Chocolate Year: 2005 Director: Mick Garris Written by: Mick Garris Threat: Psychopath Weapon of Choice: Knife Based upon: none Color/B&W/3D: Color Language: English Country of Origin: USA IMDb page:

Other movies in this series:
Please see the Masters of Horror series page.

Rish Outfield's reviews
In Chocolate, "Masters of Horror" creator Mick Garris tells the story of Jamie, a young man who finds himself smelling, seeing, tasting, and feeling through the nose, eyes, tongue and . . . well, you know, of a woman he doesn't know. Unsure what is causing this phenomenon, he becomes romantically obsessed with the woman, even after it appears she stabs someone to death.
Henry Thomas, a fine actor for decades, delivers a believable, likable performance as Jamie. Matt Frewer is great as always as his unusual friend. The idea (apparently one Mick Garris had been trying to put on film for ages) is a really interesting one. There's some thoughtful stuff going here. There's also plenty of sex and nudity, and a few chuckles.
But the film is ultimately unsatisfying. Partly, it's because we never understand why these things are happening, but mostly because it all ends unresolved. It feels, when the credits roll, that we've accidentally hit the SKIP button on our remote control, and missed the final reel. Not to sound like Corey Feldman from Stand By Me, but, "And then what happens?"
Also, the film is not really Horror. It has its elements, and enough Skulls to merit us reviewing it, but it's a cerebral Sci-Fi idea much more suited to a program like "The Outer Limits" than a Horror anthology like this one.
I've heard it said that Chocolate is the worst of the "Masters of Horror" series (or at least its first season). I didn't loathe it (in fact, I've rather enjoyed all of the installments), but I do think it the weakest of the four episodes I've seen.
I'd Recommend It To: Series completists and/or Slavish Mick Garris fans, if there are any.
Posted: July 18, 2006

The tyranist's thoughts
With nice production values, a pretty strong cast, and a really interesting idea, this entry in the Masters of Horror series seemed like an easy one to pull off. Unfortunately, the idea turned out to be the kind of idea that it is somewhat difficult to build a story around, or at least, a horror story.
I did really like the whole idea of just shifting senses to those of another person. There were moments that were carried off very nicely and the way they dealt with those slips into another persons sensory perception made perfect sense. It was easy to feel the character's frustration with the lack of belief in those around him.
I also really enjoyed the way Garris played with a variety of relationships. Having a range from a wacky co-worker to an estranged wife and loved child to a one-night fling to the woman whose senses he shares is remarkable. It makes the ultimate story line both more interesting and less believable.
In the end, the story just sort of falls apart as Garris realizes that he had to make a horror movie and he hasn't really done that. There were probably much more rational directions to take the characters, but we'll likely never see them.
Posted: July 18, 2006

Total Skulls: 15

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?