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;
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;
Haeckel’s Tale
Directed by: John McNaughton
Starring: Derek Cecil, Leela Savasta, Tom McBeath, Jon Polito
Original Air Date: 27 January 2006
Synopsis: A young medical student trying to discover ways of bringing the dead back to life encounters a necromancer when travelling home to visit his ailing father.
Directed by: John McNaughton
Starring: Derek Cecil, Leela Savasta, Tom McBeath, Jon Polito
Original Air Date: 27 January 2006
Synopsis: A young medical student trying to discover ways of bringing the dead back to life encounters a necromancer when travelling home to visit his ailing father.
Revisiting the ‘Masters of Horror’: Haeckel’s Tale
There is so much about ‘Haeckel’s Tale’ that had me looking forward to re-watching it. My memories of it when first watching it when it aired were spotty (although there is one scene that stuck in my mind, and I’m sure you know which one I mean. It’s nothing if not memorable) but it is an episode based on a short story by one of my all-time favourite horror authors (Clive Barker) and is one that was initially due to be directed by George A. Romero, a man truly deserving of the title of Master of Horror. It also seems to be a largely well-liked episode, so I was surprised when, on my recent re-watch, that I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I had expected to.
The episode is bookended by a wraparound story of a young man visiting an elderly Necromancer who he would like to employ to bring his recently deceased wife back from the dead. While initially reluctant, she agrees on one condition. He should first hear her cautionary tale of a young medical student and his ill-fated dalliance with the undead and, should he still wish his wife brought back upon hearing the story, then she will do as he asks.
Things get off to a great start as McNaughton channels some serious Stuart Gordon vibes as the intro is basically a 19th Century period version of Re-Animator. Ernst Haeckel (Derek Cecil) is a headstrong and arrogant medical student who is adamant that he is able to revive the dead. Shamed by a disastrous attempt in front of his teacher and fellow students, he visits Montesquino, a necromancer who seems to have mastered the art of reanimating the dead, a fact that he publicly demonstrates when he brings a (very) dead dog back to life. The reanimation is more ‘Pet Semetery’ than ‘Frankenweenie’, as the poor dog does a laudable Brundlefly impression in front of the gathered crowd. Haeckel suspects some form of trickery to be involved, but he is the crowds only sceptic, as one couple approach the Montesquino with pleas to bring their deceased son back from the dead, something which he is more than happy to do… for a price.
This highlights one of my two major issues with ‘Haeckel’s Tale’. Having never read the Clive Barker short, I’m not sure whether my complaint lies with the story or the adaptation specifically but, as presented on screen, there are some jarring lapses in rational thinking amongst many of the characters. The couple in this scene are depicted as god-fearing Christians, who have just witnessed a particularly unpleasant resurrection. It is hard to express without having watched the sequence just how unlikely it is that anyone who saw the dog’s revival would ever want that to happen to their child. This isn’t the worst example (we’ll get to that later) but it is a noticeable issue and one that persists throughout.
When Haeckel learns that his father has taken ill, he leaves his studies and sets off to visit him. He is saved from a night sleeping outside (by a cemetery no less) by a kindly man (Walter, played by Tom McBeath) who takes him back to his home where he lives with his wife Elise (Leela Savasta) and their young baby for a meal and a bed for the night. Haeckel is immediately smitten with his Elise, who is decades younger than Walter. Walter, in turn, notices the attraction and seems almost indifferent to it. Things get all the more intriguing when, after Haeckel has gone to bed, he hears inhuman wails from outside the house, and notices Elise gazing longingly out of the window before leaving the house and going out in search of the source of the noise.
What follows is one of Masters of Horror’s more memorable set-pieces, and the only sequence where you get the sense that this is based on a Barker story, as we find out the noises were of Elise’s undead husband, who Walter has had resurrected by Montesquino to *ahem* ‘satisfy’ his wife. While Elise enjoys an undead orgy (there are other zombies besides the husband, for reasons which aren’t explained) Haeckel confronts Walter and the Necromancer and, in a spectacular display of baffling behaviour, decides that the best course of action is to kill them both, leaving the zombie sex party to play out undisturbed.
The episode is bookended by a wraparound story of a young man visiting an elderly Necromancer who he would like to employ to bring his recently deceased wife back from the dead. While initially reluctant, she agrees on one condition. He should first hear her cautionary tale of a young medical student and his ill-fated dalliance with the undead and, should he still wish his wife brought back upon hearing the story, then she will do as he asks.
