"Masters of Horror" Haeckel's Tale (2006)

Director:

John McNaughton

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
Mick Garris (teleplay) ...

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

27 January 2006 (Season 1, Episode 12)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

While on his way to see his sick father, a man takes shelter with an elderly man and his young wife but soon discovers their horrible secret.

Plot Keywords:

Necromancer | Cemetery | Sex With The Dead | Storytelling | Decay

Cast

Derek Cecil	...	Ernst Haeckel
Leela Savasta	...	Elise Wolfram
Tom McBeath	...	Wolfram
Steve Bacic	...	John Ralston
Gerard Plunkett	...	Dr. Hauser (as Gerrard Plunkett)
Micki Maunsell	...	Miz Carnation
Jon Polito	...	Montesquino
Pablo Coffey	...	Chester
Warren Kimmel	...	Faron
Jill Morrison	...	Rachel
Elizabeth McQuade	...	Young Woman
Christopher DeLisle	...	Elise's Dead Husband

Runtime:

59 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Germany:18 | Argentina:16 | Italy:VM14 | France:-12 (TV rating) | France:-16 (DVD rating) | UK:18 | Finland:K-15 (TV rating) (self applied) (2008) | Finland:K-18 (DVD) (self applied) (2007)

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

British Columbia Production Tax Credit

Trivia:

George A. Romero was originally going to direct, but couldn't fit it in his schedule. Then Roger Corman was approached to helm the episode, but health issues came up and he was then replaced by John McNaughton.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Wolfram brings Haeckel to the cabin for the first time, it's clear that there are no other cabins next to it. However, when Haeckel walks to the cabin in the morning after waking up in the graveyard, there is now a big rustic cabin next to Wolfram and Elisa's cabin in the background.

Old school classic, one of the series' best

This is squarely in the tradition of AIP/Hammer/Bava period Gothic chillers (with a touch of Romero) which mixed horror and eroticism back in the 60s and 70s on a routine basis, before nudity again became somewhat taboo in our increasingly conservative culture. For me, this one has it all - a naked nympho, atmospheric sets, cool monster makeup, and best of all - ZOMBIE SEX! This is totally a B movie - B meaning going back to the basics of breasts, beasts and blood - and I loved it unashamedly. The scene in the fog-shrouded graveyard with the orgasmic babe being mauled by horny zombies is stunning, like an uncensored full page panel from one of those B&W horror mags of the 70s, Creepy, Vampirella or Eerie - in the full-colored flesh. I'd like to freeze-frame it and hang it on the wall of my tiki lounge. This is the greatest zombie sex flick since "Cemetery Man" and the addition of the zombie baby is a nice nod to Pete Jackson's "Dead Alive." Along with the equally erotic (and twisted) "JENIFER" and "SICK GIRL" - another very entertaining drive-in throwback - this is my favorite of the MOH series so far (season one.)