Masters of Horror Vol. 1

aka: Cigarette Burns, Dreams in the Witch House
USA 2005, 120 minutes
Dir. John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon
Rating: [R18]
Genres: Horror

Feat. Norman Reedus, Udo Kier

Aroview: The brainchild of dir. Mick Garris (THE STAND), this anthology produced by the Showtime cable network commissions some of the genre's greatest exponents to direct a 60-minute horror film, and has garnered a cult following in and out of the US, where the likes of John Carpenter, Dario Argento and Takashi Miike (whose episode was subsequently banned from the airwaves) have contributed memorably to the series.

CIGARETTE BURNS: John Carpenter directs this obsessive tale of a researcher hunting for a rare and notorious film print with typical slow-burn tension and flair.

DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE: RE-ANIMATOR dir. Stuart Gordon skillfully adapts another H.P Lovecraft short story, this time about the onset of madness when a student rents a sinister room once occupied by a 17th century witch.