Bjorn (ODDBear)
Mick Garris and Tobe Hooper were the weak links on Season One of "Masters of Horror". Garris's "Chocolate" was an ambitious episode and in many ways interesting but if fell flat due to incomprehensive storytelling, a snail's pace and a weak ending. Here he goes to a short story written by horror maestro Clive Barker and makes amends for the disappointing first season episode."Valerie on the Stairs" is an interesting story, somewhat creepy with a killer twist in the end. Garris performs well in the director's chair, elicits fine performances from his cast and ensured a fantastic look that's both atmospheric and moody. The setting here is brilliant and fits incredibly well to a horror film.Garris also doesn't shy away from some gory set pieces as well and they're very well done. "Valerie on the Stairs" is a solid entry in the relatively uneven second season of this very ambitious project that is "Masters of Horror". Congrats to Mick.
Michael_Elliott
Valerie on the Stairs (2006) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Mick Garris directed this film from the Masters of Horror series. An unpublished writer moves into a building for unpublished writers where he begins to see the spirit of a girl named Valerie. The writer starts to investigate these sightings and then realizes that a demon (Tony Todd) is also in the building. This ghost story had an interesting secret that gets revealed half way through the film and I think the movie would have worked a lot better had the film started with the secret and then moved forward. The first half of the movie really doesn't offer any shocks and the comedy bits about writers really doesn't come off too funny. Christopher Lloyd co-stars. Adapted by a Clive Barker story.
tlzor
I find it distressing that people are so in need of having EVERYTHING explained to them. I had absolutely no difficulty whatever following Valerie and processing what was going on. Granted, I had it figured out about halfway in, but the ride was still OK. One has to remember, there are time restrictions and rating restrictions involved in making made-for-TV productions. I'm sure the story as written was far darker than what was able to be put on screen. Insofar as the comments regarding Barker's writing, I must take issue with this. I believe the person who made them is far too young or naive to "get" the writing, and I doubt that there has been much of the material this person has read. A great deal of Barker's work, particularly the earlier work, is some of the darkest and hardest hitting work in the field...AND THE MOST ADULT. It goes places many people do not wish to go and is EXTREMELY visceral. It goes to the deepest hidden fantasies & brings them to the surface. (Example: Hellraiser--the original, not the follow-ups). Based upon the manner in which this was approached, I do not think this person "got" it at all, and with the typical American short attention span and inability to think for themselves, finds no joy in having to actually think for 2 minutes. This is why Most popular American film is trash..infantile plots, continual explaining, consistent "happy" endings & everything all tied up in a freakin' bow at the end. Any time one is forced to perhaps think, perhaps speculate...Oh, No, my brain will explode...Granted, it was a shallow representation of Barker's work at best...again...restraints of the industry.
Jonny_Numb
I have always considered Mick Garris one of our most undervalued genre directors. He has understood Stephen King's prose well enough to make excellent TV adaptations of "The Stand," "Desperation," and "The Shining" (cleaning up Stanley Kubrick's nauseatingly overpraised mess-terpiece); his most simultaneously renowned and scorned creation may be the "Masters of Horror" anthology series, cited as maddeningly uneven by some, and fulfilling to others. If you can't tell already, I was a fan of Garris's Season 1 entry (the much-derided 'Chocolate'), and am now an even bigger fan of 'Valerie on the Stairs,' a showcase of storytelling (about storytelling, no less) that truly earns the praise given to a 'master.' Working from a story treatment by Clive Barker, Garris tells the tale of Highberger House, a place seemingly dusted with antiquity, where struggling writers can stay rent-free until their work gets published. Rob Hanisey (Tyler Leitso) secures a room after the previous tenant commits suicide, and quickly forges a negative rapport with the other residents when he begins having visions of an ethereal beauty named Valerie (the smoldering Clare Grant), imprisoned by the appetites of The Beast (Tony Todd under a mountain of makeup and latex). The cast (also featuring Christopher Lloyd in a good supporting role) is excellent, and Garris foments fear through the use of imposing high- and low-angle shots, matched with frequently tight and confining framing. Most importantly, he really understands Barker's fascination with multiple layers of reality, other dimensions getting a foothold, and the power of sexual desire intertwined with human imagination. Garris also takes many opportunities to show off the surprising, cynical humor that has punctuated his previous films (Rob's initial meeting with the landlord, and a middle-aged Southern woman complaining of having her "pleasure interrupted" are two gems among many). But in the end, 'Valerie' is really about the art and craft of writing--in many ways, it is a clever salute to the form, something this Garris/Barker collaboration conveys beautifully. One of the best episodes of the series.7.5 out of 10
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