Masters of Horror: Season 1

Revenge. Obsessive love. Death. Sex. Politics. All of the horror mainstays are covered in this exhaustive 14-disc set collecting 12 hour-long episodes (plus Takashi Miike’s unaired shocker ”Imprint”) from Showtime’s Masters of Horror: Season 1. The idea: Take 13 of the biggest names in horror — among them John Carpenter (Halloween), Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and Dario Argento (Suspiria) — and give them each $2 million, 10 days, and complete creative freedom. Though there are a few misfires (like series creator Mick Garris’ under-baked ”Chocolate”), the show mostly delivers on its enticing premise. Among the standouts; Hooper’s post-apocalyptic nightmare ”Dance of the Dead,” Argento’s erotic gorefest ”Jenifer,” and Joe Dante’s Iraq-war-vet zombie flick ”Homecoming.”

EXTRAS As a boxed set, you couldn’t ask for much more. Each disc contains one entry, at least one commentary, making-of docs, and an in-depth director’s interview. The bonus disc (unfortunately, the only new material for those who already bought the individual titles) includes a raucous dinner with 11 of the directors and a DGA panel in which Carpenter, Hooper, Garris, and Dante field questions from moderator Clive Barker and take shots at the ”corporate thinking” behind the endless remakes and sequels churned out by today’s fright-obsessed filmmakers. Carpenter says horror movies are ”supposed to wake you up in the middle of the night sweating.” These mini-films won’t leave you sweating, but they will satisfy your bloodthirsty cravings. A-