John Landis probably isn’t a name that comes to mind for people when they think of horror, but it honestly should. Remember, this is the same man who directed a piece of classic American horror cinema, An American Werewolf in London (okay, and he did work on Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, but that’s completely different.) Landis may not have stuck with the genre in the same way that director’s like Romero and Argento have, but he has more than earned his place in the history of horror, and that’s reason enough to give him a spot in the Masters of Horror series.

Landis’ entry into the anthology, Deer Woman, a tale that blends the supernatural with a few laughs for good measure. Detective Dwight Faraday (Brian Benben) is a down and out cop who has been relegated to investigating animal related crimes, and how he’s on one of his strangest cases. A trucker has been found in the cab of his rig, his body trampled by what seems to have been a deer, but all reports involve him last seen with a beautiful woman. More bodies begin to surface and as Faraday collects clues with the help Officer Reed (Anthony Griffin), a rookie to the unit and a rookie, they begin to see similarities. The two soon learn of an old Native American legend about the Deer Woman, a beautiful and mysterious woman who appears from no where, seduces men, and then tramples them to death, and Faraday is seems is the only one who believes that this legend is in fact the truth.

Deer Woman is a bit unlike the other entries in the Masters of Horror anthology, at least the ones that I’ve sat and watched, and there are a number of things that really do set it part. The story isn’t necessarily something that is horrifying or frightening, but instead delves into the realm of the supernatural, but in a slightly different fashion that you might normally think. Landis’ has given the script a number of moments that make the story funny, but there’s another approach that I found here as well. The acting definitely isn’t top-notch and at first, this seems a bit annoying, but that doesn’t last long. It has some rather dynamic changes to the way Deer Woman is presented, and it becomes something of a high class B-film.

This film isn’t far removed from American Werewolf either and there are some distinct similarities. In Deer Woman, we have yet another creature or myth and legend, though there isn’t transformation this time so much as the appearance. The Deer Woman is a remarkably beautiful woman, at least from the waist up, but below that, she has the legs of a deer. She kills for pleasure, after getting some sexual gratification, or so we are told, and given her lower body, I’m only going to assume that this means that dining at the Y is out of the question. Deer Woman, who is portrayed by the extremely beautiful Cinthia Moura, also doesn’t speak a line through the entire feature. She simply smiles, nods, and exposes her breasts (and I could write quite a bit about that pair, but I’ll refrain) before trampling her lovers to death.

We never actually see the method of execution appear in Deer Woman however, only the grisly, final result which is nothing more than a pile of human remains. There is however a rather humorous instance where Faraday plays out the possible death scenario in his mind, though his ultimate conclusion is that each of them is far to ridiculous to be the truth. Gore and violence aren’t the approach for Landis’ short, but instead the intent seems to be to entertain, and that’s exactly what this film does.

The Masters of Horror releases have also included a wealth of additional features, something that really is outstanding considering the short run time of the films themselves. There are a number of featurettes for the film, the first is a retrospective on the master himself, John Landis, featuring interviews with people who have known and worked with him (and it’s very cool to have Don Rickles included in this portion.) The overall opinion really seems to be that Landis isn’t unapproachable like some director’s are, and he really does seem like a person that those of us writing here at Underland Online would enjoy just sitting and talking with. There are also three separate interviews done with the cast of the film, Brian Benben, Anthony Griffin, and Cinthia Moura, and once again we find that Landis seems to be a great director to work with. There is also a behind the scenes feature.

Brian Benben and Anthony Griffin are featured once again as the two provide commentary for Deer Woman, but of course there is still much more to find here. Mick Garris sits down and interviews Landis and by this point, if you still haven’t gotten your fill and want to know even more about the legendary director, there is a bio on his career. Beyond these features you will also find a still gallery and for those with access to a DVD-ROM (which really is just about everyone these days) there is also a screensaver and a copy of the screenplay, perfect for those looking to try and their and breaking into Hollywood via story.)

Deer Woman is undoubtedly different that some of the more graphic or sinister pieces that have been created for Masters of Horror, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less enjoyable. The fact that it is a bit different actually has catapulted it to the top of the list in my opinion, and if chills and laughs are what you’re looking for, John Landis delivers them both in this enjoyable bit of work.

-mike-