Wonderful character development!

One of my all time favorites.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This episode of Masters of Horror has some excellent aspects and some rather dubious ones as well. Now, I am not one of those Hooper haters. I actually think much of his work - mostly early am afraid - is quite good - and some even amazing. He definitely has talent. But this episode's faults are mostly with the script not the direction. Hooper got me interested early and the performances were all very adequate - some a bit over-the-top undoubtedly. The story concerns a man who as a child witnessed some inexplicable force taking over his father and "making" him execute the boy's mother and try to kill the boy. Thirty Years later the force rises again and haunts the boy and the town - as we discover that the force not only had changed the boy's father but also caused the townsfolk to go mad and on a killing spree. Well, things go fairly fluidly until the last fifteen minutes or so where all hell breaks looses both figuratively and literally. I like the way Hooper shot the scenes, but the story dissolves really at the end into one big "What just happened?".Sean Patrick Flannery does a good job in the lead and Sam Raimi's brother Ted gives an overblown yet fun performance as a local priest. Although Hooper shows he still has touches, he needs to find better material to work his craft with.

Many argue that if Tobe Hooper ever had any magic touch going for him, he lost it. Some also argue, that even Poltergeist was mostly directed by the producer of the movie (Mr. Spielberg that is) and therefor Mr. Hooper never had "it". Whatever you think of him, he at least created some fine visuals for this episode.And Mr. Flanery tries his best to convince us and get us into the story. A predictable one and also (and unfortunately) a very lame/tame one. While Style over substance is mostly used to describe something as negative, I think the style here adds quite a few point to the whole thing. At least, that's how I felt about it. I know, that most people are or will be disappointed by it.One thing is for sure: As this is a Masters of Horror episode, this means, you don't have to watch a 90 minute movie. It's not even an hour long. If you are willing to spend that much time on this, try to enjoy it as much as possible ... if not for the story, then at least for the gore and visuals on hand

Do you think I hated this episode,since I gave it only 3 points??? I, actually,loved it.Until the last 2 minutes spoilt it beyond repair,that is.I don't have to tell you the plot,it's all over IMDb. The story itself is mysterious,good acting, great gory special effects. But the ending is so bad that words totally fail me. It's not about the storyline being horrible at the end. it's about a pathetic special effect and a monster that would have been more suited to the ghostbusters! My stomach is still upset about it (just finished watching it).This is the kind of movie that captivates you and draws you in,and you are led to believe it will be a hell of an experience. But just when you think you're about to finish a brilliant episode of the Masters of Horror series,the people involved in its making simply RAPE it. And our viewing enjoyment along with it!

First off this has little to do with Bierce's excellent short story other than *mild spoiler* an invisible monster, however this doesn't detract from a superbly crafted bit of horror far superior to anything from the first season, other than perhaps John Carpenters 'Cigarette burns'.Hooper, not known for his subtlety, while still churning out a moderate amount of gore manages with this to gradually (after the prologue) build a growing sense of horror altogether in the tradition of Bierce or Lovecraft before reaching a conclusion which I found not only made perfect sense but left me with a broad grin as he credits suddenly rolled.Given the time constraints this was a wonderful effort.Absolutely recommended.