Family

Landis adheres to what he is good at, so he made a relaxed and entertaining episode without mystery or tension. The dark secret of the main character is revealed in the first scene, and the whole episode is bright and black-humorously cheerful, giving the impression of sitcom rather than horror. However, an unexpected twist turns it into a horror thriller. Although it is not scary, direction, twist and especially George Wendt made this episode one of the better in the series.

7/10

George Wendt plays a seemingly normal man who lives with his wife, daughter and mother. Unfortunately they're all dead--skeletons dressed up in clothes. Then a nice normal couple movie in across the street and things get weird...

A comedy (sort of) with horrific undertones. It's strange (but you could probably tell that from my plot synopsis) and takes twists and turns that you don't see coming. It's well-acted and well-directed. One problem though--it's not really scary. For being in a show like "Masters of Horror" you would except something more horrific. There's blood and guts here but that doesn't make it horror. So--within its limits--not bad. Director John Landis must have been having an off day when he did this. I DO give him credit for not throwing in pointless female nudity (which he seems to enjoy doing).

I watched this On Demand the other day when I couldn't get to sleep. I loved George Wendt in "House" (the horror movie from the 80's, not the Hugh Laurie TV show) and thought he would fit well in the world of MOH. And, he did. This is the story of a man (Wendt) who kidnaps and kills people, melting them down to bare bones and dressing them up as his "family." The creepy thing is that he imagines the "family" in his house, watching TV together, cooking dinner and of course fighting with his wife. A young couple moves in down the block and is completely oblivious to his antics. I'll stop there, because the ending certainly puts a different perspective on it. The acting is horrendous, in a good way. It's the way acting should be in a horror flick. The ending is also horrendous, not so much in a good way. It's pretty stupid honestly, but this is definitely worth watching if you're a fan of horror movies.

Greatest moment: As George Wendt watches the young couple from his upstairs window, we hear him humming "The hip bone's connected to the leg bone..."

Stars George Wendt from "Cheers" as the ordinary neighbor with a secret. A young couple move into town to start a new. He is an ER doctor and she is an investigative reporter. Their only child recently passed away; and they are trying to get back to normal and prepare to have another child and a fresh start. In the meantime they develop a friendship with the "ordinary bachelor" that lives next door(George Wendt). What they don't know might kill them. Or is it the other way around? This episode is the best of season 2 (out of the two season 2 episodes shown so far on Showtime). It's creepy, gruesome and ultimately horrifying with a great twist to it all. It's a little slow with the story dragging at times, but it's definitely worth watching. 7/10

Exactly why John Landis is credited as a "Master of Horror" is somewhat beyond me but there's no denying that he makes good films. He made the most entertaining Season 1 episode with "Deer Woman" and here he makes another solid entry in the uneven horror series.

George Wendt, of "Cheers" fame, is rock solid as the less-than-stable bachelor with a creepy family, of sorts. It's best going into these "Maters of Horror" episodes knowing as little as possible.

This episode relies entirely on George Wendt. He nails it to a tee and plays a very troubled character, who can seem very normal and likable, very well.

There's little gore to speak of here but what there is is done well. Also, the surprise twist really came from behind. Maybe I'm just a tad dense at times but I didn't see it coming.

"Family" isn't one of the best from the series but it's a solid diversion for a bit less than an hour, although I felt it was a bit stretched.