Masters of Horror: Deer Woman Review

It’s more than a little ironic that Masters of Horror’s funniest episode also contains one of it’s scariest ideas. You men out there thought Teeth was bad? Wait until you get a load of Deer Woman, a comedic romp from American Werewolf in London John Landis that just so happens to features a doe-legged dame who stomps your aroused genitalia to a pulp.

A native American legend that’s been around for hundreds of years, the Deer Woman is a mischievous spirit that takes the form of a beautiful Native-American woman, only to seduce men to their death. And let’s be honest guys, after taking a good look at her, you don’t have to be Lt. Columbo to see why  guys might be slightly allured.

       With a face like a supermodel and a rack that’d make Jessica Rabbit jealous, this is one damn sexy deer. Not a sentence I write everyday, but hey, don’t let anyone tell you not to try new things. Alas from the waist down, our voluptuous vixen is all fur and deer legs, not that a fluffy white tail or two stops the horn dogs in this episode. Men aren’t always known for using their heads in these situations; at least not the ones they should.

     But beyond the pulverized penis’s and bodacious boobies, what does Deer Woman have to offer? Laughs, and lots of them. Given this is John Landis were talking about, its perhaps not to  surprising his Masters of Horror episode leaned more on comedy than terror, but especially when compared with some of the darker episodes of this series, some fans might be taken aback how little horror Deer Woman really contains. A little breathing room isn’t always a bad thing though; as long as it’s done well, I don’t mind a change of tone every once in a while. And I can’t reiterate this enough, what were given here is really damn funny.

       A lot of the humor comes from the main character; Detective Dwight Faraday might just be the single most burnt out cop ever put to film, and the absolute king of not giving a fuck. After being attacked in an alley, he lazily stabs his would be mugger with his own knife and exasperatingly tells him to get a job. His rookie partner is a Richard Pryor look a like better at drinking and gambling than police work, his wife left him long ago, and his career includes such riveting cases as the legality of owning pet monkeys.

       Basically Faraday is having a rough time of it, and probably isn’t fit for unclogging the stations toilet, much less solving one of the most bizarre series of murders in the police forces history. But goddamn if the disgraced detective doesn’t give it a try.

    Overall this was a great episode; an interesting villain, good characters, laughs, and a fun time. Fans of pure horror might leave feeling a little left out, but overall it’s a nice palette cleanser from some of the nastier entries in the series. And it also might be the only time in cinema history a deer actually looked fuckable, so there’s that.

 Jeff is a writer for The Blood Shed who eats, drinks, and bleeds horror. He’s also the President of Head On A Stick Productions. You can contact him at Headoasp@gmail.com