"Masters of Horror" Valerie on the Stairs (2006)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Mick Garris

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
Mick Garris (teleplay)

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

21 October 2006 (Season 2, Episode 8)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Taken from a Clive Barker original screen story, tells the tale of a novelist who discovers there are fates worse than literary anonymity in this sexually-charged tale of terror.

Plot Keywords:

Novelist | Demon Rape | Lesbian Kiss | Aspiring Writer | Rejection

Cast

Christopher Lloyd	...	Everett Neely
Tyron Leitso	...	Rob Hanisey
Suki Kaiser	...	Patricia Dunbar
Nicola Lipman	...	Nancy Bloom
Jonathan Watton	...	Bruce Sweetland
Clare Grant	...	Valerie
Tony Todd	...	The Beast
Christine Barrie	...	Anna

Runtime:

60 min | Germany:57 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Australia:MA (2007) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:16

Company:

Starz Productions

Trivia:

The rejection letter in the opening shots from DMG Publishing House is dated February 29, 2007. Obviously that date does not exist in our world, as 2007 is not a leap year.

Movie Connections:

References "The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Valerie On The Stairs

I find it distressing that people are so in need of having EVERYTHING explained to them. I had absolutely no difficulty whatever following Valerie and processing what was going on. Granted, I had it figured out about halfway in, but the ride was still OK. One has to remember, there are time restrictions and rating restrictions involved in making made-for-TV productions. I'm sure the story as written was far darker than what was able to be put on screen. Insofar as the comments regarding Barker's writing, I must take issue with this. I believe the person who made them is far too young or naive to "get" the writing, and I doubt that there has been much of the material this person has read. A great deal of Barker's work, particularly the earlier work, is some of the darkest and hardest hitting work in the field...AND THE MOST ADULT. It goes places many people do not wish to go and is EXTREMELY visceral. It goes to the deepest hidden fantasies & brings them to the surface. (Example: Hellraiser--the original, not the follow-ups). Based upon the manner in which this was approached, I do not think this person "got" it at all, and with the typical American short attention span and inability to think for themselves, finds no joy in having to actually think for 2 minutes. This is why Most popular American film is trash..infantile plots, continual explaining, consistent "happy" endings & everything all tied up in a freakin' bow at the end. Any time one is forced to perhaps think, perhaps speculate...Oh, No, my brain will explode...Granted, it was a shallow representation of Barker's work at best...again...restraints of the industry.