Over its two-season run, Showtime's horror anthology show "Masters of Horror" has tackled a surprising amount of political hot topics. While series creator/producer Mick Garris may not have intended for his show to isolate a great many red-state viewers, it's hard to argue with the results. By giving the writers and directors working on "Masters" episodes free rein to create whatever they want as long as they stay on budget, some creators have fashioned their episodes into soapboxes to stand on while pushing a liberal agenda. The series has tackled the war against Iraq ("Homecoming"), President Bush (The Washingtonians"), the fur industry ("Pelts"), and abortion ("Pro-Life" and "Imprint"), and now Garris' creation takes a swipe at the right-to-life groups with the aptly titled "Right to Die."
During a late-night drive home from an unsuccessful vacation attempt to keep their marriage going, unfaithful husband Cliff (Martin Donovan) and his stunningly beautiful wife Abbey (Julia Anderson) are in a horrible car accident. Cliff walks away relatively unscathed while Abbey is burned almost past the point of recognition. After passing out while watching his wife covered with flames, Cliff wakes up in the hospital to find her entire body is coated with horrific burns hidden beneath miles of gauze. All he can see are her cold, comatose eyes and exposed teeth, no longer shielded from view since her lips have burned away.
Abby's prognosis isn't good, and the doctor recommends Cliff contact his lawyer in order to get the paperwork started so that he can pull the plug. Cliff's lawyer, Ira (Corbin Bernsen), insists that putting Abby out of her misery is the right thing to do and gets the euthanasia ball rolling. Cliff, understandably distraught from the concept of having to kill the woman he loves, roams the empty rooms of his large home, haunted by past mistakes. In a flashback sequence we see Abby finding some compromising video footage of Cliff with his assistant, Trish (Robin Sydney), on his cell phone. While leaving his house to return to his dental practice for the first time in a week, Cliff is assaulted by Abby's mother, disgusted with his decision to end her daughter's life.
Back at home, Cliff attempts to relax in a hot bath. Lost in his own thoughts, he's shocked when he opens his eyes to find his briquette of a wife seemingly healed in the bath with him. Overcome by the shock and joy of her return, Cliff is unable to move from her silent gaze. Abby climbs atop him and the two quickly reunite in the way most lovers do. Their reunion is cut short as midway through their act Abby reverts back to her charred state. She attempts to do the same to her husband until she disappears, leaving behind burns on the parts of Cliff's body she touched. Yes, even that part. After contacting Ira and the hospital staff, Cliff realizes that every time Abby flat lines out of her coma, her sprit leaves her body in search of vengeance on everyone who did her wrong. Realizing that she must blame him for the accident and that his life is now in jeopardy, he has to reverse his decision to pull the Abby's plug. Cliff renounces his original decision and joins his mother-in-law's efforts to keep her (and himself) alive. The only problem is, if Abby doesn't receive a full skin graft within twelve hours, she will die, plug pulled or not. With no suitable donors in sight, just how far will Cliff go to save his own skin?
With a series titled "Masters of Horror," fans expected to see works by genre greats with such big names as John Carpenter, Clive Barker, John Landis, or Tobe Hooper. While the inclusion of other fan favorite horror vets like Stuart Gordon, Don Coscarelli, Takashi Miike, and Dario Argento are appreciated, some of their choices as so-called "Masters" are mind boggling. "Right to Die" director Rob Schmidt has only one horror movie under his belt, the ill-received "Hills Have Eyes"/"Deliverance" mash-up "Wrong Turn." Unlike the general populace, I thoroughly enjoyed "Wrong Turn," but it's hardly a film to cite when calling somebody a "Master of Horror." Especially when the series has yet to include established creators as George Romero, Stephen King, Wes Craven, or even Sean Cunningham.
