This cable version of Masters of Horror has it's limitations but still manages to find itself a good foothold as a decent addition to horror television. There's a lot of talent here with directors such as Stuart Gordon, John Landis, Brad Anderson Ronnie Yu and many more each taking a shot at a 45 minute mini movie made for cable. Some of the effects by KNB are fantastic. They're werewolf effect in Something With Bite is amazing, and just goes to prove that practical is almost always better than CGI. There are some low points. John Landis's entry is probably the weakest. Although on a whole I find him to be rather hit or miss himself. As a whole this series is better than the second season of Master's of Horror by a long shot. These are some of my favorite directors anyways, and it's neat to see what else they can do. It's streaming on Netflix now. If you're a fan of horror there's no reason to not watch this. It's often corny and goofy, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth your time.
24 Reviews
Don't give up hope yet
NicolaAnnTweedie26 July 2008
This show is not excellent but it isn't bad either, each week the show seems to be improving, not to mention a more well known variation of cast members.
It is entirely up to the viewer their own points of view but in mine its worth giving it a watch, especially the new years day or eater episodes.
Unfortunately those who expect this to compare or even match up to supernatural are sadly mistaken, this show is in an element of its own and should not be compared to anything else. i think this is why the majority of people are quick to disregard this show, as they compare it to much more successful longer running shows.
who knows maybe this will turn into a long running show.
all we need to do is give it a chance.
It is entirely up to the viewer their own points of view but in mine its worth giving it a watch, especially the new years day or eater episodes.
Unfortunately those who expect this to compare or even match up to supernatural are sadly mistaken, this show is in an element of its own and should not be compared to anything else. i think this is why the majority of people are quick to disregard this show, as they compare it to much more successful longer running shows.
who knows maybe this will turn into a long running show.
all we need to do is give it a chance.
Quality varies from episode to episode
Derpyderpaderp25 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I came across Fear Itself (and its prior 'Masters of...' series) a week ago whilst looking through the Sci-Fi listings on TV.com. Lured by the idea of a new premise each episode, I downloaded all the aired episodes to date of this review.
With everything entirely different each episode, the series seems cold and lost, which some will like, some won't. It's also only fair that I review each episode individually because of this. Some episodes aren't too strong, for this, I would recommend the series to young or easily-scared viewers rather than more mature viewers who won't be as impressed.
I've put some plot keywords down as tips (settings, characters, story) to each episode, nothing too spoiling, and nothing the current synopsises won't provide you with. If you don't want to know *anything* about the episode, then avoid gazing at them, since the reviews don't spoil anything at all, and will be useful pointers as to which episodes to not waste 40 minutes of your life on.
1. The Sacrifice: 7/10 (Plot keywords; Vampire, survival, trapped, fort) The first episode was filmed in the same secluded fort used for the film Ginger Snaps Back, so more than top marks for the setting/scenery. I can't say much about the episode basis without spoiling it, but the plot was 'good'. However some the dialogue and voice acting could have been better, as well as some corners polished, but this is something to expect from the series.
2. Spooked: 4/10 (Plot keywords; Haunted house, set up, traumatic childhood flashbacks) This episode's premise was rather weak, combined with the fact I can't stand Eric Roberts for some reason, I didn't really enjoy it. Whilst the storyline could have had potential, the execution of it was terrible.
3. Family Man: 8.5/10 (Plot keywords; Spiritual transmigration, serial killer, family man, prison) Brilliant premise, this episode really stands out from the rest - extremely dark (if not too dark), well-written and well-executed - definitely a 'must-see'.
4. In Sickness and in Health: 2/10 (Plot keywords; Wedding, church, serial killer, chase, so-so) From the synopsis I could tell this episode wouldn't pull it off, but it really, really stank. Seriously, I didn't know they could write plot holes this big. I cannot believe how bad this episode was, two points for the slightly-eery church at night setting.
5. Eater: 2/10 (Plot keywords; Voodoo cannibal, prison) Again, pretty poor episode with no twist to it... And like the last episode, the ending made it go from bad to worse... *yawn*
6. New Year's Day: 8/10 (Plot keywords; Zombies, city chaos, survival) I quite liked this episode. I quite liked how zombies weren't always necessarily trying to run for the protagonist, but instead lurching around distracted close-by. Both the twist and ending for this episode were great. I'd say the sets were definitely 'well-used' over the time-line, there could have been less flashbacks, but great episode anyway.
7. Community: 6/10 (Plot keywords; Housing estate conspiracy, contract, brainwashing) Despite there not being much twist to this episode, I quited liked it's consistent conspiracy feel, and the ending was quite sad.
If possible, I will update this review as further episodes air.
With everything entirely different each episode, the series seems cold and lost, which some will like, some won't. It's also only fair that I review each episode individually because of this. Some episodes aren't too strong, for this, I would recommend the series to young or easily-scared viewers rather than more mature viewers who won't be as impressed.
