 I’ve said it before, and I’ll
say it again: I really dislike horror.
When presented with the idea of a scare, my body tenses up
as if I’m about to drop down a rollercoaster. Sometimes
I enjoy this, but other times I just feel pathetic for feeling
that way. I do, however, like psychological thrillers in the
mold of Suspicion.
I like good filmmaking and can appreciate such tense films.
So that’s why this was a bit of a surprise. When presented
with viewing a horror film from the Masters of Horror series, I was expecting a scaring and some mild gore –
but Mick Garris’s contribution to the series, Chocolate,
is as much of a horror movie as Suspicion.
Sure, it has the occasional blood and violent murder, but
nothing that would jump out and scare you. What he does is
succeed in telling a compelling, interesting story that doesn’t
shy away from the erotic or the macabre.
Chocolate stars Henry Thomas as Jamie, a
lonely divorcé. It’s great that we can so quickly
characterize our lead, as it allows the story to unfold right
away. Jamie suddenly and inexplicably begins to taste what
another person is eating, in this case chocolate. His senses
paralyze him into an obsession with this unknown woman. Soon
he begins to acquire more of her senses, from sight, to sound,
to even feeling the love she has for her lover. This intimate
connection is fully realized as Jamie learns first hand a
feeling only a female can have. And ultimately, his connection
allows him to understand why she had to murder her lover.
The movie builds slowly. This build really allows
us to understand Jamie and what he is going through. Of course,
the reason why the unknown woman commits murder over one small
incident is a bit confusing. Somehow Jamie’s connection
allows him to understand why she did it, but I sure don’t.
Regardles, this spurs Jamie to seek the woman, Katherine.
Overall this episode of Masters of Horror is like an episode of The Twilight Zone,
a mini-thriller, but without the suspense. It attempts to
prey on our fear, but it is unclear what exactly we have to
be scared of. If I were in either one of the characters’
position I would be afraid of what was happening to me, but
as an outside observer I had difficulty seeing the fear and
horror of the situation. However, when approaching Chocolate as an erotic tale of a man connected to woman on a higher
psyche, the story is gripping.
 The medium, and original airing on Showtime, allowed Garris
to do things that wouldn’t be possible on conventional
television. Garris himself says it eloquently: the series
is best approached as mini-movies. This is true to some extent,
though it might be nicer if the auteur had 90 minutes to examine
other aspects in the story. He attempts to show the fear that
Katherine has of someone else in her mind, but the story is
told purely from the perspective of Jamie. This clashes. In
addition, the story is filled with unneeded details, such
as Jamie’s occupation as an artificial flavor developer.
Finally, Jamie is said to be lonely, however he’s partying
at a concert with a friend’s band and screwing a gorgeous
woman he just met hours earlier a grocery store. His loneliness
really didn’t look that bad.
Disc Presentation
An excellent 1.77:1 aspect ratio enhanced for 16X9 televisions.
The source was most likely HD and it shows. Overall care was
taken with this series as I’m sure the original intent
was to release each on DVD.
 Disc
Extras
This DVD has a plethora of extras, in total over three hours
if you count the two audio commentaries. The first
extra, The Sweet Taste of Fear: An Interview with Mick
Garris, chronicles Mick Garris’ career and explains
how he is the director of The Shining,
not Stanley Kubrick. Garris directed a recent remake starring
Stephen Webber of Wings fame. Garris’s
friendship with Stephen King is also discussed. Finally, Garris
speaks frankly about Masters of Horror series
and Chocolate.
Working with a Master: Mick Garris is a collection
of interviews by people who have shot other movies with Garris.
It’s a great fluff piece that highlights his other work. On Set: An Interview with Henry Thomas and On
Set: An Interview with Lucie Laurier are interesting
pieces talking with the actors. I would have liked more out
of this, such as discussing what it was like to mimic a female
orgasm. Instead, they are merely recounting the story.
 The
last featurette, Behind the Scenes: The Making of Chocolate,
is a fly on the wall montage of the director directing. It
is interesting to see his style and his interest in the various
aspects of moviemaking.
Also included is an interview Mick Garris conducted in the
1970s on his cable access show, Fantasy Film Festival.
This interview with Roger Corman is look at old-school look
at filmmaking back in the hey-day of horror movies.
The disc also
has Movie Trailesr for all of the Masters
of Horror shows produced to date, a behind the scenes Still Gallery of the movie, an extra long Mick
Garris Bio, a DVD-ROM .pdf screenplay and original
short story and a screen saver for Windows and Mac computers.
Finally, I was able to find a few hidden Easter eggs.
The Bottom Line
Chocolate is not a horror movie. Nothing
about it scared me - and I was sheepish watching The
Others. The fears are to be meant to be internal,
and pose the question, “What would you do if you could
peek into the psyche of someone else?” When taken as
an erotic drama, one not to shy away from the sexual aspects
of love, Chocolate is solid. Unfortunately,
it leaves you hungry.
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