RainDogJr Here we go with another episode of Season 1, this time the number 3 and the volume 11 of the Region 4 DVDs, Dance of the Dead. As you know, Tobe Hooper directed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Poltergeist and this time he gives us a decent episode but unfortunately nothing more.The story takes place after the World War III and we have in Peggy (Jessica Lowndes) our protagonist. We know since the beginning that she, and her mother Kate (Marilyn Norry), is still suffering the dead of both her father and her sister but also both suffers the consequences of Blizz. Unfortunately the story focuses more in the typical relation between a teenage and his/her parents so with Peggy's new friends she is going to experience new things and is very conventional this part of the episode since it is just the classic awake of a teenage going against the authority and wanting to have new "experiences". The bar where the new "friends" of Peggy hang out has its main show in the dance of the dead and has in The M.C. (cool performance of Robert Fred Krueger Englund) its leader. Of course all of this are kind of the reflection of that post-war time and of course the best thing of this episode is its final part when you realize about the new "job" of Peggy's sister and why she has that "job". When you realize about the real story of Kate with her other daughter Anna, you will think something like "damn this episode could have been much better with the same basic story" and in the end, what dance?Then and finally, Tobe Hooper's first contribution to Masters of Horror is good to see just once but is also the weakest episode of the ones that I have seen that are only 6 (all from Season 1).

Claudio Carvalho In a post-apocalypse society, the seventeen years old Peggy (Jessica Lowndes) lives with her protective mother and works in her restaurant. She misses her sister Anna, who died some time ago. When two couples of punks come to the place to eat some hamburgers, Peggy feels attracted by Jak (Jonathan Tucker), who invites her to date with him later. Peggy goes out with Jak without telling her mother, and they go to a dark place, the Doom Room, where the master of ceremony (Robert Englund) is the ringmaster of a freak show with dead. The MC injects blood in the dead, and they dance on a ring for the exalted audience. When Peggy sees her sister Anna dancing in the show, the MC discloses the truth about her presence in the circus."Dance of the Dead" is another apocalyptic view of mankind after the Third World War, where the survivors watch the dance of the dead maybe to feel alive. The sick and unpleasant story is actually about the lead character Peggy and the fate of her beloved sister. She unravels the mystery about the death of her sister and never understands the fight of survival of her mother. I found this episode of Masters of Horror only reasonable. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Dança dos Mortos" ("Dance of the Dead")

DVD_Connoisseur Hooper's "Dance of the Dead" is horror on an epic scale, dealing with an apocalyptic America that has descended into anarchy. This portrayal of a society that is on the brink of collapse is realistic but, ultimately, not really "Masters of Horror" material.There may well be elements of horror in this episode, I just didn't find it particularly engaging, frightening or horrific. Actress Jessica Lowndes who plays the lead role of Peggy is very watchable and I'm confident she will move onto bigger and better projects.Tobe Hooper's direction in this episode proved distracting. Sophisticated camera techniques proved irritating rather than effective, taking me out of the viewing experience instead of enhancing it. Too much flash and not enough bang...7 out of 10 for imagination but one of the weakest episodes I've seen despite excellent product values and a capable cast.

gavin6942 The writing of Richard Matheson, the directing of Tobe Hooper, the most violent music ever composed by Billy Corgan... and the legendary Robert Englund. Even if this movie failed, it would still be memorable for such a line up.In a world that has been plagued by terrorist attacks (chemical attacks called "the blitz" if I understood the film correctly), few still live a normal life while many have gone on to a city called Muskeet where death and drugs are a part of life.My only problem with this film is the way things were left unclear. To some degree, a mystery about the past helps the plot, but I was really confused through most of the movie and even after I had many questions. A film of this magnitude would almost have been better as a television series.I also became a bit frustrated with Hooper's repeated camera technique I can only describe as "the water ripple", which he must have done fifty times. Once or twice would have been nice, but the film was hard to watch when it wouldn't stop.Anyway, the acting was great. The main character (Peggy) was beautiful and strong, a great protagonist. Jak was also well cast. Everyone else could have been played by just about anyone (which is not to say they did a bad job, this film has some of the finest goth girls I've ever seen). And Robert Englund? Not his best performance, but great just the same.I saw many parallels to "A Clockwork Orange", which I enjoyed (though some might say it was a derivative movie). The bouncers in suspenders, the car speeding scene, violence to old people. I could even say there's a connection between Alex's gang drinking milk and Jak's gang drinking orange juice (both wholesome beverages for degenerate people).While the film had its weak spots (the actual "dance of the dead" is nothing special), they made up for it with the extra sex and drugs that any good horror film ought to have. And according to my friend Jason, they greatly improved upon what was a mediocre short story (though I cannot independently confirm this).