I've put some plot keywords down as tips (settings, characters, story) to each episode, nothing too spoiling, and nothing the current synopsises won't provide you with. If you don't want to know *anything* about the episode, then avoid gazing at them, since the reviews don't spoil anything at all, and will be useful pointers as to which episodes to not waste 40 minutes of your life on.
1. The Sacrifice: 7/10 (Plot keywords; Vampire, survival, trapped, fort) The first episode was filmed in the same secluded fort used for the film Ginger Snaps Back, so more than top marks for the setting/scenery. I can't say much about the episode basis without spoiling it, but the plot was 'good'. However some the dialogue and voice acting could have been better, as well as some corners polished, but this is something to expect from the series.
2. Spooked: 4/10 (Plot keywords; Haunted house, set up, traumatic childhood flashbacks) This episode's premise was rather weak, combined with the fact I can't stand Eric Roberts for some reason, I didn't really enjoy it. Whilst the storyline could have had potential, the execution of it was terrible.
3. Family Man: 8.5/10 (Plot keywords; Spiritual transmigration, serial killer, family man, prison) Brilliant premise, this episode really stands out from the rest - extremely dark (if not too dark), well-written and well-executed - definitely a 'must-see'.
4. In Sickness and in Health: 2/10 (Plot keywords; Wedding, church, serial killer, chase, so-so) From the synopsis I could tell this episode wouldn't pull it off, but it really, really stank. Seriously, I didn't know they could write plot holes this big. I cannot believe how bad this episode was, two points for the slightly-eery church at night setting.
5. Eater: 2/10 (Plot keywords; Voodoo cannibal, prison) Again, pretty poor episode with no twist to it... And like the last episode, the ending made it go from bad to worse... *yawn*
6. New Year's Day: 8/10 (Plot keywords; Zombies, city chaos, survival) I quite liked this episode. I quite liked how zombies weren't always necessarily trying to run for the protagonist, but instead lurching around distracted close-by. Both the twist and ending for this episode were great. I'd say the sets were definitely 'well-used' over the time-line, there could have been less flashbacks, but great episode anyway.
7. Community: 6/10 (Plot keywords; Housing estate conspiracy, contract, brainwashing) Despite there not being much twist to this episode, I quited liked it's consistent conspiracy feel, and the ending was quite sad.
If possible, I will update this review as further episodes air.
Its not bad.
jc13878 August 2008
With all the negative reviews of this show I found it important to point out a few things. For one this is a show that is made from cult horror directors/writers and its on nbc. Two most of the directors where not happy with that fact that they had to choose from a small selection of scripts and didn't have a lot of time to prepare for their episodes. On the other hand its the only network TV horror show on this summer and props to nbc for that. Spooked and Community are the two bright spots in the series thus far, in sickness and health and new years day where not very good. All the other episodes were very watchable for horror fans. Im not going to give this show a rating cause its not important. Look in it in this theory i rather have a bad football team in my city(cleveland) then none at all. All over I was disappointed with this series but ill give nbc and mick and his crew credit for trying to bring the show to network TV.
Fear Itself may give "Supernatural" a run for its money.
johnnymacbest21 June 2008
Since "Supernatural" is in reruns, Fear Itself warrants a look for those seeking their "things-that-go-bump-in-the-night" fix. Suspenseful and gripping in sixty minutes, instead of seeing the lead characters in "Supernatural" this show features some familiar and new faces and their performances are above average but their dynamics are what make the show great with a good pinch of subtlety; never knowing what's gonna happen next. Even more impressive is despite having great production values, some of the best writers of horror fiction lend their pen to ensure good stories and keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Although its obvious its a "season replacement" for the summer, it satisfies it's core audience really well in every regard and if time persists, may knock "Supernatural" as top-dog of TV horror series.
Check it out!!
Check it out!!
A blood and gore horror series that has little twist and it's endings are to predictable.
blanbrn5 July 2008
"NBC's" new horror series "Fear Itself" so far has had plenty of blood and gore as the series always has spooky stories that centers around themes of vampires, crazy ghost, and gruesome serial killers. Some of the episodes have been better than others, yet most have been to predictable as it's suspense has been to punishing and not enough of a tingle to the nerve. Also so far only about two episodes have had a good twist that was the one in which Eric Roberts stared as a P.I., and the "Family Man" episode the rest are so predictable. Still at times the suspense does remind one of "The Twilight Zone", with it's spooky feel similar to "The Hitchhiker" series and the gore and blood equals "Tales from the Crypt" in some ways. Still the series falls almost flat because of the predictable and campy stories because so many of them don't have any plot twist and no humor is involved. So really even if you like horror TV series you can be alright to pass on these feel-bad fables.
