DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE (Gordon, 2005)

Stuart Gordon, for a long while, has been one of my favorite directors in the whole splatter subgenre. I've never seen CASTLE FREAK or DOLLS and I've not yet gotten around to seeing EDMOND (though, let's face it, Mamet + William H. Macy + the guy behind RE-ANIMATOR = $$), but based upon DAGON, RE-ANIMATOR, and FROM BEYOND alone, Gordon is still a true legend and hero of the genre. He's a low budget maestro, a veteran of the theatre, and perhaps the greatest the genre has ever seen at making the macabre and horrific into something far more significant than one would ever think possible. His general theme of sex and death being linked may seem like old hat given the slasher sub-genre's existence, but anyone who's seen the "head" scene from RE-ANIMATOR has surely seen this old cliche given new life.

DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE, though, is clearly a mis-step and mediocre, at best. The effort is there, but, again, due to time and monetary constraints, nothing is as fully fleshed out as it could possibly be. Ideas are hinted at but never expanded or built upon. The performances are good and all, but there's no Jeffrey Combs (or acceptable fascimiles) to truly stand out. Perhaps most disappointingly, there is no delicious subtext to dig into, none of Gordon's usual close study of human nature and tragedy, and how we ridiculously react to these horrible things that happen in our lives.

I still hold out hope for HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR, which, mark my words, is going to be his return to form. Dennis Paoli script, William H. Macy playing the President, Herbert West as evil political advisor, GEORGE FN WENDT; this is going to rule.