With horror scaring up lots of business in the multiplexes these days, it was only a matter of time before television got in on the action. But instead of going the continuous-story route taken by most programs, Masters of Horror harks back to the time of The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone, coming up with an anthology series highlighting its directors, not its stars. The cream of the horror crop has gathered together to go wild on TV and do what they couldn't on the big screen. They're each given an hour to send chills down the spines of viewers at home. And for those who don't get Showtime, Season 1 Masters of Horror is available on DVD (including the infamous thirteenth episode banned from broadcast). 

Here's a quick rundown of creepy creations from Season 1:

Chocolate. Series creator Mick Garris (the man behind such straight-to-TV Stephen King adaptations as The Stand and Desperation) directs and adapts his own short story, that of an ordinary guy (Henry Thomas) who finds himself experiencing intense feelings originating from a seductive Canadian woman.

Cigarette Burns. Horror legend John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) steps behind the camera to weave the grisly story of a troubled film buff (Norman Reedus) hired to track down the print of a film said to have driven its viewers to madness and murder.

Dance of the Dead. In an America ravaged by World War III, a teenage girl (Jessica Lowndes) is introduced to a sinister nightclub whose main attractions are undead dancers who put on a ghastly, spasmodic show. Tobe Hooper, who helmed the original versions of both Salem's Lot and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directs this post-apocalyptic thriller.

Deer Woman. Much as he did in An American Werewolf in London, John Landis combines humor and horror to tell the tale of a detective (Brian Benben) investigating a series of grisly murders that may be attributed to a half-human, half-deer creature.

Dreams in the Witch-House. H.P. Lovecraft specialist Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, Dagon) takes on another of the horror writer's works, the story of a grad student (Ezra Godden) who moves into a rundown boarding house and becomes the target of a witch who wants him to perform a ghastly sacrifice.

The Fair-Haired Child. A meek teenager (Lindsay Pulsipher) is kidnapped by a couple (Lori Petty and William Samples) who plan on using her in an unspeakable plot to resurrect their dead son in this chiller from William Malone (Fear Dot Com, 1999's House on Haunted Hill remake).

Haeckel's Tale. John McNaughton (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) directs this adaptation of a Clive Barker story, involving a medical student (Derek Cecil) in the 1800s whose search for a way to resurrect the dead unearths disturbing findings.

Homecoming. Gremlins and The Howling director Joe Dante greatly emphasizes satire in this timely story of deceased soldiers who rise from the grave with the intention of voting out the president whose unjust war cost them their lives.

Imprint. In the series' only episode actually banned from broadcast, notorious Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer) tells the story of an American man (Billy Drago) who searches for a lost love in a hellish island brothel.

Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. A woman (Bree Turner) married to an abusive husband finds herself fighting back against a monstrous serial killer, in this survival thriller from Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep helmer Don Coscarelli.

Jenifer. Dario Argento (Suspiria) directs one of the series' most graphic and controversial episodes, the story of a cop (Steven Weber) who soon discovers the dark secret of a horribly-disfigured woman he saved from being killed.

Pick Me Up. Two homicidal highwaymen, a trucker (Michael Moriarty) and a hitchhiker (Warren Kole), cross paths in this road thriller from Larry Cohen (It's Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent).

Sick Girl. Genre wunderkind Lucky McKee (May) presents a lesbian twist on The Fly with this story of an entomologist (Angela Bettis) whose new lover (Erin Brown) becomes infected by a newly-discovered and very deadly breed of insect.

Of all thirteen installments, Sick Girl and Homecoming emerge as the most sterling entries. McKee packs his episode with the same dark, warped sense of humor and off-kilter characters that fueled his near-perfect debut May. Homecoming is an unabashed satire and proud of it, a none-too-subtle and often hilarious attack on a certain U.S. President and a certain ongoing war that combines creepiness with the art of parody in a wholly intelligent package.

After that, many other episodes also come across as pretty enjoyable. Pick Me Up is a diabolically entertaining road thriller, Takashi Miike's Imprint  offers a number of shock-inducing and stomach-churning sights that fit right in with some of the man's previous work, and John Carpenter gives moviegoers a sinister look into obsession with film with his Cigarette Burns. 

On the other hand, Dario Argento's Jenifer is more along the lines of being shocking for the sake of being shocking. It carries on with a predictable story and fails to arrive at much of a point. Incident On and Off a Mountain Road is a swift-moving tale that nevertheless doles out what is probably the weakest villain in horror history (a white-faced goon named Moonface who just growls a lot). Dance of the Dead  looks like a bad Marilyn Manson video, and series creator Garris' own Chocolate hardly qualifies as horror at all. Finally, the series' worst episode, Deer Woman is an awkward combination of jokes and scares made even worse by some of the downright sloppiest acting this side of a production by Uwe Boll.

Although I'd quibble with a director choice or two, on the whole, the first season of Masters of Horror has proven to be a fun journey. And I'm looking forward to the day Season 2 episodes hit DVD.