Love every last minute!
durhamscaraudio23 August 2008
Well written spooky little shows that leave me begging for the next weeks contribution. If you are a Tales from the crypt fan, Masters of Horror fan or just love horror this is up your alley. I really hope to see more seasons or this to move back to Showtime or HBO! I noticed some people are unhappy with this show but I can't understand why? Being made for mainstream television the writers are doing all they can to get as much gore in there as possible. I hope to see more of these shows even if they have to do a direct to DVD type of approach. I think my favorite episodes at this point are In sickness and in health and Skin and bones. If you have not yet watched this series check it out. I think you will find it entertaining and fun.
Pretty Good
patiofurnitur5 August 2017
It's an anthology, which, depending, can be good or bad.
I like most of the actors, the directing was good.
I have yet watched all episodes, sort of 'hoarding' them.
There were definite twists and turns, which is always good. (You know, when you 'think' he/she 'did it', but, it turns out you're wrong.) To me, that's good writing, acting & directing.
I like most of the actors, the directing was good.
I have yet watched all episodes, sort of 'hoarding' them.
There were definite twists and turns, which is always good. (You know, when you 'think' he/she 'did it', but, it turns out you're wrong.) To me, that's good writing, acting & directing.
Excellent TV Horror show
burgif28 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I am amazed with all the negative feedback here, this show so far is superb, put it this way it is the twilight zone; tales from the crypt and the outer limits in one show, it is far more entertaining than the flood of B grade horror movies that came recently, the show episodes deals with different horror themes like Canibalism and witchcraft in (Eater), Zombies in (New Years Eve), Vampires in (Sacrifice), Ghosts in (Spooked), Body switch in (Family man) and the list go on. The actors, the scenario, the direction and the cinematography are all excellent, in short words this series is for the die hard horror fan and I really wish that the producers of this show just keep making more seasons of this amazing series.
good TV
SnoopyStyle31 August 2017
This is an anthology horror series from NBC filmed in Canada. Surprisingly, the actors are top shelf with solid Canadians filling in the supporting cast. The stories are not scary but they play on the traditional horror tropes. It's a well-made series although it's not groundbreaking. There are thirteen episodes in total and only a few blander ones. It's usually a fun hour.
Breakdown of the episodes
theworstpirateever25 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Since with this style of series, you can't judge the series as a whole without judging the individual episodess, I'll go ahead and do so.
Sacrifice: Painfully awful. Terrible pacing, the blonde haired blue eyed Romanian women can't act whatsoever, the sound effects are overly gory while what they depict is nowhere near as gory (priest screams bloody murder over disgusting sounds, then they show him and he doesn't really have a scratch on him) Not believable in the slightest. I love the little fire thing at the end. A few drops of gasoline on a metal covering with holes in it that is attached to a stone well. Surely lighting a little bit that was on top of the cover will cause the contents of the well to be entirely engulfed in flame as depicted, even though very little gasoline save for maybe a medicine cup's even entered it, over a period of a few minutes.
Spooked: Great episode until the end. The end -really- disappoints me because you want -something- to be done to the chick. It just feels like you're robbed of that. Aside from the ending though, this is great, one of the better episodes.
Family Man: -Excellent-. This is beautifully written, the actors are top notch, the twist... oh god the twist hurts. In a good way. Honestly, this deserves to be its own full fledged film. The amazing part? This was done by the same guy that did Freddy vs Jason. Don't let that fool you, this isn't anywhere near like that. Without a doubt, this was the best episode of the series, and one of the best horror anthology episodes I've seen in a long, long time.
In Sickness and in Health: You know that thing it sitcoms where someone acts really angry, but then suddenly they're complimenting you? Like Superintendent Chalmers on Simpsons? Imagine that played straight in horror. Pretty bad, doesn't feel like Landis did this at all.
Easter: Great work. It managed to make me jump a few times, and the ending was highly creative.
New Years Day: Great until the fridge logic pops in and you realize that the plot twist creates a lot of plot holes. Also, the shaky camera gets really annoying.
Community: Terrible. Really hamfisted attack on suburban life. I honestly suggest watching this just for how bad it is.
Skin & Bones: Not bad, slightly above average. Doug Jones makes this episode worth watching, but the rest is not really that good. If you're a fan of the Wendigo legend or a Doug Jones fan, watch this.
Something With Bite: -Hilarious.- This feels more like a John Landis episode than the John Landis episode did. Amazingly done, really good werewolf costume too.
Echoes: Decent. The plot twist isn't predictable, at least.
Chance: Confusing, feels really unfinished. I'm thinking maybe this episode -was- unfinished, maybe one of the last episodes made.
The Spirit Box: Plot twist was -extremely- predictable. Also, the acting in this one is pretty off. If you can stand hollow teenager clichés solving a murder mystery, ...no, even then I'd suggest avoiding this.
