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Film: Masters of Horror: Pelts
Year: 2006
Director: Dario Argento
Writer: Matt Venne
Starring: Meat Loaf, Link Baker and Emilio Salituro
Review:
This isn’t technically a film, but an episode of the Starz series - Masters of Horror. Now each one though is a feature length film or close to it. When I started working through Dario Argento’s filmography, that is when I learned that he did this and another one, Jenifer. I decided to watch this as one of the last of his works to see for review for my celebration of Italian Horror Month and doing a double feature of his works.
Synopsis: a sleazy, desperate fur trader haunts a local strip club and gets his direct priceless raccoon furs - which might be more than just priceless but cursed.
We start this by seeing a bloodbath in an elevator. The police are there looking into what happened. This then shifts over to a warehouse where Jake Feldman (Meat Loaf) runs a business. They skin hinds, tan the fur and make clothing from it. His partner is Lou Chinaski (Link Baker). They also have Sergio (Emilio Salituro) who helps as a manager. Jake is particular and hard on his staff. He expects perfection.
He then leaves and we see that he goes to a nearby strip club. It is there that we see he’s in love with a dancer, Shanna (Ellen Ewusie). He spends quite a lot of money for a private room with her. It is back there that we see he has control issues and attacks her. She does fight him off. There are also inklings that she is a lesbian, or at least bisexual.
While he is there, he gets a call from Jeb ‘Pa’ Jameson (John Saxon). Jeb took his son, Larry (Michal Suchánek), out to a place he knows about. It is on the land of Mother Mayter (Brenda McDonald). There are ruins of an old civilization and it seems like they worshiped raccoons here. Jeb laid traps and they snared these animals. They go to collect. These are what he’s offering to Jake.
By the time he arrives with Lou, tragedy struck. They see the furs and they’re gorgeous. They take all the ones they find before calling the police. Jake’s team then goes about making a coat with them. Like the synopsis said, these furs could be cursed by something because the tragedies don’t stop on this farm. It leads to self-mutilation and murder.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start with this because this is adapted from a short story. This is perfect for a series like Masters of Horror. Argento being able to get this to feature length is perfect. It doesn’t need to be longer than what we get. We get enough to learn about Jake, Shanna and where Pa takes Larry to set the stage. If anything, it could be slightly extended as I want to know more about this place where the raccoons are taken from. What we get though, it isn’t necessarily needed. This is just personal preference.
Now that I’ve set that up, I think this is an interesting character study of Jake. Meat Loaf is great here to bring the role to life. There is enough intensity that it makes sense that he expects perfection. I get the idea that he’s done all the jobs here and now has gotten to the point where he oversees the operation. He expects that from Lou, Sergio and the rest of the team. He even scolds Sergio when he’s cutting these beautiful raccoon pelts. There’s also this interesting animalistic side that we see when he’s around Shanna. You can read that he’s a predator, ignoring that she’s not interested. I do love how it developed over time here.
Sticking with that commentary about predators, which is something I want to flesh out more. Jake wants to expand his operation. His trade is in furs. He doesn’t have the capital to obtain what he would need to upscale the operation. Even the ones he just got; they’re not acquired in the most legal sense. He has his team, but they’re not the perfectionist that he is. He wants to be more of a player but lacks the resources. There is also this idea of wanting to get rich to woo Shanna. We see when she rejects him, he gets violent. I get the idea here that he’s a sexual predator when things line up. He is an opportunist there.
I’ve also seen the idea about this being against the fur trade and how animals are killed for them. It does look like in an interview; Argento rejects that he’s against it. I’m guessing he’s like most human beings in that he doesn’t want animals tortured or killed for them solely. I know for myself; I don’t know enough to fully have an opinion either.
With that taken care of, I’ll shift to discuss the rest of the cast. I’ve already said that Meat Loaf is great here. He fits this character perfectly for what was needed. Saxon is fun in his minor cameo role. Ewusie is gorgeous and she plays this seductive character well. We see her nude, if you are interested there. Baker is good along with Saliturio and all the other workers for Jake. Suchánek works in his role. I love that he’s the first one we see the change for. Other than that, the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
All that is left then is filmmaking. This almost feels like a short with how it is constructed. It is paced well and never hits a lull. If anything, I’d be fine with a bit more expanded understanding of this area and the lore about the raccoons. The cinematography and framing were good. I love it when they focus on the fur of the animals and the coat after it is made. We see fibers moving as they almost entice people. I get the idea that this didn’t have the biggest budget. It doesn’t necessarily look like it though since they had Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger. The blood and gore we got looked solid. They’re able to hide the seams as well. This also had Claudio Simonetti doing the music. Not his best work as it feels more generic. There was a flair to it still that I appreciated.
In conclusion, this is one the second episode of this series that I’ve seen. Both have been good so far so I’m on board to see more. This is an interesting concept. Folklore is something that I could use more of. What we do get though is an interesting, tight story about Jake and how messing with forces we don’t understand backfires. Meat Loaf is great with the rest of the cast around him being solid to push events where they end up. I’d also say this is well-made with the effects, cinematography and the framing leading the way. This is one that I’d recommend to fans of Argento or want to see an interesting little horror film.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10