Things get off to a great start as McNaughton channels some serious Stuart Gordon vibes as the intro is basically a 19th Century period version of Re-Animator. Ernst Haeckel (Derek Cecil) is a headstrong and arrogant medical student who is adamant that he is able to revive the dead. Shamed by a disastrous attempt in front of his teacher and fellow students, he visits Montesquino, a necromancer who seems to have mastered the art of reanimating the dead, a fact that he publicly demonstrates when he brings a (very) dead dog back to life. The reanimation is more ‘Pet Semetery’ than ‘Frankenweenie’, as the poor dog does a laudable Brundlefly impression in front of the gathered crowd. Haeckel suspects some form of trickery to be involved, but he is the crowds only sceptic, as one couple approach the Montesquino with pleas to bring their deceased son back from the dead, something which he is more than happy to do… for a price.
This highlights one of my two major issues with ‘Haeckel’s Tale’. Having never read the Clive Barker short, I’m not sure whether my complaint lies with the story or the adaptation specifically but, as presented on screen, there are some jarring lapses in rational thinking amongst many of the characters. The couple in this scene are depicted as god-fearing Christians, who have just witnessed a particularly unpleasant resurrection. It is hard to express without having watched the sequence just how unlikely it is that anyone who saw the dog’s revival would ever want that to happen to their child. This isn’t the worst example (we’ll get to that later) but it is a noticeable issue and one that persists throughout.
When Haeckel learns that his father has taken ill, he leaves his studies and sets off to visit him. He is saved from a night sleeping outside (by a cemetery no less) by a kindly man (Walter, played by Tom McBeath) who takes him back to his home where he lives with his wife Elise (Leela Savasta) and their young baby for a meal and a bed for the night. Haeckel is immediately smitten with his Elise, who is decades younger than Walter. Walter, in turn, notices the attraction and seems almost indifferent to it. Things get all the more intriguing when, after Haeckel has gone to bed, he hears inhuman wails from outside the house, and notices Elise gazing longingly out of the window before leaving the house and going out in search of the source of the noise.
What follows is one of Masters of Horror’s more memorable set-pieces, and the only sequence where you get the sense that this is based on a Barker story, as we find out the noises were of Elise’s undead husband, who Walter has had resurrected by Montesquino to *ahem* ‘satisfy’ his wife. While Elise enjoys an undead orgy (there are other zombies besides the husband, for reasons which aren’t explained) Haeckel confronts Walter and the Necromancer and, in a spectacular display of baffling behaviour, decides that the best course of action is to kill them both, leaving the zombie sex party to play out undisturbed.
I think that this may have worked better if the episode were able to decide upon a tone, but it seems to flip between ‘Re-animator’ style black comedy, and grim period horror, never settling on one or the other and the episode suffers for it. Had the above sequence been played more comedic, it might have worked a lot better. On the other hand, had the episode treated the subject a little more seriously, we might have gotten some rationalisation for how things played out but, as it is, things switch between silly and serious from scene to scene, to the episode’s detriment.
The following morning, the undead return to their graves and Haeckel is left with two dead bodies and a much cheerier Elise. Haeckel demands an explanation for what he witnessed the previous night. Elise is content not to offer one but does confess that her baby is not Walter’s, but actually, her deceased husbands, conceived long after he had died. To be fair, the baby does bear a striking resemblance to its father, with its grey mottled skin and glassy eyes. It even takes after its zombie dad when Elise asks Haeckel to hold him and the baby takes a great big bite of his jugular. Holding a zombie baby to his neck may not have been Haeckel’s first dubious decision of the episode, but it was pretty definitively his last.
The wraparound story ends with a not altogether unexpected, but well-executed twist (including the surprise return of Haeckel) but, needless to say, the young man decides that perhaps bringing his wife back from the dead may not be the best idea after all.
There is a lot to like about ‘Haeckel’s Tale’. The episode gets off to a very strong start, wearing its influences (namely Frankenstein) on its sleeve and its 19th Century setting is a lot of fun. The episodes big reveal is effective and memorable and the addition of the wraparound story works very well. Were it not for a somewhat uneven tone and a lot of very questionable actions from the characters, I think this would have been a strong episode, and certainly something a little different to what the series had offered to date. As it is, I left feeling it was a fun but flawed entry that didn’t quite deliver on its promise.
Join me next time as I’ll be looking at episode thirteen of the first season, Takashi Miike’s ‘Imprint’. See you then!
If you missed any of Richard's previous Revisting The Masters of Horror articles, you can find links to them all here on our handy landing page
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
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