 I hate horror movies. To me, horror movies
rely on jump out and scare you antics. They're about preying
on unsuspecting and undeserving victims and destroying them
for no good reason beyond their decision to go to the wrong
camp or live on the wrong street. It's sad horror movies have
become pigeonholed that way.
At least … that's often the general public's perception
of horror.
I've learned that horror is a genre that can be as diverse
as the “western genre” or “animated films.”
To use such a broad term as horror can be a disservice to
great suspense-gore-drama-comedy style of moviemaking.
But alas! Suspense-gore-drama-comedy is not as easy to combine
like rom-com or dramedy. Perhaps that is why the series Masters of Horror, originally aired on Showtime,
was made to show the different styles of horror out there.
From this it is easy to get an appreciation
of horror as stylistically pleasing film. After all, at any
film's core is a strong story, told by a great director/screenwriter
as presented by actors.
Cigarette Burns is John Carpenter's contribution
to this series. In the hour-long show Kirby Sweetman, played
by Norman Reedus, accepts the task of finding a movie known
to cause murderous actions to audiences upon viewing.
The closer he gets to finding Le
Fin Absolue Le Monde or The
Absolute End of the World, the more he's sucked
into hallucinations from his own psyche. At the heart of the
movie lies an ambitious, desperate, debt-ridden man in search
of redemption for the guilt he feels from his girlfriend's
suicide.
 That's exactly what this movie preys on: self-anxiety. John
Carpenter knows that the scariest thing to anyone is his or
her own self. Somehow Absolue forces the audience
to do this. Why, it is unclear - even John Carpenter in one
of the extras was uncertain how a movie could do this. The
best guess is that eerie music over simple lines of dialogue,
flashes of a girl covered in blood screaming and the destruction
of something innocent causes this to happen. Luckily 'cigarette
burns,' the dark circles at the top of a frame to let the
projectionist know to add on the next reel, alert us that
something is about to change.
The
short 60-minute movie attempts to dive into Kirby's remorse.
Reedus does a good job of showing a conflicted soul who is
keen on knowing the visions he's having are just hallucinations.
His focus reminds the audience what we must control our anxiety.
The themes here were pretty strong, strong enough that the
short running time works against the film. The movie could
have done a lot more if given enough time. Kirby is not given
enough time to develop, nor is Mr. Ballenger, the rich movie
collector who Kirby is working for. The film is full of half
hearted attempts to clear up why things are happening.
The fact that they are never fully explained only adds to
the tension of Cigarette Burns and reminds the audience that it's just a movie.
 The final act is where the horror-comedy really starts to
play. Absolue really
does have adverse affects on the audience. This is shown by
Mr. Ballenger's butler's reaction, comedic at best with a
slight sense of gore, and by Mr. Ballenger's reaction. Both
actions are done excellently with the use of make-up. It's
sad that Kirby's reaction to the movie isn't as strong as
Ballenger and the butler. The entire movie is about his fight
against the effects of the potential of seeing the movie.
When he finally gets the chance, his reaction is bit of a
let down, but only by comparison.
Disc Presentation
Shot in a 16:9 enhanced film ratio, the movie was originally
shown in High-Def. The DVD echoes this, and challenges
the effects artists to make the blood and gore that much more
realistic. I think most people have an expectation of
what blood looks like on screen; Cigarette Burns achieves this realism.
 Disc
Extras
Wow, a one-disc set that is actually concerned with extras. Masters of Horror certainly has a plethora
of quality extras. Any movie fan would enjoy the look
behind the scenes.
The first extra, Celluloid Apocalypse: An Interview with John Carpenter,
gives an honest view of the movie. John Carpenter laughs
at the title of “Master of Horror” and reminds
us of the other non-horror movies he's made. In addition,
he scoffs at making Vancouver look like anything but Vancouver.
With the limited shoot time of 10 days, he didn't have the
option of going to Paris, Los Angeles or anywhere else.
Luckily he did an adequate job by relying on interior shots.
Working with
a Master: John Carpenter is a collection of interviews
by people who have shot other movies with Carpenter. Since
the series is concerned with highlighting horror directors'
work it is fitting to have it on this DVD.
On Set: An Interview with Norman Reedus is a fluff piece
feature with the star of Cigarette Burns during which he recounts the movie. This is the type of feature
you'd customarily see on most DVDs, so its inclusion is expected.
The last feature, Behind the Scenes: The Making of Cigarette
Burns, 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 a trailer for all of the Masters
of Horror shows produced to date, a behind the scenes stills gallery, an extra long John Carpenter
Bio, a DVD-ROM .pdf Screenplay and a screen
saver for Windows and Mac computers. In addition there
are two separate audio commentaries. The first
is with John Carpenter who pokes fun at some of the “cheese-ball”
aspects of the movie and provides a play-by-play narration
of the movie. The second is with the writers, Drew McWeeny
& Scott Swan. Finally there is an Easter egg that directs
you to a secret place on the Masters of Horror Website.
The Bottom Line
If you're a fan of horror, then I'm certain you're already
going to want to see these. With a limited run time Carpenter
pulls off an anxious, suspenseful movie. If horror's not your
cup of tea but you want to branch out, I'd recommend checking
this out. Just be certain to watch out for the scare-for-scare's-sake
moments.
Of course, it does have its faults. It is tough to condense
a movie into one hour, contributing to the lack of character
development. In addition, many of the events are left unexplained.
However, as a non-horror fan I'm beginning to be swayed.
Unfortunately, whenever I want to see gore, I just need to
turn on the news and be appalled.
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