The Circle: Must watch. It's so bad it's hilarious. The actors seem to just be having fun with it, like they -know- what they're doing is bad. One chick is trying to act like she's reading, but she keeps forgetting how to. Forward two pages, back one, forward one, back two, etc. Light pokes in when it's supposed to be night time, light only effects the monsters when it comes to flashlights for some reason, even though there's lamps and fire and... y'know, I'll just leave it at this: This feels like it could be expanded into a bad film that the Mystery Science Theater 3000/Rifftrax guys would love to riff.
Overall, I'd say just watch Spooked, Family Man, Something With Bite, and Eater. If you love to mock stuff, watch The Circle, Community, and Sacrifice.
Also, don't base your decision on who directed what episode. The better directors actually did some of the worst episodes, to the point where they don't feel like they were actually made by those directors.
Sacrifice: Painfully awful. Terrible pacing, the blonde haired blue eyed Romanian women can't act whatsoever, the sound effects are overly gory while what they depict is nowhere near as gory (priest screams bloody murder over disgusting sounds, then they show him and he doesn't really have a scratch on him) Not believable in the slightest. I love the little fire thing at the end. A few drops of gasoline on a metal covering with holes in it that is attached to a stone well. Surely lighting a little bit that was on top of the cover will cause the contents of the well to be entirely engulfed in flame as depicted, even though very little gasoline save for maybe a medicine cup's even entered it, over a period of a few minutes.
Spooked: Great episode until the end. The end -really- disappoints me because you want -something- to be done to the chick. It just feels like you're robbed of that. Aside from the ending though, this is great, one of the better episodes.
Family Man: -Excellent-. This is beautifully written, the actors are top notch, the twist... oh god the twist hurts. In a good way. Honestly, this deserves to be its own full fledged film. The amazing part? This was done by the same guy that did Freddy vs Jason. Don't let that fool you, this isn't anywhere near like that. Without a doubt, this was the best episode of the series, and one of the best horror anthology episodes I've seen in a long, long time.
In Sickness and in Health: You know that thing it sitcoms where someone acts really angry, but then suddenly they're complimenting you? Like Superintendent Chalmers on Simpsons? Imagine that played straight in horror. Pretty bad, doesn't feel like Landis did this at all.
Easter: Great work. It managed to make me jump a few times, and the ending was highly creative.
New Years Day: Great until the fridge logic pops in and you realize that the plot twist creates a lot of plot holes. Also, the shaky camera gets really annoying.
Community: Terrible. Really hamfisted attack on suburban life. I honestly suggest watching this just for how bad it is.
Skin & Bones: Not bad, slightly above average. Doug Jones makes this episode worth watching, but the rest is not really that good. If you're a fan of the Wendigo legend or a Doug Jones fan, watch this.
Something With Bite: -Hilarious.- This feels more like a John Landis episode than the John Landis episode did. Amazingly done, really good werewolf costume too.
Echoes: Decent. The plot twist isn't predictable, at least.
Chance: Confusing, feels really unfinished. I'm thinking maybe this episode -was- unfinished, maybe one of the last episodes made.
The Spirit Box: Plot twist was -extremely- predictable. Also, the acting in this one is pretty off. If you can stand hollow teenager clichés solving a murder mystery, ...no, even then I'd suggest avoiding this.
The Circle: Must watch. It's so bad it's hilarious. The actors seem to just be having fun with it, like they -know- what they're doing is bad. One chick is trying to act like she's reading, but she keeps forgetting how to. Forward two pages, back one, forward one, back two, etc. Light pokes in when it's supposed to be night time, light only effects the monsters when it comes to flashlights for some reason, even though there's lamps and fire and... y'know, I'll just leave it at this: This feels like it could be expanded into a bad film that the Mystery Science Theater 3000/Rifftrax guys would love to riff.
Overall, I'd say just watch Spooked, Family Man, Something With Bite, and Eater. If you love to mock stuff, watch The Circle, Community, and Sacrifice.
Also, don't base your decision on who directed what episode. The better directors actually did some of the worst episodes, to the point where they don't feel like they were actually made by those directors.
The best!
raavveenn5 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I missed the first episode and I thought to myself, maybe this will be horrible.
Then 'Spooked' came on and it wasn't as bad as expected but Eric Roberts acted good and the shocker was that there was no one living in that house at all and the girl was the ghost's sister and he accidentally gets shot by his buddy in the end and the sister gives a little grin. I found out what was happening when he walked into the empty house.
Along comes 'The Family Man' which has to be the greatest episode I've ever seen, even better than 'Masters of Horror,' with an ending so magnificent, I was in shock.
'IN Sickness and IN Health,' well, I don't want to talk about it.
and Eater with a great ending, good ending and creepy characters, also a great story and sets, that one gets my vote.
