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

Director:

Mick Garris

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator)
Mick Garris (teleplay)
(more)

TV Series:

"Masters of Horror" (2005)

Original Air Date:

21 October 2006 (Season 2, Episode 8)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

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 | Author | Fireplace | Throat Slitting | Corpse

Cast

Tyron Leitso	...	Rob Hanisey
Nicola Lipman	...	Nancy Bloom
Jonathan Watton	...	Bruce Sweetland
Christopher Lloyd	...	Everett Neely
Christine Barrie	...	Anna
Clare Grant	...	Valerie
Suki Kaiser	...	Patricia Dunbar
Tony Todd	...	The Beast
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Juan Carlos Velis	...	Dude (uncredited)

Directed by
Mick Garris

Writing credits
Mick Garris		(creator)
Mick Garris		(teleplay)
Clive Barker		(based on a story by)

Produced by
Keith Addis	....	executive producer
Morris Berger	....	executive producer
Steve Best	....	associate producer
Stephen R. Brown	....	executive producer (as Steve Brown)
Ben Browning	....	co-producer
Andrew Deane	....	executive producer
Mick Garris	....	executive producer
Adam Goldworm	....	co-producer
John W. Hyde	....	executive producer
Lisa Richardson	....	producer
Tom Rowe	....	producer
Pascal Verschooris	....	line producer

Original Music by
Richard Band

Cinematography by
Jon Joffin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Andrew Cohen

Casting by
Stuart Aikins
Sean Cossey
Lindsey Hayes Kroeger
David Rapaport		(as David H. Rapaport)

Production Design by
David Fischer

Art Direction by
Don Macaulay

Set Decoration by
Ide Foyle

Costume Design by
Lyn Kelly

Makeup Department
Howard Berger	....	special makeup effects artist
Lyne Denomme	....	first assistant makeup artist
Mike Fields	....	on-set key makeup artist (as Michael Fields)
Sarah Graham	....	on-set key makeup artist
Marcy Hodel	....	first assistant hair stylist
Tami Lane	....	on-set key makeup artist
Gregory Nicotero	....	special makeup effects artist
Adina Shore	....	key hair stylist
Margaret Solomon	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Margo Coughlin Zimmerman	....	production manager: Starz Productions (as Margo Zimmerman)
Sally Dixon	....	post-production supervisor
Sheri Mayervich	....	unit production manager
Stacey Jade Smart	....	executive in charge of production: Starz Productions
Pascal Verschooris	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alexia S. Droz	....	second assistant director (as Alexia Droz)
David Markowitz	....	first assistant director
Ania Musiatowicz	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Andrei Andrianko	....	assistant art director
Nick Dibley	....	property master (as Nicholas Dibley)
Dylan Dowd	....	lead greens person
Jim Geddes	....	construction coordinator
John McIntosh	....	greens
Jake Miller	....	assistant property master
Nathalie Morin	....	assistant set decorator (as Natalie Morin)
Zbibgniew Scheller	....	construction foreman (as Zbish Scheller)
John Wilcox	....	paint coordinator
Izabela Domachowski	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Les Ford	....	computer graphics designer (uncredited)
Scott Riddell	....	second assistant props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Anke Bakker	....	sound supervisor
Kevin Belen	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Campbell	....	dialogue editor
Jay Cheetham	....	background sound editor
Jacqueline Cristianini	....	adr supervisor
Jacqueline Cristianini	....	dialogue supervisor
Kris Fenske	....	sound designer
Devan Kraushar	....	sound effects editor
Jason Mauza	....	foley editor
Laurie Melhus	....	audio post-production coordinator
Glen Noseworthy	....	adr mixer
Iain Pattison	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sebastian Salm	....	sound mixer
Paul A. Sharpe	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Paul Sharpe)
Shane Shemko	....	foley artist
Colin Smith	....	boom operator
Cam Wagner	....	foley artist
Matthew Wilson	....	sound effects editor
Todd R. Mason	....	sound effects recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Randy Ball	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Mark Boley	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Robert Freitas	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group (as Rob Freitas)
Steve Hartman	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Derek Heselton	....	best boy special effects
Grady Holder	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Akihito Ikeda	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Jim Leonard	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Alex 'Little Al' Lorenzana	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group (as Harrison Lorenzana)
Ben Rittenhouse	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group
Kathy Sully	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group (as K.L. Sully)
Wayne Szybunka	....	special effects coordinator
Veronica Torres	....	effects crew: K.N.B. EFX Group

