Review - Masters of Horror: Dreams In the Witch-House

The Rat, The Witch and The Wardrobe . . .

. . . okay, there was no wardrobe, but there was a rat and a witch. In Dreams In the Witch-House, the second episode of Showtime’s Masters of Horror, director Stuart Gordon (Animator, Dolls) lures us into the world of Walter Gilman (Ezra Godden) a graduate student working on his thesis who takes a cheap rent. Here is another lesson to learn, sometimes cheap is bad.

Shortly after he moves in Walter begins to experience strange goings on, including an old man obsessed with midnight prayer, a rat familiar with a human head and a succubus who marks him as her own. He also becomes friendly with Francis and Danny, a young mother and her infant son who occupy the apartment next door.

Convinced that a witch from an alternate time and place is trying to get him to kill young Danny, Walter tries his best to convince Francis to flee while there is still time. Unfortunately, Francis does not heed his warning - not good for young Danny.

Walter fights the witch but in the end the rat familiar ends up offing the young boy. Of course, Walter is seen as the perpetrator of this heinous crime and is thrown in a looney bin. Curiously enough though, the CSI finds that all of the evidence points towards Walter’s story. But as Walter was told by the old man obsessed with midnight prayer, nobody will believe him. In the end, Walter is really eaten up on the inside because of the tragedy - literally by the rat familiar.

This was a pretty interesting concept and a very well done mini-movie. However, it definitely takes second place so far in the series. Next week will be Tobe Hooper’s turn with Dance of the Dead. It will be interesting to see what he will do.

Directed by
Dario Argento (episode "Jennifer")
John Carpenter (episode "Cigarette Burns")
Larry Cohen (episode "Pick Me Up")
Don Coscarelli (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road")
Joe Dante (episode "Death & Suffrage")
Mick Garris (episode "Chocolate")
Stuart Gordon (episode "Dreams In the Witch-House")
Tobe Hooper (episode "Dance of the Dead")
John Landis (episode "Deer Woman")
William Malone (episode "Fair Haired Boy")
Lucky McKee (episode "Sick Girl")
John McNaughton (episode "Haeckel's Tale")
Takashi Miike (episode "Imprint")

Writing credits
Mick Garris (creator)


Don Coscarelli (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road") teleplay &
Stephen Romano (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road") teleplay and
Joe R. Lansdale (episode 1.01 "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road") short story


Clive Barker story (episode "Haeckel's Tale")
Stuart Gordon writer (episode "Dreams In the Witch-House")
Matt Greenberg writer (episode "Fair Haired Boy")
Sam Hamm writer (episode "Death and Sufferage")
Sean Hood writer (episode "Sick Girl")
Shimako Iwai story (episode "Imprint")
Bruce Jones story (episode "Jenifer")
Max Landis writer (episode "Deer Woman")
H.P. Lovecraft story (episode "Dreams In the Witch-House")
Richard Matheson story (episode "Dance of the Dead")
Richard Christian Matheson writer (episode "Dance Of the Dead")
Drew McWeeny writer (episode "Cigarette Burns")
Dennis Paoli writer (episode "Dreams In the Witch-House")
David J. Schow writer (episode "Pick Me Up")
Scott Swan writer (episode "Cigarette Burns")
Daisuke Tengan writer (episode "Imprint")
Steven Weber writer (episode "Jennifer")
Bernie Wrightson story (episode "Jennifer")

Cast (in alphabetical order)
Sonja Bennett .... Dana
Christopher Britton .... AK Meyers
Carrie Fleming .... Jennifer
Ezra Godden .... Walter Gilman
Lucie Guest .... Celia
Brenda James .... Ruby
Lindsay Pulsipher .... Tara
Norman Reedus .... Kirby Sweetman (Cigarette Burns)
Jonathan Tucker
Bree Turner .... Ellen