REVISITING THE ‘MASTERS OF HORROR’, INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD BY RICHARD MARTIN

5/5/2021

Revisiting the ‘Masters of Horror’

We are living in a golden age of horror on TV. Shows like ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘Supernatural’ and ‘American Horror Story’ have effectively taken the genre mainstream, offering weekly doses of gore and mayhem to the masses. Go back a decade or two however, and genre fans had far fewer options to choose from. Anthology shows, like ‘Tales From the Crypt’, ‘Monsters’ or ‘Tales From the Darkside’ were king during the horror heyday of the 1980s, providing cheesy and cheerful tongue in cheek horror in half hour bites. It wasn’t until 2005 that the TV horror anthology show got serious, and delivered arguably the most consistent, memorable and scary anthology show to date.

The brainchild of horror legend Mick Garris, the show’s title is no hyperbole. ‘Masters of Horror’ brought together the best horror talent Hollywood (and beyond) had to offer. Episodes directed by undisputed genre luminaries such as John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, Dario Argento and Stuart Gordon were like hour long movies brought to your TV screen. High production values, A-List talent and a free reign to do whatever they pleased resulted in some truly unforgettable work from a group of horror legends let off their leash. These are stories that have stayed with me in the fifteen years since many initially aired and, in this series, I’ll be revisiting all twenty-six episodes, one at a time, to shine a light on a fondly remembered and undeniably influential moment in horror TV history.
Join me as I take a look back at;

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road
Directed by: Don Coscarelli
Starring: Bree Turner, Ethan Embry, John DeSantis, Angus Scrimm
Original Air Date: 28 October 2005
Synopsis: A young woman fleeing a failing marriage finds herself running for her life against a monstrous serial killer, and uses her survivalist training to fight back.

Based on a short story written by horror icon Joe R Lansdale and directed by cult director of the ‘Phantasm’ series, ‘Incident on and Off a Mountain Road’ is a strong opening episode and effectively sets out what to expect from ‘Masters of Horror’ in general. You have a big-name horror director, with a story from an equally big-name horror writer, with a star of the horror big screen front and centre (in this case, Angus Scrimm, aka ‘Phantasm’s’ The Tall Man). This episode even features an early horror role for ‘Vacancy’ and ‘The Devil’s Candy’ actor, Ethan Embry. It also boasts fantastic effects work from Greg Nicotero (of ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Creepshow’ fame) which was a staple of the show’s two-year run.

The story is quick to get into the action as, within the first few minutes, Ellen (Bree Turner) has crashed into a seemingly abandoned car on a rural stretch of mountain road in the middle of the night. Being a considerate citizen, she gets out of the car to check on the other driver, only to find they have been taken by a horrifying giant of a man who signals his ill intentions straight away by chasing her off the road and into the woods, throwing knives at her as she flees.

If you’re expecting a lot of running and screaming, then those expectations are soon subverted as Ellen wastes no time in fighting back. Quickly setting a series of traps as she flees, she takes the fight to the killer almost straight away. We learn more about Ellen and how she has come about this survivalist knowhow through flashbacks to her time with first date, then boyfriend, then husband, Bruce (Ethan Embry). These flashbacks begin with an initially sweet meeting of the pair, Ellen obviously taken with Bruce’s easy charm and winning smile. Hints are given that he may not be as pleasant as he first appears, but back in the present, Ellen has bigger problems when a trap backfires and she is caught.

This brings us to one of the things I remember most vividly about this series in general, and that is the violence. Memories of watching relatively tame, comic book inspired TV horror in the 80s and 90s perhaps help set the expectation that Masters of Horror would be, if not family friendly, certainly nothing too explicit. This is TV after all. ‘Incident On and Off a Mountain Road’ dispels that notion pretty damn quickly as we get a lingering close up of a victims thigh impaled by a large, painfully sharp looking wooden stake. From there, Ellen and his other captive are taken back to the killer’s lair, which is tastefully decorated with decomposing corpses displayed proudly across the front yard, set up as scarecrows, moonlight shining through the holes where their eyes used to be.

Returning to the flashbacks, we see a slightly more militant, unhinged side to Bruce, as it’s quickly made clear he and Ellen have moved off-grid and Bruce is seemingly obsessed with teaching her how to shoot, handle knives, and do lots of other training in preparation for… whatever pending global catastrophe it is Bruce is worried about. The training has served Ellen well in the present, but you can’t help but think that their relationship isn’t going to end well.

Meanwhile, things have taken a turn for the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ as the killer has Ellen chained up in what can only be described as an industrial era torture dungeon in desperate need of a good wipe down. Here we meet Buddy (Angus Scrimm), a delightfully unhinged victim of the killer who has inexplicably survived, only to lose his mind. His interactions with Ellen are equal parts unsettling and hilarious and it really helps add to the overall sense of dread and unease, just in time for the episode’s big set-piece.

The eye drilling scene is definitely one I remember from my initial viewing. It stops short of actually showing the drill penetrating the eyeball, but barely, and it is pretty graphic and very well shot. These hyper violent moments become a bit of a staple of the show, as it becomes clear that there may be a bit of friendly rivalry going on with the Masters of Horror in regards to the gooey red stuff. This was a great opening gambit (albeit one that is easily topped. Where, however, is a story for another article).

If things have gotten grim for Ellen in the present, then it comes as a bit of a shock when things take an equally dark turn in the flashbacks. I can honestly say I blocked the whole penultimate scene with Bruce out, and re-watching now I can see why. Bruce’s actions that signal the final deterioration of their relationship are harrowing to watch and explain how Ellen got to where she is in present day. I won’t spoil the ending, but I enjoyed how it flipped the final girl trope on its head and some of Ellen’s actions in the closing minutes are an uncomfortable mix of understandable, justified, questionable, and downright evil.

I remember ‘Incident On and Off a Mountain Road’ being a strong entry in the series and my recent re-watch did nothing to displace that notion. Bree Turner does great work in this episode, especially impressive when she’s onscreen with such well known horror talent, and this is important because so much of this episode’s success relies on Ellen, who goes through massive shifts in personality and demeanour in the 50-minute runtime. The effects hold up surprisingly well for what is effectively a fifteen-year-old made for TV movie and the story does go in some genuinely surprising directions.

Next time, I’ll be looking at episode two of the first season, Stuart Gordon’s ‘H.P Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch-House’. See you then!

Richard is an avid reader and fan of all things horror. He supports Indie horror lit via Twitter (@RickReadsHorror) and reviews horror in all its forms for several websites including Horror Oasis and Sci Fi and Scary