BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Claudio Carvalho In the nineteen century, a man seeks help with a necromancer, asking her to revive his beloved wife. The woman advises him that the process could be dangerous, since she can bring the body back, but not necessarily the spirit and proposes him to listen to Haeckel's story to help in his decision. Ernst Haeckel (Derek Cecil) is a cocky medical student fascinated with resuscitation. When the illness of his father becomes terminal, he travels to visit him and in his journey he meets the necromancer Montesquino (Jon Polito), who claims to have the ability to bring the dead back to life. While preparing to spend the night nearby a cemetery, the old man Wolfram (Tom McBeath) offers him shelter in his home, telling him that it would be very dangerous to stay near the necropolis. Haeckel accepts the invitation and meets his young wife Elise Wolfram (Leela Savasta). He feels seduced by the sexy woman, and sooner he finds her eternal love for her deceased husband."Haeckel's Tale" is a great erotic zombie tale and one of the best episodes of "Masters of Horror". The atmosphere is creepy, and the Canadian is one of the sexiest actresses I have ever seen. Her sensual "zombie gang bang" is morbidly fascinating and absolutely original, but not for conservative and bigoted audiences. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Terrível História de Haeckel" ("The Terrible Story of Haeckel")

ThrownMuse John McNaughton's MOH entry is one of the more disjointed ones. It concerns a man who goes to witch doctor to see if she can revive his dead wife. She tells him the tale of a man named Haeckel, a Frankenstein type who was obsessed with making life out of death. That is, until one day he's traveling to visit his dying father and ends up staying with a woman with zombiephilia. It's refreshing to see an episode that's a period piece, but the lack of a cohesive story structure really hinders it. I would have liked to have seen more Clive Barker (who wrote the short story one which the episode is based) and less Mick Garris (who adapted it.) It is a fairly nasty episode and there are a few effective scare scenes. The ending is really gross and silly in a good way, but perhaps I only took at as that because everything that came before it was somewhat dull.

Paul Andrews Masters of Horror: Haeckel's Tales is set sometime during the 19th Century where John Ralston (Steve Bacic) has recently lost his wife & has gone to a known Necromancer named Miz Carnation (Micki Maunsell) in an attempt to try & bring her back from the dead, Miz says that he doesn't know what he's asking for & tells him that if he still wants his wife brought back from the dead after she has told him a story then she will oblige. Miz starts her story, it's about a young medical student named Ernst Haeckel (Derek Cecil) who is obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. After his scientific methods fail he approaches a Necromancer called Montesquino (Joe Polato) who claims to have the magical ability to raise the dead, however after accepting a room for the night from one of Montesquino's customer's Haeckel realises there is a horrible price to pay for his services...This Canadian American co-production was episode 12 from the generally hit-and-miss Masters of Horror TV series, Haeckel's Tale turned out the be the final screened episode after Takashi Miike's Imprint got pulled shortly before it was due to air. Originally to be directed by George A. Romero who strangely still gets a 'In Assaciation with' credit even though I'm not sure in what capacity he worked on it, if any. In the end John McNaughton got the job & he turns in a perfectly watchable Masters of Horror episode, it's not the best this series has to offer but it's far from the worst. The script by the show's regular producer Mick Garris was based on a short story by Clive Barker of the same name & you can definitely see Barker's perverse imagination dotted throughout Haeckel's Tale, sex with the dead, zombies, violence, gore, twisted revelations, good vs evil, the whole creation of life, what it means & various religious themes along with a general messed up approach to things. The storytelling here is quite good & I really liked the tale within a tale narrative & it's rather cool twist ending which I didn't see coming. However it's not all good news, I thought it dragged a little in places & isn't the most exciting of episodes either & around the scenes that obviously came from Barker's twisted imagination it's a tad dull.Director McNaughton does alright although why was he chosen for a Masters of Horror episode when he had never made a horror film before except maybe Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) & even that is more of a thriller than horror puzzles me, answers on a postcard please. This has a few stylish moments, I liked the period setting which made it feel like a Hammer film at times & there are some suitably creepy & nasty scenes in it. The gore doesn't really kick in until the final 10 minutes or so, there's a dead cut open body, someone is disembowelled & has their eyes poked out & eaten by some rotten zombies, there's some blood splatter, a zombie dog & a gross zombie baby who has a face only a mother could love...Technically this is good & has nice production values, it's well made & obviously had a fair amount of time spent on it as the period setting is well realised. The acting is alright but there are no 'names' in this one.Haeckel's Tale is a good Masters of Horror episode, it's certainly one of the better ones & was an OK if somewhat premature way to end season 1. Definitely worth a watch for horror fans or fans of the series.

mrthrill This is squarely in the tradition of AIP/Hammer/Bava period Gothic chillers (with a touch of Romero) which mixed horror and eroticism back in the 60s and 70s on a routine basis, before nudity again became somewhat taboo in our increasingly conservative culture. For me, this one has it all - a naked nympho, atmospheric sets, cool monster makeup, and best of all - ZOMBIE SEX! This is totally a B movie - B meaning going back to the basics of breasts, beasts and blood - and I loved it unashamedly. The scene in the fog-shrouded graveyard with the orgasmic babe being mauled by horny zombies is stunning, like an uncensored full page panel from one of those B&W horror mags of the 70s, Creepy, Vampirella or Eerie - in the full-colored flesh. I'd like to freeze-frame it and hang it on the wall of my tiki lounge. This is the greatest zombie sex flick since "Cemetery Man" and the addition of the zombie baby is a nice nod to Pete Jackson's "Dead Alive." Along with the equally erotic (and twisted) "JENIFER" and "SICK GIRL" - another very entertaining drive-in throwback - this is my favorite of the MOH series so far (season one.)