate signed a 13-episode deal with NBC. Instead of a third season of the show, a new show, '' Fear Itself'', was created with the same premise as ''Masters of Horror''. It premiered on NBC in Summer 2008.

Soundtrack

A two-disc soundtrack was released for the series in October 2005 on Immortal Records. The album features heavy metal and hard rock acts with a few acoustic pieces. A second volume was released a year later.

Comic adaptations

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

produced a series of comic book adaptations of several episodes from the series. The first four issues are two-parters, adapting " Incident On and Off a Mountain Road", based on the short story by

, and " Dreams in the Witch-House".IDW Unleashes The Masters of Horror in December
(press release), '' Newsarama'', November 28, 2005 The first two comic covers were painted by the award-winning artist Jeremy Caniglia.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Official website
(requires Adobe Flash) archived at the Wayback Machine {{DEFAULTSORT:Masters Of Horror 2000s American anthology television series 2000s American horror television series 2005 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings 2000s Canadian anthology television series 2005 Canadian television series debuts 2007 Canadian television series endings Showtime (TV network) original programming Television shows filmed in Vancouver English-language television shows American horror fiction television series Canadian horror fiction television series Television series by Lionsgate Television Horror anthologies Saturn Award-winning television series