Monsters: Jar starts as private eye Jack Bateman (Richard Edson) walks into an isolated swamp-side motel & ask's about Ethel Coomer who has been missing for six days. The motel manager (Fritz Weaver) says she checked out & he hasn't seen her since, Bateman is suspicious as a lot of people have been reported missing in the area. Bateman then sees Ann (Gina Gershon), an attractive young lady trapped in an unhappy marriage to a much older man George (Ed Kovens) for his money. Something is amiss, the set-up told to Bateman by both Anne & George are different & why does the motel manager react so strangely around the various jars of green gunk that he has lying around the place?
Episode seven from season two of Monster this originally aired in the US during November 1989, directed by Bette Gordon this is a very good episode but like so many Monsters episodes it has a strong & imaginative enough central plot but just doesn't do that much with it & I wish there were more unexpected twist endings which I think the horror anthology show should be all about. The story here in Jar is good, quite a bit happens over it's twenty odd minute duration but the horror aspects of this episode are played down a bit as it becomes a murder mystery thriller where character's try to figure each other out & play each other for their own ends. The ending is quite good & although not really a twist one could say it finishes almost just as the story is starting which might leave you wondering where things go from here. Jar is a good episode but mostly for a good story rather than it's horror or monsters content.
The monster in this episode is some green Alien (1978) style face-hugger sort of creature that sucks people into nothing & is exploited as the perfect murder weapon which is kind of cool but as I said they aren't the main focus of the story. There's a good atmosphere as usual with good sets & decent special effects. Director Gordon manages to create a little tension & mystery surrounding the jars at the start at which point the viewer doesn't know what is in them. The acting is alright, future star Gina Gershon is pretty sexy in an early role for her.
Jar is a good episode that passes twenty odd minutes but like a lot of season two Monsters so far it is just lacking a little something. Definitely worth watching but I wouldn't call it a classic.
Episode seven from season two of Monster this originally aired in the US during November 1989, directed by Bette Gordon this is a very good episode but like so many Monsters episodes it has a strong & imaginative enough central plot but just doesn't do that much with it & I wish there were more unexpected twist endings which I think the horror anthology show should be all about. The story here in Jar is good, quite a bit happens over it's twenty odd minute duration but the horror aspects of this episode are played down a bit as it becomes a murder mystery thriller where character's try to figure each other out & play each other for their own ends. The ending is quite good & although not really a twist one could say it finishes almost just as the story is starting which might leave you wondering where things go from here. Jar is a good episode but mostly for a good story rather than it's horror or monsters content.
The monster in this episode is some green Alien (1978) style face-hugger sort of creature that sucks people into nothing & is exploited as the perfect murder weapon which is kind of cool but as I said they aren't the main focus of the story. There's a good atmosphere as usual with good sets & decent special effects. Director Gordon manages to create a little tension & mystery surrounding the jars at the start at which point the viewer doesn't know what is in them. The acting is alright, future star Gina Gershon is pretty sexy in an early role for her.
Jar is a good episode that passes twenty odd minutes but like a lot of season two Monsters so far it is just lacking a little something. Definitely worth watching but I wouldn't call it a classic.