Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (2005)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

A Brilliant Conflict

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Wow! This is cool!This starts out pretty generic, the cute girl driving down a dark mountain road only to crash her car, and she runs into a horrible monster. But wait! This takes some really cool turns and I'll admit I didn't see the ending coming. I really like that when a movie surprises me like that! For me, the story was not about woman being stalked by a horrible monster, instead it was about survival. Sure, there are plenty of shocks for us horror fans, and 'Moonface' is pretty scary. It's one of those movies that you don't see as much as you think you do. But I feel the real story is not about him.This has a great cast, great writer, great director, well it's GREAT!

'Incident On and Off a Mountain Road' is thoroughly enjoyable, atmospheric horror with a lightning pace, delivering action, gore, and laughs in equal measure. It's based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale, and co-scripted by Don Coscarelli, who'd previously brought Lansdale's story "Bubba Ho-Tep" to life. Pretty, appealing dancer / actress Bree Turner plays Ellen, who's motoring through the wilderness one night when she ends up in the domain of Moonface, deliciously played by John De Santis. Moonface is a towering, pale psycho with steel teeth who snatches unwary travellers and turns them into macabre works of art in front of his home. From then on it's a constant struggle for Ellen to keep her wits about her and remember the lessons taught to her by her domineering husband Bruce (Ethan Embry, in what was a real change-of-pace role and performance for him at the time). Bruce is a survivalist, see, and is constantly thinking about preparing for the worst. So this rocking episode is both an interesting look into the survivalist mentality, as well as a tried and true horror story with enough grisliness - including some implied ocular violence - to satisfy the gore hound in many of us. It also does great things with lighting and sound; when Moonface fires up his eye gouging machine, sirens go off! It has some great brief bits of grim irony, when some of the booby traps that Ellen sets up for Moonface don't work out as planned. Much of the humour is courtesy of Coscarelli's "good luck charm", actor Angus Scrimm a.k.a. The Tall Man of the "Phantasm" series, who plays demented Buddy, who chatters non-stop; the actor is just a hoot in the role. This is a fun, fun episode that begins a little quietly but soon starts coming up with shocks (when will characters ever learn to keep their eyes on the road?) and thrills that last right up until the end. Eight out of 10.

Of the Master's of Horror shows I have seen this one is not all that good and not all that bad. Certainly not in the league of Cigarette Burns from John Carpenter, but what does one expect? The guy who did this one is not exactly a movie making machine with his best work coming in the Phantasm series with little else of note. Though I have heard a few good things from Bubba Ho Tep. This one is about a woman coming off a rather abusive relationship having a run in with a strange mountain man that one of those unfortunate enough to be caught by him calls Moonface. A game of cat and mouse ensues and though the film thinks it is being clever you should be able to figure out the twist at the end fairly easily. The killer in this film is your typical 80's slasher killer, the deformed man with a weapon and bad attitude. The heroine in this one is not so typical, though not all that surprising either, as like I said you should be able to deduce her secrets as you see glimpses of her former life in flashbacks. Also of note in this one is the guy who plays the Tall Man in the Phantasm movies having a bit of a small part in this film. Though all his menace is reduced and he is a bit of an idiot.

Masters of Horror: Don Coscarelli: Incident On and Off a Mountain Road: 8 out of 10: In many ways fifty minutes is the perfect length for a horror movie. Incident certainly has enough plot for a full length feature, but this is a story broken down to its core elements without any unnecessary filler. (It has a bit of a Twilight Zone feel as a result.) Masters of Horror is that wonderful Showtime series that has produced some great horror films and some guilty pleasures (in particular Clive Barker's Haeckel's Tale). Incident got this anthology series off to a very strong start.The film is about a woman that has a car accident on a deserted stretch of rain soaked mountain road. She quickly finds herself perused by a serial killer (dubbed Moonface) who is busy chasing a previous victim. She turns out not to be the damsel in distress that we suspected, as she has had survival training from her boyfriend which the film doles out in flashback. It is also interesting as one can see the progression of her relationship with the boyfriend as it coincides her conflict with Moonface.Director Don Coscarielli runs a tight ship with plenty of surprises in both plot and scope. The acting by all is above board with a particular nod to John DeSantis as the serial killer. Moonface, with his chrome teeth, baldhead and big shiny knife; he is such a quality villain that it seems a shame he is in such a small film. Moonface certainly could hold his own with the Jason’s and Leatherface’s of the world. In fact, he has that childlike quality that made Leatherface such an endearing character,. (Not to mention they share the same interior decorator.) The gore is good, the set design is excellent and the movie is simply never boring. Add on a story with depth and layers and you have a very strong start to an excellent series.