FEAR ITSELF
DVD. Lionsgate.

First broadcast on US TV in 2008, Fear Itself finally comes to UK DVD as a three disc set that is a predictably mixed bag, but with more highs than lows. Very much a smaller scale follow up to Masters of Horror, this series - also created by Mick Garris – features thirteen 46 minute stories rather than feature length tales, and has US network TV restrictions, meaning no nudity or swearing – though the gore and violence is still around. But like the earlier show, it features stories shot by some big name directors.

The opening episode*, The Sacrifice, gets things off to an impressive start. Directed by Breck Eisner, it opens with a car load of bank robbers escaping a failed hold up where one of them was shot and winding up in what seems to be an Amish-like isolated community, where the only residents seem to be Rachel Miner and Mircea Monroe. A darkly twisted take on the vampire myth, The Sacrifice is moody, creepy and impressively bleak, and Rachel Miner manages to be both tragic and alluring in the lead role.

Things become less impressive with In Sickness and Health, directed by John Landis. This story of the ultimate wedding jitters, with bride-to-be Maggie Lawson handed a note saying 'the person you are about to marry is a serial killer', struggles to decide what tone to take – one minute aiming for creepy paranoia, the next for comedic effect. It doesn't really gell, and the final twist makes no sense within the context of character reactions earlier in the story.

Skin & Bones, directed by Larry Fessenden, is a return to form, with rancher Grady returning after being lost in the mountains, possessed by a Wendigo – a Native American spirit with a massive appetite. The creepy, claustrophobic story is made even more effective by the presence of disturbingly skinny Doug Jones, who has a potently demonic presence (supported by impressive prosthetics).

The Circle is a rather bland story with an author, his wife, publicist and agent all trapped in a cabin by an enclosing blackness – the result of witchcraft. With zombie like infection spreading, the story feels a little too old hat to really be effective, and none of the characters are particularly likeable, so you don't really care about their fate.

Disc One closes with The Spirit Box, which feels like a rejected movie proposal that has been retooled. Starring Anna Kendrick and Jessica Parker Kennedy as two teenage girls trying to contact the ghost of a dead classmate and investigating her apparent suicide, it's passable teen horror, but feels somewhat out of place in the series.

Disc Two opens with Spooked, where Bad Cop Eric Roberts is haunted by his past – both his corrupt and brutal police career and his childhood. It's and effective, if slight tale directed slickly by Brad Anderson, and shows Roberts is still capable of giving a solid performance when not battling mutant sharks.

Eater, directed by Stuart Gordon, is a tale of a shape shifting Cajun serial killer who breaks lose in a police station and causes havoc, with only rookie cop Elisabeth Moss to tackle him. It's not bad, but it feels as though the story has been stretched somewhat – this might have been more effective in a 30 minute time slot.

Darren Lynn Bousman's New Years Day shouldn't work, given that it's yet another end-of-the-world zombie story, but it's unfolding story – co-written by Steve Niles and told with frequent flashbacks to the night before as Briana Evigan tries to make her way to her boyfriend's apartment – is handled well, and it's the best looking zombie story to emerge in some time – dark, moody, chaotic and threatening. There is also an impressive twist to the tale that gives it a degree of originality.

The final episode on this disc is Community, directed by Marry Harron and starring Brandon Routh and Shiri Abbleby as a young couple who move to an exclusive gated community to start a family. But they soon find that the rules in this community are rigidly enforced – including having a child to a contracted schedule and being watched at all times. While the final twist is no surprise, it's handled effectively, and the story channels that Stepford Wives sense of sinister perfection well.

Disc 3 opens with The Family Man, directed by Ronny Yu, where God-fearing Christian Colin Ferguson has a near-fatal car crash and wakes up in the body of imprisoned serial killer Clifton Collins Jr. Worse still, the killer is now possessing his body and living with his family. It's a slight story, but solidly put together and has a suitably mean-spirited ending.

Something with Bite is the most light-hearted story of the series, a comedic story of a vet (Wendel Pierce) who is bitten by a werewolf and finds the ensuing lyncanthropic infection to be the best thing that's ever happened to him. It's rather throwaway stuff, but a lot of fun anyway, and the werewolf is suitably monstrous looking.

Chance is the story of a man (Ethan Embry) who finds his life going from bad to worse – scammed by an antique dealer and in massive debt, he's quickly seeing the bodies pile up as everything goes wrong. He's egged on in his downward spiral by his psychologically created mirror image in a grim tale that doesn't quite work for some reason.

The final episode, Echoes, is also a little lacklustre. A story of past life regression and history repeating itself, it's handsomely mounted and well handled by Rupert Wainwright, but the story and the characters don't have enough substance for you to really care about them.

It must be said that even the weakest episodes of the series are not awful – each is entirely watchable, if unmemorable. And at its best Fear Itself is pretty impressive, delivering shocks, chills and decent drama. At times, it feels as though the stories are over reaching themselves – I would maintain that the 30 minute format is the best for this sort of thing – but there are a lot of things here to admire, including the impressive opening titles and Serj Tankian theme tune. While not up the the standards of Masters of Horror, this series is a decent enough follow up, and fans of that series might want to check this out too.

* The DVD set features episodes in a different running order than originally broadcast. I'm referring to them in this review in the order the appear on disc.

DAVID FLINT

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