Visual Effects by
Matt Belbin	....	digital effects editor (as Matthew Belbin)
Sébastien Bergeron	....	digital effects supervisor
Michael Goddard	....	cg artist (as Mike Goddard)
Gael Hollard	....	digital compositor
Annabelle Kent	....	digital compositor
Lionel Lim	....	digital compositor
Adam Marisett	....	cg artist
Mladen Miholjcic	....	cg artist
Bryce Rieger	....	digital compositor
Lisa K. Sepp	....	visual effects producer (as Lisa Sepp-Wilson)
Jonah West	....	digital compositor
Lee Wilson	....	visual effects supervisor
Jayson Castro	....	visual effects production assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Jim Dunn	....	stunt coordinator
Jim Dunn	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Sandy Cooper	....	first assistant camera
Brian Johnson	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Mike Kolafa	....	gaffer (as Michael Kolafa)
Brock Miller	....	best boy grip
Jos Oman	....	first assistant camera
Steve Sherlock	....	key grip
Jared Smith	....	best boy lighting
Peter Wilke	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Ian Gariepy	....	dolly grip: "b" camera (uncredited)
Marc Nolet	....	grip (uncredited)
Pascal Jean Provost	....	cinematographer: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sandra-Ken Freeman	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Glenna Owen	....	assistant costume designer
Tyler Tone	....	set costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Nathan Atkins	....	assistant editor
Richard Cordes	....	color timer
Andrea Dixon	....	color timer
Troy Sitter	....	post-production assistant
Matt Venables	....	post-production coordinator
Mike Williamson	....	editorial coordinator

Music Department
Mike Beckett	....	music editor
Jennifer Ross	....	music supervisor
Ed Shearmur	....	composer: main title music (as Edward Shearmur)

Transportation Department
Louie Hausner	....	transportation captain
John Swetlikoe	....	transportation coordinator
Duane Shearer	....	office driver (uncredited)
Jovan Vujatovic	....	picture car coordinator (uncredited)

Other crew
Christine Barrie	....	stand-in
Laura Collini	....	script supervisor (as Laura June Colini)
Genessa Davis	....	assistant production coordinator
Jim Desroches	....	production coordinator (as James Desroches)
Annie Doyon	....	assistant accountant
Cameron Grierson	....	assistant to producer
Cameron Grierson	....	script coordinator
Richter Hartig	....	production auditor: Starz Productions (as Richter Q. Hartig)
Dave Harvey	....	assistant accountant
Tom Hoeverman	....	assistant location manager
Elissa Howarth	....	production administration manager: Starz Productions
Andrea Kaufman	....	production coordinator: Starz Productions (as Andrea M. Kaufman)
Katy Lew	....	executive administrator
Ross Redhead	....	assistant to producers
Tracey Renyard	....	location manager
Adrian Salpeter	....	assistant to producers
Stephen Tibbetts	....	stand-in (as Stephen Tibbets)
Bill Vigars	....	unit publicist
Steven Vlasak	....	operations manager
Beverly Wiens	....	production accountant
Stephanie Brown	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Nancy Heller	....	office manager: Anthem Visual Effects (uncredited)
Krista Johnston	....	clearance (uncredited)
Gary Stamford	....	set wireman (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Starz Productions
• Nice Guy Productions
• Industry Entertainment

Distributors

• Cinemax (2008) (Hungary) (TV)
• Kadokawa Entertainment (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Premiere (2009) (Germany) (TV)
• Showtime Networks (2006) (USA) (TV)
• Splendid Film (2008) (Germany) (TV)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• Vertice Cine (2008) (Spain) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Anthem Visual Effects (visual effects)
• K.N.B. Effects Group (special effects makeup)

Other Companies

• Thomas Cobb Design  main title design (as The Thomas Cobb Group)
• Sharpe Sound Studios  audio post-production
• Background, The  walla artists
• Rainmaker Digital Pictures  post-production services (as Rainmaker)
• Reunion Pictures  production services

Runtime:

60 min | Germany:57 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA | Australia:MA (2007) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:16 | Spain:18

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 "Twilight Zone" (1959)

A Bit Too Silly For My Taste

Mick Garris deserves a lot of praise for being the creator of the "Masters Of Horror" series, but it has to be said that the episodes he directed himself, "Chocolate" and "Valerie On The Stairs" both rank among the lesser entries to this generally vastly entertaining franchise. While I liked this eighth episode of the second season slightly better than Garris' boring contribution to the first season, "Chocolate", "Valerie On The Stairs" is just a bit too silly for my tastes. The episode is set in a boarding house where unsuccessful writers are allowed to reside until their works become published. In this particular house the writers' nightmarish fantasies seem to come to life, however... "Valerie On The Stairs" was adapted from a story by Clive Barker, but I guess it must have been altered quite heavily, as this is certainly not a worthy entry to Clive "Hellraiser" Barker's repertoire. While Horror does not necessarily have to be realistic, it should have a certain logic, and it should certainly NOT be ridiculous. "Valerie On The Stairs" sadly gets ridiculous at some points, which is a shame since there could have been some potential in this episode. The episode stars prolific actors Christopher Lloyd and Tony 'Candyman' Todd, and Clare Grant, who plays the eponymous Valerie is one yummy protagonist (the beauty of the female cast members is a quality that most MoH episodes have). Too bad the episode keeps getting sillier and sillier to a ridiculous point.