Deer Woman

When I first heard that John Landis had directed this episode I didn't really know why because compared to the other directors, he isn't really a Master of HORROR. But then I remembered the classic horror/comedy An American Werewolf in London which has earned him this title. Deer Woman is much the same, a great blending of comedy and horror.

The plot focuses on a policeman (Brian Benben) who is investigating a series of bizarre murders where the victims are trampled to death. This leads him to believe that an Indian folklore might be true and a "Deer Woman" (Cinthia Moura) is seducing and killing men.

Brian Benben is hilarious as burned-out policemen Dwight Faraday. In one particularly amusing scene, he imagines all the possible ways of death by deer. If it weren't for his acting that scene would not have been as funny. Cinthia Moura is perfect as the Deer Woman, she didn't need to speak but her facial expressions and perfect body made the character.

John Landis' direction is pretty much perfect as he is suited to horror/comedies. Although there is more comic elements to the movie, there is a nice amount of horror in it and it is suitably gory and gross.

4/5.

It seems as though, after a period of doing comedies, John Landis loves to do horror also. In 1981, he did "An American Werewolf in London", in 1992 he did "Innocent Blood" and now he's taking on the deer woman. The main thing that struck me about this Masters of Horror episode is it's sense of humor. Where the other episodes up to this one were quite serious, this one had a great sense of humor, which John Landis seems to have in all of his films. The next thing that struck me as good was the disturbing gore. There wasn't a lot of special effects with the gore, just disturbing cutting in to human skin type stuff. The final great thing about this was the acting was great. Everyone did a top notch job. My only problem, which also seems to always be Landis's problem, is the ending. The ending to this was one I did not care for. John Landis has always had a problem writing endings though. I found this episode about a native American deer woman that kills men to be the most entertaining of the episodes.

My rating: *** out of ****. 56 mins. Not rated, contains violence and language.

After spending far too long making comedies, another genre for which he is well known, John Landis makes a bit of a comeback with this amusing entry in the popular Masters Of Horror series. Deer Woman is definitely a Landis horror flick. Much in the same way that An American Werewolf In London did almost 30 years ago, Deer Woman mixes a steady helping of humour in with its horror. Its kinda nifty to see a native American legend that perhaps was not the easy route to take make an appearance as the monster for this episode. It would have been much easier for the writer (Landis's son, Max) to just make it a werewolf or vampire. Brian Benben is hilarious as the cop who always seems to get the weird cases. He is put upon but still has his dignity. Fans will get a kick out of a reference to American Werewolf's key setpiece. While certainly not the scariest entry, Deer Woman makes for a fun one and a welcome return for Landis.

Of the "Masters of Horror" episodes released on DVD thus far, John Landis' 'Deer Woman' is by far the best (putting the incredibly overrated 'Cigarette Burns' to shame), and not due to the scare factor (of which there is next to none). No, 'Deer Woman' succeeds because of its relentless--often knee-slapping--brand of smart-ass humor. As this is an element that has been lacking in the episodes previously released to DVD, Landis infuses this ridiculous tale (about a Native American woman who transforms into the murderous title creature after seducing hapless males) with all the jokes and jabs it can contain without bursting under the pressure. The very funny Brian Benben plays a disgraced cop now taking calls for 'animal accidents,' when several corpses stomped into hamburger cross his radar; all leads wind up dead ends (and are encapsulated in a side-splitting 'what if?'-montage), until an Indian casino employee unspools the myth of the Deer Woman. Like I said before--anyone looking for horror (in spite of a decent ration of gore) will be disappointed; those seeking a fast-paced comic romp with mild horror overtones will be ecstatic.

7.5 out of 10

I'm quickly becoming a massive fan of the "Masters of Horror"-series, despite this only being the third episode that I've watched. What can I say? So far, they all delivered a good story, a fair amount of tension and plenty of gory situations and hence I see absolutely no reason to be negative about this TV-initiative...This installment was directed and co-written by John Landis; a filmmaker who already deserves to be called a "master" in the genre if it were only for that one immortal classic "An American Werewolf in London". Landis also directed the very adequate "Innocent Blood" and "Shlock", but those are lesser known movies and belong more in the cult section. "Deer Woman" is a very nifty variation on the premise of urban legends/campfire tales/mythological stories that turn out frighteningly real and revolves on a stunning Indian beauty who seduces random guys and then tramples them to death with her deer legs. It takes quite a few dead bodies before fatigue police detective Faraday and officer Reed unofficially discover that the murders are committed exactly like it's described in an ancient Native American myth. The characters in "Deer Woman" are likable and there seems to be a much deeper story behind each and every one of them. The 60 minutes screenplay also preserves more than enough time for humor, witty dialogues and a truly priceless reference to the aforementioned "American Werewolf". Brian Benben is very adequate in his role of tormented copper and the unknown Cinthia Moura (the deer woman herself) is magnificent eye-candy. She hasn't got any lines but her natural charisma and gorgeous smile definitely did the job. Recommended!