Masters of Horror: Valerie on the Stairs DVD review

Adapted for the small screen by MoH creator Mick Garris, and originally written by horror scribe Clive Barker, Valerie on the Stairs stars Tyron Leitso (House of the Dead, Seed), Christopher Lloyd (Quicksilver Highway), Clare Grant (Black Snake Moan, Walk the Line) and Tony Todd (Candyman, Final Destination).

Rob Hanisey (Leitko), a shit out of luck wannabe author, sees an opportunity to pull himself out of despondency after being accepted for residency in the infamous Highberger House. The building has been known as a place where aspiring authors can live with free room and board while they work on their literary “masterpieces”. Problem is, most of the authors never leave, and a recent suicide is the only reason for the newly available room. Haunted by the images of a past lover and struggling to let it inspire him in his work, Hanisey becomes distracted by the beautiful apparition that appears to him in the middle of the night, only to be whisked away by a demon lurking in the shadows.

Quite possibly the best thing Mick Garris has directed in a long time, VotS is one of the better episodes from the second season of Masters of Horror and the alluring Clare Grant (looking very much like a young Sissy Spacek) has the potential of becoming a modern scream queen if she plays her cards right and keeps working within the genre. As always, Tony Todd puts in an amazingly entertaining performance as The Beast, and his love scene with Grant will either leave your squirming in a good way or squirming in a bad way.

Anchor Bay’s DVD release is chock full of extras, like all of the other MoH discs, so you should know what to expect. Here is quick run down.

• Widescreen Presentation
• Still Gallery
• Audio Commentary Featuring Writer/Director Mick Garris
• Jump Scare: Editing Valerie
• Spine Tingler: The Making of Valerie on the Stairs
• Valerie on the Stairs Script

View some clips from the episode on the official site. Just click the link below.
http://www.sho.com/site/mastersofhorror/movie.do?content=valerie

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