Monsters in a box: 'Masters of Horror' set

Anchor Bay unleashes "Masters of Horror: Season One Box Set" on Aug. 28. Housed in a mausoleum-themed box, the set includes all 13 episodes, including "Imprint," the notorious episode Showtime wouldn't air.

"Masters of Horror" is a welcome return to the anthology format of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone," "Night Gallery" and the like. My favorites from the initial season (2005) were Takashi Miike’s "Imprint" (pictured); Don Coscarelli's "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" and Mick Garris' "Chocolate." Haven't seen them all, but these are outstanding in a premium cable sort of way. The shows run a viewer-friendly one hour.

"Imprint" is the purest horror entry (most of the others conjure up a bit of spirited humor). Miike’s film loiters in the darkest places of civilized life, exploiting incest, abortion, spousal abuse, child molestation, torture and more. "What system, what producer would greenlight this?" Miike muses in the extras. "For me this is like a car accident."

A better question: Why bother to watch such a thing? Miike is hugely talented, as he proved with the lonely hearts shocker "Audition." The hourlong "Imprint's" dark beauty can't be denied. Visually, it's reminiscent of Kurosawa's final poetic works. The plot goes from strange to absurd in the final 15 minutes, but the story still fascinates with its twists and "Rashomon"-like shuffling of realities. For those who can bear it, "Imprint" proves a singular experience.

The "Masters" DVDs all come with the 1.77:1 aspect ratio, exhanced for 16x9.

"We really wanted to give the fans something special for the Season One box set, as a thank you for their unwavering support of the series," series creator Garris says in the press release. That thank-you gift will run you $56 on Amazon, but the price is right considering the individual titles go for about $8. A 14th disc (13 might bring unfortunate fortune) includes a DGA panel discussion about the series; a Magic Castle gathering of the famed directors involved; and Garris' interviews with Steven Spielberg and John Boorman. The individual discs come with commentaries and up to three hours of extras.

Upcoming new single titles in the series include the "Re-Animator" team's take on Poe's "The Black Cat"; Tom Holland's "We All Scream for Ice Cream" with William Forsythe; and Garris' "Valerie on the Stairs." Just watched my old neighbor George Wendt drop some acid (heh, heh) in the obvious but fun "Family."