Rating:

Family is another episode of Showtime’s Masters of Horror, and while it isn’t the mind blowing thing of supreme excellence that Pelts was, it’s still pretty goshdarn great. The director this time out is John Landis whose helming of An American Werewolf in London I guess qualifies him as a master of horror but who I always associate with comedy (Animal House, The Blues Brothers and such). Despite the fact that I don’t immediately connect Landis with the genre, this is still a mighty enjoyable little picture. The story borrows pretty heavily from Psycho and Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, but it never tries to hide those debts and when it lifts things it does so in a way that’s always fun.

The tale that’s told is that of a guy named Harold (George Wendt! YES!), your local crazy man. He spends most of his time chillaxing with his titular family. Harold isn’t blessed with your traditional nuclear family, though; it’s more of a “dressed up skeletons of the people he’s killed” type of family, which I must admit is frowned upon in most of your nicer neighborhoods. But, hey, it makes him happy, and he’s basically a really nice guy. Were it not for the whole murdering innocent folk and saving their bones thing, you’d probably want to invite Harold over for dinner and drinks. Which is exactly what his new neighbors do.

And thus, our conflict, the central part of any story, I’m told. The new neighbors are a pretty, successful, young couple—he’s a doctor, she’s an investigative reporter—who’ve just moved from Los Angeles (hey, can you believe it? Harold used to live in L.A. too!) to start a family of their own and get a fresh start in life. It’s too bad Celia, the wife, is such a looker though, because Harold almost immediately sets his sights on her, imagining her saying things about wanting to fondle his penis and whatnot. Sounds like the makings of a great new skeleton wife, that’s what Harold thinks, and that’s what impels him to seek her out as the next member of his unorthodox family.

Harold accepts the dinner invitation from his new friends. Over the course of the evening, he learns some important things about them. They used to have a daughter, some years ago, but unfortunately she’s shuffled off this mortal coil. Further, Harold learns that the couple’s beautiful new home has a basement, but it is definitely not included on the tour of the house. No, Harold, you are most definitely not allowed to go into the basement of the investigative journalist with the dead daughter who used to live in the same town as you! In all, Harold thinks that’s pretty okay and not at all unusual, so he definitely decides he’s gotta make Celia his new corpse bride. Granted, his current corpse bride is pretty down on that idea, and she tells him so in no uncertain terms, but to paraphrase the immortal words of Chief Clancy Wiggum, how’s she gonna stop him? Skeleton power?

So that’s the essence of the story. Domestic squabbles between a man and his murder victims and a plot to kill the investigative reporter and her doctor husband who come from L.A. and have a secret basement and are totally definitely not up to anything, I swear!

Yeah, the movie has a surprise ending, but it basically tips its hand numerous times before it gets there. And if you’re familiar with Virgin Spring, then I guess my first paragraph basically spoiled it for you. But that doesn’t really even matter, because it’s not being surprised that makes or breaks this movie. It’s a fun picture throughout, with great performances and John Landis’ comedic touch in evidence in many key places. The fun isn’t so much in finding out what happens, but in knowing what’s going to happen and just seeing how it specifically unfolds. And, of course, there’s fun in the fact that it’s George freaking Wendt in this here movie! Norm! Lovable Norm is killing people and saving their bones, then having conversations with those bones! How’s that for a thing to rock your world?

Although it’s technically a horror movie, Family isn’t actively trying to scare you. The agenda here is simple fun; it’s asking you to come along for the wacky ride and have a good time. When executed properly, that can be a pretty fine way to make a movie, and for my money this one’s a total success. The Masters of Horror series varies in quality, but this is a strong entry, one of the very best. Norm with skellingtons! You know you want to see that.

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