I have forever been a fan of the anthology series. I, of course, loved series like "The Twilight Zone" (in all of its incarnations), "Amazing Stories", "The Hitchhiker", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents…", and "Tales from the Crypt." The idea that different stories could be told, written and directed by various talents, but keeping within a certain genre just really appealed to me. Granted, this occasionally offered up some bad stories, but rarely. This type of approach goes a long way to keeping my attention more than following the adventures of the same characters every week ever could. So I was immediately intrigued when I first heard that Showtime was going to introduce a new anthology series called "Masters of Horror." As I understood it, this series was going to attract horror film directors who are at the top of their game… no hacks… and allow each of them to helm their own episode. What was even better about this arrangement was that it being on Showtime meant that the directors would have carte blanche to do anything they wanted without the constraints of regular network television.

However, on the other side of the coin, it also meant that I might be waiting a long time to see them as I haven't felt the need to add HBO or Showtime to my Dish system. (Thoughts of reconsidering went through my head, though.)

Thankfully, for more than one reason, Anchor Bay Entertainment is releasing each of these episodes onto DVD. I say thankfully, not just because they are getting released at all, but because Anchor Bay is involved. It is one of the premiere DVD studios, whose attention to detail and unmatched quality promised these discs would be something special indeed.

The first two releases (with more on the way in May) are "Dreams in the Witch House", directed by Stuart Gordon and "Cigarette Burns", directed by John Carpenter. Fans of horror films will immediately recognize these names as well as the huge amount of films each are known for. But just in case you are not predominantly trivia savvy, Gordon has given us classics like "Re-Animator", "From Beyond" and "Dagon." Carpenter is responsible for "Halloween" (the first one, not all the crappy sequels), "Escape from New York", and his decidedly grotesque take on "The Thing." Their styles are worlds apart, but the final product delivers the same effect… they scare the hell out of you.

The first release, "Dreams in the Witch House", is a particularly disturbing story of a man (Ezra Godden) searching for a doorway that will allow him access to different dimensions. In order to work on the theories that will lead him to his discovery, he opts to rent a room in an old secluded home. He hopes that the semi-isolation will allow him the opportunity to focus on his work. But he is soon roused from his quiet reflection by the cries of a woman and her infant in a neighboring room, both of whom are being menaced by a decidedly belligerent rat. He chases it into a hole in the wall, boards up the hole and hopes that will be the end of that.

He soon realizes that something odd is actually occurring when he meets another odd little neighbor who questions him about the rat, wondering if it had a human face. This disquieting question nags him, and causes him to have dreams about the rat. He later finds out from the odd neighbor that the rat is supposedly an ancient witch that needs the sacrifice of infants to stay alive. And as if that isn't bad enough, he also learns that she apparently uses portals in his room to travel to different parts of the house. As you might imagine, things just go from bad to worse… then take a quick right turn into hellish.

Of course, the story was originally written by the great H.P. Lovecraft, whose works contain some of the most unsettling images of any writer in recent history. His books have been often filmed, but rarely have these projects even come close to realizing the vision of the author. "Dreams in the Witch House" is another matter altogether. Gordon has long had an affinity for Lovecraft, and while he makes a few minor changes to the original work, stays extremely close to the mark.

And since I mentioned the Anchor Bay connection, I will have to add that their work on this DVD is superlative. Everything from the cover, which utilizes a beautifully stylized piece of artwork to convey the feel of the story within to a drawn picture of the director, looks fantastic. As for extra features, I hardly know where to begin, so I'll try and go through hem in order. First up is a commentary by Gordon, who is joined by actor Ezra Gordon and DVD producer Perry Martin. It is one of the better audio commentaries I've heard in a while and Gordon, especially, tells some great stories.

You'll also find a lengthy interview with Gordon, who goes into tremendous detail about his career. This is a must watch for Gordon fans. There is also a featurette that brings together a number of people who have worked with Gordon over the years. We get to hear how great it is to work with the man from the likes of Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, the great Jeffrey Combs, and director Brian Yuzna. Then, when you think you might be through for the evening, you'll notice there is an interview with actress Chelah Horsdal (who plays the woman with the baby) and a talk with KNB's Howard Berger, who shows us how the rat creature was made. There is also a Behind the Scenes making of documentary that features some great on-set footage. Last, but certainly not least, the DVD-Rom content of the disc offers the script, a screensaver and a copy of the original Lovecraft story.

The other Masters of Horror release, "Cigarette Burns", is directed by John Carpenter and it is an entirely different animal than the previous disc. But believe me, it is no less shocking. The story centers on the mythology of a film that was made that was so intense and horrific that it drove its audience into a murderous frenzy. The film, "La Fin Absolue du Monde (The Absolute End of the World)" was supposedly only shown once, and few of the audience members survived. Here we are introduced to Kirby Sweetman (Norman Reedus), a film collector and one of his colleagues, Mr. Ballinger (Udo Kier). Ballinger is obviously teetering on the edge of madness and his need to fill his own collection causes him to hire Sweetman to track down this lost film. Needless to say, being able to add "La Fin Absolue du Monde" to his collection would be the piece de resistance. After all, he already has the film's star staying as a guest in his mansion… shackled to a gigantic turntable… but a 'guest' nonetheless.

While I was a fan of Carpenter's early work, his films of late just haven't been as good. I was really losing faith that he had it in him to direct a truly horrifying work again. "Cigarette Burns" pretty much trashed that theory, as it is an extremely disturbing piece of work. It is gory, to be sure, but it does not only rely on the gore to make viewers cower. There is an intense about of psychological terror being fed here, and with it Carpenter regains his title of a "Master of Horror."

And as was the case with "Dreams in the Witch House", Anchor Bay again fills this disc with everything a fan would want in this release. Two separate commentaries grace this disc, the first of course by Carpenter, the second by writers Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan. (Some of you might recognize McWeeny's name as one of the main writers - Moriarty - on the "Ain't It Cool News" website.) Again we also have interviews with Carpenter and actor Norman Reedus, a featurette that brings together people who have worked with the director in the past, and a Behind the Scenes documentary. We also get similar DVD-Rom content. Again I say, no one delivers DVDs like Anchor Bay!

The first 'season' of "Masters of Horror" featured 13 episode, so with the release of these two, there are 11 more to go. I know there are 2 more slated for May, and I can hardly wait!!!

MASTERS OF HORROR: DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE
Directed by: Stuart Gordon
Starring: Ezra Godden
Extras: Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Stuart Gordon and Actor Ezra Godden, The Making of Dreams in the Witch House, Working with a Master - Stuart Gordon, Dreams, Darkness and Damnation - An Interview with Stuart Gordon, On Set - An Interview with Chelah Horsdal, SFX - Meet Brown Jenkin, Stuart Gordon Bio, Trailers, Still Gallery, Storyboard Gallery, DVD-Rom Screenplay, Screensaver and Original Story "Dreams in the witch House" by H.P. Lovecraft
Specifications: widescreen (1:77.1), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: 3/28/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR

M ASTERS OF HORROR: CIGARETTE BURNS
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Norman Reedus, Udo Kier
Extras: Audio Commentary by Director John Carpenter, Audio Commentary by Writers Drew McWeeny and Scott Swan, The Making of Cigarette Burns, Working with a Master - John Carpenter, Celluloid Apocalypse - An Interview with John Carpenter, On Set - An Interview with Norman Reedus, John Carpenter Bio, Trailers, Still Gallery, DVD-Rom Screenplay and Screensaver
Specifications: widescreen (1:77.1), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: 3/28/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
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We'll give Masters of Horror an A.