Jenifer (Masters Of Horror)
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"Jenifer" is the fourth episode of the first season of ''
Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is a horror anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherm ...
''. It originally aired in
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on November 18, 2005. It was directed by
Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror film, horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the ...
and written by and starring
Steven Weber Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series '' Wings'', and as Dr. Dean Archer on NBC’s Chicago Med. He also voiced Charlie B. Barkin in '' ...
. "Jenifer" is adapted from a 10-page black-and-white comic book story, written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by
Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...
, that originally appeared in issue #63 (July 1974) of the horror anthology title ''
Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...
''.


Plot

Police officer Frank Spivey (
Steven Weber Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series '' Wings'', and as Dr. Dean Archer on NBC’s Chicago Med. He also voiced Charlie B. Barkin in '' ...
) happens upon a man with a meat cleaver threatening a disfigured young woman (Carrie Fleming). Frank intervenes and the man warns Spivey that he "doesn't know what she is," forcing him to shoot the man before he kills her. Frank finds himself drawn to the girl. Later that night at his home, Frank's wife Ruby (Brenda James) attempts to console him and as they begin to make love, he loses himself in his fantasy of the woman and attempts to sexually assault his wife, who forces him off her. The next day Frank learns the girl is named Jenifer and she is mute. He takes her to his home and Ruby and his son Pete (Harris Allen) react to meeting her with varying degrees of disgust and Jenifer attacks Ruby. Ruby issues an ultimatum that Frank must decide between Jenifer or her. Frank leaves with the young woman and Jenifer seduces him in his car. Frank returns home with Jenifer, who kills and eats his cat and his neighbor's daughter. Frank and Jenifer leave his home and he attempts to hide her. Frank gets a job at a market. Jenifer follows the shop owner's son to a party and kidnaps him. Frank finds Jenifer in the cabin cellar devouring the boy's genitals and decides to kill her. Frank drags her through the woods to kill her and just as he's about to strike her down a hunter shoots Frank, who says "Jenifer" before dying. The hunter moves to comfort Jenifer.


Cast

*
Steven Weber Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series '' Wings'', and as Dr. Dean Archer on NBC’s Chicago Med. He also voiced Charlie B. Barkin in '' ...
as Frank Spivey, a police detective whose life is destroyed when he succumbs to Jenifer * Carrie Anne Fleming as Jenifer, a siren-like woman who can entrance men despite her hideous appearance * Brenda James as Ruby, Frank's wife, who is disgusted by Jenifer *
Harris Allan Harris Allan (born February 11, 1985) is a Canadian actor, singer, musician and songwriter. Harris Allan was a series regular on Showtime's series ''Queer as Folk'', where he played the character of James (Hunter) Montgomery from 2003 until t ...
as Pete, Frank's son *
Beau Starr Beau Starr is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is known for his film role as Sheriff Ben Meeker in the 1988 horror film '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers''; he reprised his role in the 1989 sequel '' H ...
as Chief Charlie * Laurie Brunetti as Spacey * Cynthia Garris as Rose * Jeffrey Ballard as the young Jack (credited as Jeff Ballard)


Production

This episode was shot in and around
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
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,
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. The gore and make-up effects were done by KNB Effects and were received mostly positively by critics and fans. The DVD featurette "
Howard Berger Howard Berger (born 20 December 1964) is a special make-up effects creator who is best known for his work on ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' films. He has over 200 films to his credit since 1977. Berger is the co-founder of KNB EFX Group along w ...
and the Make-Up of Jenifer" detailed the process Carrie-Anne Fleming went through to transform her into the beast. This was the only episode of the first season to require cuts, though
Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, b ...
's "
Imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
" was entirely rejected for TV. Two shots were removed from the final film, both involving graphic depictions of oral sex: the first one occurred during the sex scene in the car between Frank and Jenifer; the second occurred at the end of the film and actually showed Jenifer castrating—and then eating—young Jack's penis. The deleted scenes are featured in the "So Hideous My Love'" documentary on the DVD.


Reception

Jenifer was released to mixed reviews on its value as a film. Favorable reviews focused on Argento's ability to mix eroticism and repulsion with the sensuality of the film's sex scenes, often comparing it to his other films such as his version of the ''
Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title character of the novel and its adaptations Theatre * ''Phantom of t ...
'' and '' Sleepless''.


DVD information

Anchor Bay Entertainment The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...
released all the ''Masters of Horror'' DVDs with extra features for each episode. Their treatment of the DVDs were extremely well received, winning a
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
for "Best Television Series Release on DVD" in 2006.The Saturn Awards Official Website
/ref> The extra features for Jenifer's DVD release include: *Commentary by writer/actor Steven Weber and DVD producer Perry Martin *So Hideous My Love – An Interview with Dario Argento featurette *Working With a Master: Dario Argento featurette *Behind The Scenes: The Making of Jenifer featurette *Howard Berger and The Make-Up of Jenifer featurette *On Set: An Interview with Steven Weber *On Set: An Interview with Carrie Anne Fleming *Trailers *Still gallery *Dario Argento text bio *Screenplay (DVD-ROM) *Screen saver (DVD-ROM) *Collectible trading card As with most of the first season of ''Masters of Horror'', Best Buy had an exclusive release which included a featurette called "Script to Screen". It was originally packaged separately, but later releases packaged it with " Haeckel's Tale" and then the entire first season. Each DVD release has contained all the features the initial release did.


See also

*''
Eel Girl ''Eel Girl'' is a 2008 horror science fiction short film written and directed by Paul Campion, in which a scientist becomes obsessed with an apparent human-eel hybrid woman being studied in a Naval research facility. The film stars Julia Rose an ...
'' *''
Harpya ''Harpya'' is a 1979 Belgian short comedy horror film written and directed by Raoul Servais, which tells the story of a man (portrayed by ) who tries to live with a harpy (portrayed by Fran Waller Zeper), a mythical being that is half woman an ...
'' *
Shambleau "Shambleau" is a short story by American science fiction and fantasy writer C. L. Moore. Though it was her first professional sale, it is her most famous story. It first appeared in the November 1933 issue of ''Weird Tales'' and has been reprin ...
*''
Tomie is a Japanese horror manga series written and illustrated by Junji Ito. It centers on a mysterious, beautiful woman named Tomie Kawakami. The manga was Ito's first published work that he originally submitted to ''Monthly Halloween'', a Sh ...
''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenifer (Masters Of Horror Episode) Masters of Horror episodes Television shows based on American comics 2005 American television episodes Films directed by Dario Argento