"Right to Die" isn't necessarily so bad as it is slow and poorly conceived, and truthfully a large part of that rests on the uneventful script turned in by "Graveyard Shift" screenwriter John Esposito. The story just goes through the motions, doing almost everything one would predict, up until the surprising and character-changing end. The excellent Martin Donovan does a great job portraying the distraught wounded husband, which is accentuated by the episode-saving twist ending. While it's not the best episode of the series, with its copious amounts of gore and generous attention to bountiful nudity, you could do worse. With this being Schmidt's second venture into the genre, it's surprising that his mediocre episode still outshines those of established horror icons. Tobe Hooper, I'm looking at you.
During a late-night drive home from an unsuccessful vacation attempt to keep their marriage going, unfaithful husband Cliff (Martin Donovan) and his stunningly beautiful wife Abbey (Julia Anderson) are in a horrible car accident. Cliff walks away relatively unscathed while Abbey is burned almost past the point of recognition. After passing out while watching his wife covered with flames, Cliff wakes up in the hospital to find her entire body is coated with horrific burns hidden beneath miles of gauze. All he can see are her cold, comatose eyes and exposed teeth, no longer shielded from view since her lips have burned away.
Abby's prognosis isn't good, and the doctor recommends Cliff contact his lawyer in order to get the paperwork started so that he can pull the plug. Cliff's lawyer, Ira (Corbin Bernsen), insists that putting Abby out of her misery is the right thing to do and gets the euthanasia ball rolling. Cliff, understandably distraught from the concept of having to kill the woman he loves, roams the empty rooms of his large home, haunted by past mistakes. In a flashback sequence we see Abby finding some compromising video footage of Cliff with his assistant, Trish (Robin Sydney), on his cell phone. While leaving his house to return to his dental practice for the first time in a week, Cliff is assaulted by Abby's mother, disgusted with his decision to end her daughter's life.
Back at home, Cliff attempts to relax in a hot bath. Lost in his own thoughts, he's shocked when he opens his eyes to find his briquette of a wife seemingly healed in the bath with him. Overcome by the shock and joy of her return, Cliff is unable to move from her silent gaze. Abby climbs atop him and the two quickly reunite in the way most lovers do. Their reunion is cut short as midway through their act Abby reverts back to her charred state. She attempts to do the same to her husband until she disappears, leaving behind burns on the parts of Cliff's body she touched. Yes, even that part. After contacting Ira and the hospital staff, Cliff realizes that every time Abby flat lines out of her coma, her sprit leaves her body in search of vengeance on everyone who did her wrong. Realizing that she must blame him for the accident and that his life is now in jeopardy, he has to reverse his decision to pull the Abby's plug. Cliff renounces his original decision and joins his mother-in-law's efforts to keep her (and himself) alive. The only problem is, if Abby doesn't receive a full skin graft within twelve hours, she will die, plug pulled or not. With no suitable donors in sight, just how far will Cliff go to save his own skin?
With a series titled "Masters of Horror," fans expected to see works by genre greats with such big names as John Carpenter, Clive Barker, John Landis, or Tobe Hooper. While the inclusion of other fan favorite horror vets like Stuart Gordon, Don Coscarelli, Takashi Miike, and Dario Argento are appreciated, some of their choices as so-called "Masters" are mind boggling. "Right to Die" director Rob Schmidt has only one horror movie under his belt, the ill-received "Hills Have Eyes"/"Deliverance" mash-up "Wrong Turn." Unlike the general populace, I thoroughly enjoyed "Wrong Turn," but it's hardly a film to cite when calling somebody a "Master of Horror." Especially when the series has yet to include established creators as George Romero, Stephen King, Wes Craven, or even Sean Cunningham.
"Right to Die" isn't necessarily so bad as it is slow and poorly conceived, and truthfully a large part of that rests on the uneventful script turned in by "Graveyard Shift" screenwriter John Esposito. The story just goes through the motions, doing almost everything one would predict, up until the surprising and character-changing end. The excellent Martin Donovan does a great job portraying the distraught wounded husband, which is accentuated by the episode-saving twist ending. While it's not the best episode of the series, with its copious amounts of gore and generous attention to bountiful nudity, you could do worse. With this being Schmidt's second venture into the genre, it's surprising that his mediocre episode still outshines those of established horror icons. Tobe Hooper, I'm looking at you.
