Masters Of Horror: Incident On...a Mountain Road
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You gotta love Don Coscarelli. The PHANTASM series is one of my favorites. The spheres, Reggie Bannister and the Tall Man all make a great combination. It’s like mashed potatoes and gravy. And who can forget BUBBA HO-TEP? If you’ve missed that one, then I suggest you check it out. This is also the man that wrote BEASTMASTER! Sure he had a hand in BEASTMASTER 2: THROUGH THE PORTAL OF TIME, but he has now redeemed himself with his addition to the MASTERS OF HORROR.

INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD is a fast paced cat and mouse game between a great killer named Moonface (John DeSantis) and Ellen (Bree Turner). Ellen was just cruising down a lonely street where, on a turn, she slams into a car that was in the road. After waking up from the wreck she gets out to find that the car is empty and all that is evident is a blood trail. Following the trail over to the side of the road, she sees something moving at the edge of a hill. Surprise! It’s Mooface dragging the poor women from the car behind him. What follows is an intense chase through the forest with Ellen using her wits and more to get away.

Now there are really two different stories here. One is the present time with Ellen using her survival skills and wit to get away from this unstoppable killer and the other is her life before this with her husband (Ethan Embry). Now instead of the viewer just seeing that she is smart, we get a back story on how she can set up traps better than ole’ MacGuyver himself. At first glance one would think that this could take you out of the intense story, but this works surprisingly well. When the screen goes black we are given a tip that works in the situation of her trying to get away from Moonface. This then leads into a flashback of her and her husband discussing life, love, and survival.

The one hiccup that happens in the movie is the ending that ties everything together. It at first is effective, but the flash back that takes place following just seems out of place. Sure her husband was a crazy survivalist, and while there seemed to be a gradual decline in his character, the last flashback just seemed rushed. A few more flashbacks to build up his character from point A to point B would have made this a perfect blend. Overall, while this story is not revolutionary, adding in some back story to Ellen we end up rooting for her more and more until the end, when we might second guess ourselves on the whole rooting part.

Now while horror loving men will love to watch this one, I implore all women to watch this. This movie is great for all feminists, and strong women everywhere. I guess if you are neither and just hate men, then you might also get a kick from this. Ellen is one tough ass broad. (Gotta love the political correctness) INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD’s Ellen makes ALIEN’s Ripley look like a sniveling little teen that got stood up at prom. Sure Ellen has moments of realistic cry fits, but hell, so would I. It is all about how she overcomes the horror and whoops Moonface into shape that makes this a twist on the woman in peril plot. Another very fun addition to the Master’s of Horror and also a fun 4 cans.

Added:  Monday, June 05, 2006
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