Monsters opens the entire series with an episode called "Feverman." We’ve all heard tales of so called "faith healers," but who is to say they aren’t real? Of course, everything has a price. "Feverman" is a great opening to the series. It is one of the darker stories that is pure horror, no comedic aspect. The first few episodes might have some comedic aspect, like Holly the creepy doll and her friends, but the overall feeling of the episodes are horror. In the first season alone, you will see a killer doll, zombies, killer bees, vampires, demons, aliens, and many more different monsters. These monsters will continue over the series with ever more creative concepts, even werehyenas. You’ll also find out that monsters aren’t always bad looking. Sometimes the real monster is the one inside human beings.
Like a lot of other short story series, you will see quite a number of actors that you recognize. Granted, not in every episode, but every so often, I would recognize someone and have to go look up who the actor was since they’ve changed over the years. I think my personal favorites include Meatloaf as a mad scientist, Chris Noth as a devil, and Rob Morrow looking for revenge over a curse. Rob is the one that I had to look up to see who it was. Those are all just from Season One. Some actors, like David Spade and Tony Shaloub, are normally known for their comedy, but they do a great job in these different roles. You’ll also find that several of the episodes were written by or based on works by more famous authors, like Robert Bloch (Psycho).
I find it amusing that the opening music is exactly the same as from the children’s horror series Goosebumps and the logo is in a very similar font and even flips over just like the Goosebumps logo. Granted, I’m not sure why but it works since they’re both horror anthology series. Since Monsters was originally made in 1988-1991, the quality is just OK. It is presented in full screen and mono stereo. On a 40" TV, it looks fine but when you go up to a 70" it appears a bit grainy. In some episodes, the special effects were quite well done, but in others they look cheesy. Still, the content is what matters. This volume set contains every episode ever aired.
Monsters: The Complete Series is a very creepy horror series, but it makes you think a lot more than most generic horror does. You’ll watch an episode and find yourself wondering "What if that could really happen.." at the end of so many episodes. If you like the Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, Night Gallery or any of those sort of shows, you should definitely check out Monsters! It is perfect for any horror fan.
