Opening episode of the second season has an interesting premise, the atmosphere of mystery and tension gradually rise promising an excellent horror film, and then collapse into one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. Within the genre, it might be able to pass with a five out of ten, but the ending is unforgivable. Instead of some sort of resolution, an unexpected twist or anything meaningful, the film ends as an episode of the regular TV series. At the most exciting moment movie stops and closing credits begin, and to see how the story ends you have to wait for the next episode. Only this is not a regular show and there won't be the next episode. Idiocy.3/10

I had mixed feelings when I saw that the first episode of the second season of this anthology show would be directed by none other than Tobe Hooper. For one thing we all know how much raw potential he has but also how he tends to make some oddly disappointing directing decisions that leave his works sadly unfulfilled. And for another this is his second addition to Masters of Horror (one of the few true masters really featured)- and his first one was good. It was decent but not great. Seeing that this one was another collaboration between Matheson and Hooper had me pretty excited because the script for Dance of the Dead, Hooper's earlier episode also written by Matheson, was nice. I actually had higher expectations for this episode than I did Dance of the Dead- for the first four minutes. And then comes in that awful slow-mo hazy effect that he used so liberally in his other episode. Why he does things like this is beyond me but I immediately gave a great sigh and settled down, ready for another lukewarm serving from someone very adept and delivering below his potential. Which was actually a blessing in disguise because now I was open to being pleasantly surprised. This time around the cinematography had a warm ambiance reminiscent of TCM. It was set in Texas, so maybe that's just what Hooper does best.In fact, the atmosphere seems to be an element that's missing in a lot of his films and is really done justice here. The script was also tighter this time around- it probably did help that it was based on a short story rather than a Matheson original. I started off this review with criticism but honestly The Damned Thing is a gem among later Hooper works and a cut above most of the episodes of Masters of Horror.

A young boy watches as his seemingly loving father goes violently berserk shooting his mother point-blank with a shotgun claiming, "The damned thing found me." Running frightened out of his wits, the child climbs up a tree with daddy in hot pursuit blazing his shot-gun in a state of madness. The child watches as some invisible force throws his father up against the truck ripping him apart. Twenty something years down the road, he has grown into a boozing, deeply traumatized man, a sheriff in a nearby town named Cloverdale, hoping that the damned thing will remain in Sturgess, Texas, but deep down(and as the forehead scar certainly reflects)he knows the past will come back to haunt him just like his other two generations of Reddles. Sheriff Kevin Reddle(Sean Patrick Flanery, wearing the traumatized history of his past etched into his troubled, wounded face)has installed video equipment into his home watching for that terror he fears will return, as his estranged wife and young son live in a trailer separate from him. Soon Cloverdale citizens are killing themselves and each other as loud thunder and vicious lightning noises the damned thing's return. We see in one sequence where Kevin's wife Dina(Marisa Coughlan)is taken over by the invisible force almost leading her to the murder of son Mikey(Alex Ferris). It's one example of many where rational, normal people react against type in extreme, unsettling ways displaying cruelty towards those around them. What is the damned thing and can Kevin somehow prevent history from repeating itself? Does this past incident in 1959 where a town slaughtered themselves after the Reddles drilled a certain well dry have something to do with the outbreak of violence taking place in the present? It is mentioned by a newspaper writer that perhaps an evil force was released when the Reddles started drilling for oil, could chaos have actually been unleashed on innocents? In describing the myth from stories in his childhood, Kevin tells us that those who found the townspeople dead in the streets from a past slaughter explained an overwhelming force they felt.Describing the force that is overwhelming people, I guess Dina describes her experience best..that which went through her was like a poison.If you are watching this for an exhilarating experience from the plot, you'll feel rather unsatisfied and perhaps even mystified. But, if you want pure blood and guts, Tobe delivers that in abundance. Expect entering this horror tale, lots of over-the-top violence, there's bloody carnage on display. People being blown away by shotgun blasts, one woman whose upper torso is pulled from a car as shredded flesh and blood splatters where her legs use to be, a man bashes his head with a hammer, Priest Father Tulli(Ted Raimi, how's that for casting against type!)blows a deputy's brains out with his own pistol, etc. Often, Tobe often uses frenetic camera-work, I'm guessing to communicate the panicky situation at hand during the action where characters are running for their lives from threats. The oil monster at the end is something to behold, I'll tell you. The film has narration from Kevin explaining his terrifying past and his fears. We see in one eerie scene where the scar on Kevin's forehead opens to reveal a demented grin..with teeth and tongue emerging!

I've read other reviews that claim that Tobe Hooper's The Damned Thing is the best of the series to date and I'd have to agree. Not since last season's John Carpenter directed entry Cigarette Burns has there been an episode this well made. Hooper is in his finest form since the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Maybe that's due to the location of this film being the lonestar state as well. Whatever it is, the mojo is back people! Everything about this episode is superb. From the extremely literary script by Richard Christian Matheson adapted from a short story by Ambrose Bierce to the cinematography to the cast. and what a cast it is! Marisa Coughlan as the spunky ex wife does a fine job. Ted Raimi breaks from form as a priest who succumbs to the madness and delivers the finest performance of his career to date. And then there's lead actor Sean Patrick Flanery. Hands down this is Flanery's film. He owns this role and the film that goes with it. I have never seen him deliver a performance like this. I was glued to the screen every second he was on camera. What a kick off to the second season. If every episode is this well done, season two will be a definite step up from the first season.