The Fair Haired Child (2006)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Best movie ever!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This film was not scary or creepy. It was a pathetic version of "chuckie", yet shorter. If you are looking for a decent horror movie, your not in the right area.It was an alright episode, but not if your looking for scary. It was unrealistic, more supernatural. Also quite bad acting if i must say. I would recommend, 'The haunting in Kenetticut'. Its scary, mind-controlling. It is far more advanced then this excuse of a horror. I watched it with a group of friend, you'll be looking round corners, closing curtains and leaving lights on. I leaves you with nightmares. I really think you should consider this as an alternative.

The other reviewer must have watched a different version than I did? Also the obvious bias against the director is more than obvious! Most people don't give a hoot, or will even know or care that the director did "Fear.Com!" Taken as an installment in the Masters of Horror series, I consider this to be one of the best! I watch every horror/sci-fi/fantasy flick that comes out and this episode actually had me scared! The use of early silent era (Nosferatu, etc.,) skip-frame technique (that jerky movement: every 5th-6th frame) really works here and lends a superb atmosphere of the 'supernatural' to the object in question! The other reviewer had issues with this director being called a "Master of Horror"? Look at the bulk of work by the other directors in this series!! Yikes! Not what I call a brilliant body of work!! That doesn't mean they can't make a good short feature! I think some of the other directors best works are part of this series! I saw it on cable first..then bought it! A must see!!!

Masters of Horror: The Fair Haired Child starts as high school student Tara (Lindsay Pulsipher) is making her way home on her mountain bike through some woods when a van crashes into her & knocks her off her over, although shaken & suffering from some cuts & bruises Tara is relatively unharmed. The driver of the van Anton (William Samples) gets out, drugs her, throws her in the back & drives off. Tara wakes up to find out she is in hospital & a nurse named Judith (Lori Petty) tries to comfort her, however it doesn't take long for Tara to realise she isn't in hospital & has been kidnapped, both Anton & Judith have special plans for Tara who they throw into their basement where she finds a teenage boy named Johnny (Jesse Hadock) trying to hang himself. Tara prevents him from doing so but before the night is out it's a decision she may regret...This Canadian American co-production was episode 9 from season 1 of the hit-and-miss Masters of Horror TV series, directed by William Malone this is a definite hit & is just about as good anything Masters of Horror has done & is one of my very favourite episodes. The script by Matt Greenberg is a no nonsense, no messing straight ahead horror film & a damn fine one at that, this starts off with an attention grabbing kidnap & literally doesn't let up over the rest of it's duration. I guess this has everything you would expect & hope for from a show called Masters of Horror, the script cranks the tension up, it has a pleasing amount of exploitation, it moves along like a rocket & just won't let the audience relax or catch a breather between shocks & it has a great ironic twist ending which I thought rounded things off perfectly. The story is a bit silly at times & we never really see or know what the thing these people were bargaining with was or why Johnny turned into a freaky creature every so often but just about enough is explained so you understand what's going on but at the same time there are a few questions which it leaves you to decide for yourself & it's a nice balance between the two which makes for good viewing.Director Malone does a great job here & this really feels like horror, a dark basement with something nasty inside, thunderstorms, witchcraft ceremonies, some good scares, lots of tension which is cranked up at every opportunity & a great creepy atmosphere to the whole thing. There's some gore although not excessive, there's a severed hand, plenty of blood splatter, some intestines & a cool scene when someone has their head literally crushed up against a window so it explodes into a gooey mess. No nudity in this one though. A mention for the creature that Johnny turns into, he's a creepy little bugger & I certainly wouldn't want to meet him on a dark night & the special make-up effects on it are very good.Technically this looks great & as usual for this series it's well made with top production values, the special effects are excellent as usual & the acting is really good as well.The Fair Haired Child is a top Masters of Horror episode, this was actually the first Masters of Horror episode I ever saw followed by the equally excellent Pelts by Dario Argento from season 2 which are maybe my two favourite episodes of the ones I've seen which may explain why many of the others are so disappointing to me, anyway this is excellent stuff for all you horror fans out there & as good as anything else in this series.

I question William Malone's status as a "master" of horror, but that goes for the majority of the directors Mick Garris has assembled to helm the series. "The Fair-Haired Child" is a middle-of-the-road episode with a lot of potential that's largely wasted. The music hall setting is atmospheric but underused. The monster is unsettling and well-designed, but we don't see enough of it. It's been a while since we've seen Lori Petty, who's starting to show her age, and she's not given much to work with here; it seems odd to give an actress primarily known for her kinetic goofiness such a stiff and humorless character. "The Fair-Haired Child" is one of those episodes that could have been better as a feature-length film. It certainly would have benefited from a less irritating protagonist; the kidnapped girl is unbearably shrill and seems to get dumber as the episode progresses. There were a few mildly frightening sequences here, and some skillful visual direction from time to time, but I can't justify a rating higher than a 6. It's not bad, but it's far from masterful.