Over its two-season run, Showtime's horror anthology show "Masters of Horror" has tackled a surprising amount of political hot topics. While series creator/producer Mick Garris may not have intended for his show to isolate a great many red-state viewers, it's hard to argue with the results. By giving the writers and directors working on "Masters" episodes free rein to create whatever they want as long as they stay on budget, some creators have fashioned their episodes into soapboxes to stand on while pushing a liberal agenda. The series has tackled the war against Iraq ("Homecoming"), President Bush (The Washingtonians"), the fur industry ("Pelts"), and abortion ("Pro-Life" and "Imprint"), and now Garris' creation takes a swipe at the right-to-life groups with the aptly titled "Right to Die."
During a late-night drive home from an unsuccessful vacation attempt to keep their marriage going, unfaithful husband Cliff (Martin Donovan) and his stunningly beautiful wife Abbey (Julia Anderson) are in a horrible car accident. Cliff walks away relatively unscathed while Abbey is burned almost past the point of recognition. After passing out while watching his wife covered with flames, Cliff wakes up in the hospital to find her entire body is coated with horrific burns hidden beneath miles of gauze. All he can see are her cold, comatose eyes and exposed teeth, no longer shielded from view since her lips have burned away.
Abby's prognosis isn't good, and the doctor recommends Cliff contact his lawyer in order to get the paperwork started so that he can pull the plug. Cliff's lawyer, Ira (Corbin Bernsen), insists that putting Abby out of her misery is the right thing to do and gets the euthanasia ball rolling. Cliff, understandably distraught from the concept of having to kill the woman he loves, roams the empty rooms of his large home, haunted by past mistakes. In a flashback sequence we see Abby finding some compromising video footage of Cliff with his assistant, Trish (Robin Sydney), on his cell phone. While leaving his house to return to his dental practice for the first time in a week, Cliff is assaulted by Abby's mother, disgusted with his decision to end her daughter's life.
Back at home, Cliff attempts to relax in a hot bath. Lost in his own thoughts, he's shocked when he opens his eyes to find his briquette of a wife seemingly healed in the bath with him. Overcome by the shock and joy of her return, Cliff is unable to move from her silent gaze. Abby climbs atop him and the two quickly reunite in the way most lovers do. Their reunion is cut short as midway through their act Abby reverts back to her charred state. She attempts to do the same to her husband until she disappears, leaving behind burns on the parts of Cliff's body she touched. Yes, even that part. After contacting Ira and the hospital staff, Cliff realizes that every time Abby flat lines out of her coma, her sprit leaves her body in search of vengeance on everyone who did her wrong. Realizing that she must blame him for the accident and that his life is now in jeopardy, he has to reverse his decision to pull the Abby's plug. Cliff renounces his original decision and joins his mother-in-law's efforts to keep her (and himself) alive. The only problem is, if Abby doesn't receive a full skin graft within twelve hours, she will die, plug pulled or not. With no suitable donors in sight, just how far will Cliff go to save his own skin?
With a series titled "Masters of Horror," fans expected to see works by genre greats with such big names as John Carpenter, Clive Barker, John Landis, or Tobe Hooper. While the inclusion of other fan favorite horror vets like Stuart Gordon, Don Coscarelli, Takashi Miike, and Dario Argento are appreciated, some of their choices as so-called "Masters" are mind boggling. "Right to Die" director Rob Schmidt has only one horror movie under his belt, the ill-received "Hills Have Eyes"/"Deliverance" mash-up "Wrong Turn." Unlike the general populace, I thoroughly enjoyed "Wrong Turn," but it's hardly a film to cite when calling somebody a "Master of Horror." Especially when the series has yet to include established creators as George Romero, Stephen King, Wes Craven, or even Sean Cunningham.