Overall I love Fear Itself and if it plays more episodes along the lines of 'The Family Man' and 'Eater' it might be the king.
Then 'Spooked' came on and it wasn't as bad as expected but Eric Roberts acted good and the shocker was that there was no one living in that house at all and the girl was the ghost's sister and he accidentally gets shot by his buddy in the end and the sister gives a little grin. I found out what was happening when he walked into the empty house.
Along comes 'The Family Man' which has to be the greatest episode I've ever seen, even better than 'Masters of Horror,' with an ending so magnificent, I was in shock.
'IN Sickness and IN Health,' well, I don't want to talk about it.
and Eater with a great ending, good ending and creepy characters, also a great story and sets, that one gets my vote.
Overall I love Fear Itself and if it plays more episodes along the lines of 'The Family Man' and 'Eater' it might be the king.
Fear Itself: Above Average Satisfying Horror Series
BatwebGothicReviews13 July 2016
Now available on Netflix, this TV series features various supernatural as well as suspense thriller motives. Almost every disk comes with four episodes, containing a little bit of different genres, with metaphysical/mystical themes or murders with a twist.
The theme song of the series is very charming and evocative, reminiscent of the Creature Feature kind of style for those readers familiar with it.
The arrangement of the episodes, two on each side, is a little peculiar by modern standards and the menu navigation is a little cumbersome, but the plots themselves are often worth the trouble and managed to surprise me with their twist unlike most detective stories which I can solve within minutes of reading or watching. In contrast, the occasional subtlety of Fear Itself allows the answers to remain hidden for a while longer.
In my opinion, such unpredictable twists of the murder mysteries along with the variety of the truly supernatural kinds of horror make for a delightful pastime.
Although structurally the episodes are not connected, each following an entirely independent cast of characters and plot lines, I can appreciate why some episodes were placed together based on their thematic similarity or, conversely, opposition.
Overall, I really like this series but I don't think I could like it as much if I expected another Twilight Zone(which it is certainly not, lacking a host) or R.L Stine's Haunting Hour(because each episode of Fear Itself is longer). Every story is either interesting or has potential and definitely takes its time to develop the escalation of terror, very similarly to a full feature film.
I hope after reading my review you guys would at least consider the very first disk, because it had, what I consider to be, the most brilliant episode of the entire series and if you don't like even it, you would know with relative surety that Fear Itself is not for you(I don't even have to spoil your fun by naming it or numbering it because when you see it, you'll know exactly which one I meant!).
The theme song of the series is very charming and evocative, reminiscent of the Creature Feature kind of style for those readers familiar with it.
The arrangement of the episodes, two on each side, is a little peculiar by modern standards and the menu navigation is a little cumbersome, but the plots themselves are often worth the trouble and managed to surprise me with their twist unlike most detective stories which I can solve within minutes of reading or watching. In contrast, the occasional subtlety of Fear Itself allows the answers to remain hidden for a while longer.
In my opinion, such unpredictable twists of the murder mysteries along with the variety of the truly supernatural kinds of horror make for a delightful pastime.
Although structurally the episodes are not connected, each following an entirely independent cast of characters and plot lines, I can appreciate why some episodes were placed together based on their thematic similarity or, conversely, opposition.
Overall, I really like this series but I don't think I could like it as much if I expected another Twilight Zone(which it is certainly not, lacking a host) or R.L Stine's Haunting Hour(because each episode of Fear Itself is longer). Every story is either interesting or has potential and definitely takes its time to develop the escalation of terror, very similarly to a full feature film.
I hope after reading my review you guys would at least consider the very first disk, because it had, what I consider to be, the most brilliant episode of the entire series and if you don't like even it, you would know with relative surety that Fear Itself is not for you(I don't even have to spoil your fun by naming it or numbering it because when you see it, you'll know exactly which one I meant!).
Dreadful
TechNoire27 June 2008
I love all things spooky and have watched many a not-so-great show just because it has a horror element. When I watched the pilot episode of this series I thought it had potential. But the production value of the following episodes never matched the pilot, the writing got more and more clichéd and predictable, the directing is not so great (pacing and timing, anyone?), and the acting... oh my god, the acting is so bad. Where did they find these people? Last night's episode was so freaking painful to watch (I have seen better performances at grade school talent shows) I turned it off after 5 minutes.
Don't waste your time.
Don't waste your time.