"Right to Die" isn't necessarily so bad as it is slow and poorly conceived, and truthfully a large part of that rests on the uneventful script turned in by "Graveyard Shift" screenwriter John Esposito. The story just goes through the motions, doing almost everything one would predict, up until the surprising and character-changing end. The excellent Martin Donovan does a great job portraying the distraught wounded husband, which is accentuated by the episode-saving twist ending. While it's not the best episode of the series, with its copious amounts of gore and generous attention to bountiful nudity, you could do worse. With this being Schmidt's second venture into the genre, it's surprising that his mediocre episode still outshines those of established horror icons. Tobe Hooper, I'm looking at you.
During a late-night drive home from an unsuccessful vacation attempt to keep their marriage going, unfaithful husband Cliff (Martin Donovan) and his stunningly beautiful wife Abbey (Julia Anderson) are in a horrible car accident. Cliff walks away relatively unscathed while Abbey is burned almost past the point of recognition. After passing out while watching his wife covered with flames, Cliff wakes up in the hospital to find her entire body is coated with horrific burns hidden beneath miles of gauze. All he can see are her cold, comatose eyes and exposed teeth, no longer shielded from view since her lips have burned away.
Abby's prognosis isn't good, and the doctor recommends Cliff contact his lawyer in order to get the paperwork started so that he can pull the plug. Cliff's lawyer, Ira (Corbin Bernsen), insists that putting Abby out of her misery is the right thing to do and gets the euthanasia ball rolling. Cliff, understandably distraught from the concept of having to kill the woman he loves, roams the empty rooms of his large home, haunted by past mistakes. In a flashback sequence we see Abby finding some compromising video footage of Cliff with his assistant, Trish (Robin Sydney), on his cell phone. While leaving his house to return to his dental practice for the first time in a week, Cliff is assaulted by Abby's mother, disgusted with his decision to end her daughter's life.
Back at home, Cliff attempts to relax in a hot bath. Lost in his own thoughts, he's shocked when he opens his eyes to find his briquette of a wife seemingly healed in the bath with him. Overcome by the shock and joy of her return, Cliff is unable to move from her silent gaze. Abby climbs atop him and the two quickly reunite in the way most lovers do. Their reunion is cut short as midway through their act Abby reverts back to her charred state. She attempts to do the same to her husband until she disappears, leaving behind burns on the parts of Cliff's body she touched. Yes, even that part. After contacting Ira and the hospital staff, Cliff realizes that every time Abby flat lines out of her coma, her sprit leaves her body in search of vengeance on everyone who did her wrong. Realizing that she must blame him for the accident and that his life is now in jeopardy, he has to reverse his decision to pull the Abby's plug. Cliff renounces his original decision and joins his mother-in-law's efforts to keep her (and himself) alive. The only problem is, if Abby doesn't receive a full skin graft within twelve hours, she will die, plug pulled or not. With no suitable donors in sight, just how far will Cliff go to save his own skin?
With a series titled "Masters of Horror," fans expected to see works by genre greats with such big names as John Carpenter, Clive Barker, John Landis, or Tobe Hooper. While the inclusion of other fan favorite horror vets like Stuart Gordon, Don Coscarelli, Takashi Miike, and Dario Argento are appreciated, some of their choices as so-called "Masters" are mind boggling. "Right to Die" director Rob Schmidt has only one horror movie under his belt, the ill-received "Hills Have Eyes"/"Deliverance" mash-up "Wrong Turn." Unlike the general populace, I thoroughly enjoyed "Wrong Turn," but it's hardly a film to cite when calling somebody a "Master of Horror." Especially when the series has yet to include established creators as George Romero, Stephen King, Wes Craven, or even Sean Cunningham.
"Right to Die" isn't necessarily so bad as it is slow and poorly conceived, and truthfully a large part of that rests on the uneventful script turned in by "Graveyard Shift" screenwriter John Esposito. The story just goes through the motions, doing almost everything one would predict, up until the surprising and character-changing end. The excellent Martin Donovan does a great job portraying the distraught wounded husband, which is accentuated by the episode-saving twist ending. While it's not the best episode of the series, with its copious amounts of gore and generous attention to bountiful nudity, you could do worse. With this being Schmidt's second venture into the genre, it's surprising that his mediocre episode still outshines those of established horror icons. Tobe Hooper, I'm looking at you.
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