Give it a chance.....
violentcop511 July 2008
Come on fellows give it a chance, the series is only five episodes in and reviewers are already calling it the worst horror anthology to grace the TV! Thats not very fair. Personally, i was always worried about Masters of Horror moving to NBC, MOH was hit and miss, the first season; quite excellent in my book, the second besides Gordon's and Rob Schmidt's episodes was mediocre, the only thing making it watchable at most times was blood and tits, 'Fear Itself' has none of those simple fall backs going for it and i have to say its been holding up better than the latter season. 'The Sacrifice' and 'Eater' are fantastic, 'Family Man' and "Spooked' have their flaws but were entertaining, 'In Sickness and in Health' well, that one was horrible. I've been pleasantly surprised so far but if the rest of the episodes suck, ill be the first to admit it bites the big one but wait till the damn seasons over before you claim its the worst of the worst. I'm staying positive and looking forward to the rest of it before the verdicts out.
p.s.i will admit that title theme is the most horrible thing I've ever heard, i miss the MOH riff, oh well.
p.s.i will admit that title theme is the most horrible thing I've ever heard, i miss the MOH riff, oh well.
Spooked, too many opening clichés
gjb4220 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed the first two episodes. Fear Itself is a good addition to the summer drama shows. However, "Spooked" used one to many writing clichés. The detective's name is Harry, pretty close to a "Dirty Harry" rip-off in the opening scenes. Smoking of the cigar, was it necessary, or was Lionsgate prostituting itself to the American tobacco industry. Then when Harry has his own detective agency, his partner, an Afro-American, has a Big gun stuck in the back of his pants. What an Afro-American male stereotype! Finally, in the restaurant, Harry is ridiculously pouring a "ton of sugar" into his coffee cup. Are these the clichés about Americans that Canadian writers think they need in order to sell a drama in the US?
For Adult Goosebumps Fans
sammyv_629 March 2021
If you were ever a fan of series like Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark, this series might be at least semi-enjoyable. It's definitely cheesy, but it has its moments. If you get the chance to watch the episode with Doug Jones, don't pass it up!
In Sickness and in Health- GREAT
cnj559929 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was great. The two stars from Psych at a wedding to each other. The wife gets a letter saying something about how the person you are marrying is a killer. You think James is psycho but with the brother finding parts and you don't know if he is involved or not. You don't know who knows about it, what anyone knows with the family and friends all changing behavors and little innuendos and hints that they may know or be involved. Then the wife and husband have a little showdown. Youfind you that the wife, who has been scared the whole time, spoke to her new husband and asked him if he wanted to know what the note said. He says that he doesn't care and she will let him know when she is ready. Well she said she would, with a smile and she is the psycho. That twist at was GREAT!!!! Plus these two stars are terrific. Very different from their show.
Fun to watch, great value dvd set!!
joiningjt1 May 2020
The ever-lowering bar of horror anthology TV hits rock bottom with Fear Itself.
Navaros4 July 2008
Horror anthology on TV has been getting progressively worse since it hit it's pinnacle with Tales From the Crypt (TFTC). TFTC was an amazingly brilliant masterpiece of horror TV anthology series that set the bar for this type of programming as high as it could possibly be. Admittedly, TFTC jumped the shark and became a bad show in Season 7 when it moved production from USA to Britain for no reason. But that is only 1 bad Season out of 7. TFTC still provided 6 Seasons worth of perfect TV horror.
Then came Masters of Horror (MoH), and next notable TV horror anthology series. MoH was hit and miss. 8 of the 26 episodes of MoH were brilliant masterpieces. The other 18, however, ranged from mediocre to terrible; the lion's share being terrible. Despite being a bad series overall, at least that's 8 brilliant episodes of horror television that MoH contributed to the annals of great TV horror.
Then comes Fear Itself. Fear Itself is by it's very format, a vastly degraded version of MoH. TFTC which was made for HBO, MoH was made for Showtime. Both channels are not standard channels which the FCC regulates a lot and therefore both shows were able to get away with a lot more mature content than Fear Itself ever had any hope of doing on NBC. The result of this that that Fear Itself is by it's very format, a show geared for little kids. In terms of format and flexibility about what content they cannot show, Fear Itself is exactly on par with the old kids' TV shows "Goosebumps" or "Bonechillers" or "Are You Afraid of the Dark?".
However, although they are exactly on par with each other in terms of tone and what they cannot show, the *quality* of the content of Fear Itself is laughably worse than all of those kids' shows, to an extreme degree.
Fear Itself is horror anthology TV hitting rock bottom.
The 'theme song' to Fear Itself sounds like it's sung by a laboratory baboon who has just been injected by mad scientists with all kinds of wacky drugs. The 'singing' is profoundly asinine and painful to the ears. A shame that such good visuals during the opening credits are utterly ruined with that babyish assault upon the senses of a 'song'.
You may often have heard that Fear Itself is an hour long - that's wrong, don't believe it. Fear Itself is only 42 minutes long and 18 minutes of commercials. Despite having a very short 42 minute running-time, Fear Itself cannot even fill a fraction of that with meaningful content.
Fear Itself fails by trying to pad 15 minutes worth of content into 42 minutes. It's a problem with bad scripts and bad writing far more-so than running-time. The 42 minute running-time of Fear Itself is admittedly a less-than-ideal handicap for good storytelling. But Fear Itself doesn't do much of anything with the characters or plot even with the time they *do* have. In Fear Itself, the amount of content in the episode does not fit with the running-time of the episode. For example, look at the 'In Sickness and in Health' episode; 17 minutes wasted on repeating the same content over and over again (a bride panicking about a note in the Church and having inane conversations with her friends). All of that content which could *easily* have fit into 5 minutes or less.
The acting in Fear Itself is terrible across the board. As is the writing. As are the production values. As are the monster effects. As is the overall atmosphere which looks amateurish, as if it's shot with the cheapest rundown consumer camcorder you would find a local pawn shop. Definitely no suspense or scares to be found in Fear Itself. Fear Itself only employs D-List actors or worse. Sometimes, like in the episode 'Family Man', the D-List actors can surprise you and be excellent at acting. *Usually* though, they will be every bit as terrible as you expected them to be.
Almost every episode has dozens of plot-holes. To add insult to injury, the 'stories' are just rehashes of stale-old clichés that have been done a million times before.
Any viewer of Fear Itself could *undoubtedly* write *much* better dialogue, characters, and plot lines than are in Fear Itself; even someone with no talent for writing whatsoever.
A feature-length running-time is not required to tell a good story, as some have argued to try to make excuses for Fear Itself. For example, the MoH episode 'Incident on and Off a Mountain Road.' 55 minutes minus a few for opening and closing credits, and it had brilliant character & plot development and is a masterpiece in own right. Likewise with the MoH episode 'The Black Cat' which is ~57 minutes minus opening credits.
TFTC was a half-hour show, but those characters and plots were amazingly immersing and fleshed-out *despite that* in almost every single episode. In fact, some people remember TFTC as being 1 hour episodes because the episodes *feel* like they are due to being so richly-made with great characters and plots. That's *with* the opening and closing credits *and* Cryptkeeper's bookend segments before and after the content of each episode eating into the episode content time. Which just makes the accomplishment all the more remarkable.
Understandably, some horror fans want to accept Fear Itself simply because it is horror on TV, which in and of itself is a rare thing. The problem with accepting Fear Itself , despite it being garbage, is that it sets the bar for horror TV as low as it can possibly be. If that precedent is accepted, then future horror TV shows will be just as bad. Therefore, it is better to be honest about Fear Itself in order to let the makers of horror know that a good horror product is expected in the future, not more crap.
Then came Masters of Horror (MoH), and next notable TV horror anthology series. MoH was hit and miss. 8 of the 26 episodes of MoH were brilliant masterpieces. The other 18, however, ranged from mediocre to terrible; the lion's share being terrible. Despite being a bad series overall, at least that's 8 brilliant episodes of horror television that MoH contributed to the annals of great TV horror.
Then comes Fear Itself. Fear Itself is by it's very format, a vastly degraded version of MoH. TFTC which was made for HBO, MoH was made for Showtime. Both channels are not standard channels which the FCC regulates a lot and therefore both shows were able to get away with a lot more mature content than Fear Itself ever had any hope of doing on NBC. The result of this that that Fear Itself is by it's very format, a show geared for little kids. In terms of format and flexibility about what content they cannot show, Fear Itself is exactly on par with the old kids' TV shows "Goosebumps" or "Bonechillers" or "Are You Afraid of the Dark?".
However, although they are exactly on par with each other in terms of tone and what they cannot show, the *quality* of the content of Fear Itself is laughably worse than all of those kids' shows, to an extreme degree.
Fear Itself is horror anthology TV hitting rock bottom.
The 'theme song' to Fear Itself sounds like it's sung by a laboratory baboon who has just been injected by mad scientists with all kinds of wacky drugs. The 'singing' is profoundly asinine and painful to the ears. A shame that such good visuals during the opening credits are utterly ruined with that babyish assault upon the senses of a 'song'.
You may often have heard that Fear Itself is an hour long - that's wrong, don't believe it. Fear Itself is only 42 minutes long and 18 minutes of commercials. Despite having a very short 42 minute running-time, Fear Itself cannot even fill a fraction of that with meaningful content.
Fear Itself fails by trying to pad 15 minutes worth of content into 42 minutes. It's a problem with bad scripts and bad writing far more-so than running-time. The 42 minute running-time of Fear Itself is admittedly a less-than-ideal handicap for good storytelling. But Fear Itself doesn't do much of anything with the characters or plot even with the time they *do* have. In Fear Itself, the amount of content in the episode does not fit with the running-time of the episode. For example, look at the 'In Sickness and in Health' episode; 17 minutes wasted on repeating the same content over and over again (a bride panicking about a note in the Church and having inane conversations with her friends). All of that content which could *easily* have fit into 5 minutes or less.
The acting in Fear Itself is terrible across the board. As is the writing. As are the production values. As are the monster effects. As is the overall atmosphere which looks amateurish, as if it's shot with the cheapest rundown consumer camcorder you would find a local pawn shop. Definitely no suspense or scares to be found in Fear Itself. Fear Itself only employs D-List actors or worse. Sometimes, like in the episode 'Family Man', the D-List actors can surprise you and be excellent at acting. *Usually* though, they will be every bit as terrible as you expected them to be.
Almost every episode has dozens of plot-holes. To add insult to injury, the 'stories' are just rehashes of stale-old clichés that have been done a million times before.
Any viewer of Fear Itself could *undoubtedly* write *much* better dialogue, characters, and plot lines than are in Fear Itself; even someone with no talent for writing whatsoever.
A feature-length running-time is not required to tell a good story, as some have argued to try to make excuses for Fear Itself. For example, the MoH episode 'Incident on and Off a Mountain Road.' 55 minutes minus a few for opening and closing credits, and it had brilliant character & plot development and is a masterpiece in own right. Likewise with the MoH episode 'The Black Cat' which is ~57 minutes minus opening credits.
TFTC was a half-hour show, but those characters and plots were amazingly immersing and fleshed-out *despite that* in almost every single episode. In fact, some people remember TFTC as being 1 hour episodes because the episodes *feel* like they are due to being so richly-made with great characters and plots. That's *with* the opening and closing credits *and* Cryptkeeper's bookend segments before and after the content of each episode eating into the episode content time. Which just makes the accomplishment all the more remarkable.
Understandably, some horror fans want to accept Fear Itself simply because it is horror on TV, which in and of itself is a rare thing. The problem with accepting Fear Itself , despite it being garbage, is that it sets the bar for horror TV as low as it can possibly be. If that precedent is accepted, then future horror TV shows will be just as bad. Therefore, it is better to be honest about Fear Itself in order to let the makers of horror know that a good horror product is expected in the future, not more crap.
Full-o-problems
cb9414 May 2012
I will say at first the problem lies not with the Professional Directors, although they could definitely be doing something better. From watching these episodes I can tell that the problem lies with the writers, I mean we're talking talking about the writers of The Fly 2, Road House 2, usually not a single good horror film to their name, so what makes them think they can pull off a horror series when the last things they did were crap.
The acting is good though, the music's good, sets, props all good. It's just the awful writing. In fact, the title sequence is usually the only good thing about this series. With the title sequence, the music's awesome and the visionary's awesome, if only they had spent as much effort as they did on the actual series as they did with the titles.
The acting is good though, the music's good, sets, props all good. It's just the awful writing. In fact, the title sequence is usually the only good thing about this series. With the title sequence, the music's awesome and the visionary's awesome, if only they had spent as much effort as they did on the actual series as they did with the titles.
Wha..
dead-mouse-is27 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The Show Rocks and needs more...most of you people are expecting Award Winning Every Episodes..back off by a lot like a dude gave "eater" 2/8...really..tho the cannibal has been run into the ground ,him jumping body to body and trying to guess who he is now was very fun......really tho harsh reviews from people who ARE not directors and just sit on their ass and watch
wtf..10 lines
The Show Rocks and needs more...most of you people are expecting Award Winning Every Episodes..back off by a lot like a dude gave "eater" 2/8...really..tho the cannibal has been run into the ground ,him jumping body to body and trying to guess who he is now was very fun......really tho harsh reviews from people who ARE not directors and just sit on their ass and watch
wtf..10 lines
The Show Rocks and needs more...most of you people are expecting Award Winning Every Episodes..back off by a lot like a dude gave "eater" 2/8...really..tho the cannibal has been run into the ground ,him jumping body to body and trying to guess who he is now was very fun......really tho harsh reviews from people who ARE not directors and just sit on their ass and watch
Bad TV
E-un7 July 2008
This is a very mediocre stab at a genre that has been overdone, and in most cases usually much better than this. The stories are predictable and 1-dimensional. The two episodes I have seen so far had no plot progression at all, and in one case I predicted the 'twist' a mere 10 minutes into the show. 'Obvious' is the word I would use. Oh, and talk about boring... extremely.
As for acting, it's not too shabby, and music, sets, etc. are well above average. I just tend to think that there have been too many shows of this nature, and perhaps mixing in a slice of sci-fi and fantasy might make the stories less predictable.
As for acting, it's not too shabby, and music, sets, etc. are well above average. I just tend to think that there have been too many shows of this nature, and perhaps mixing in a slice of sci-fi and fantasy might make the stories less predictable.
It's so bad, it's bad
hateredblast23 November 2018
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