Chocolate (2006)

So much average

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

More like a thriller, but still at least average. That's how I felt about it. i liked the acting and how the story develops. But overall it does not achieve greatness. The actors are convincing enough and you will most likely know where this is going very fast (although with an episodic running time, it is not that long to begin with), not that that's a bad thing.Being a bit supernatural, it does try to stay leveled and grounded throughout. Unlike Miikes episode this (and almost every other episode) most not have had any problems, with being shown completely uncut on it's initial run on the TV.

I have become a big fan of the "Masters Of Horror" series, which any fan of the Horror genre should give a try. The series, which, among others contains episodes directed by Dario Argento, John Carpenter and Takashi Miike, was created by Mick Garris, who had the idea for this great show. "Chocolate", the fifth episode of the first season, and Garris' first contribution to the series as a director, however, sadly disappoints. The only reason to call Garris a 'Master Of Horror' is his idea for the MoH series anyway, since he has never written nor directed any essential Horror film. It is understandable that the man who had the idea for the entire series would also want to direct an episode, however. And "Chocolate" is not necessarily bad, but it is by far my least favorite episode of the MoH series so far, just too little Horror and too much boredom and beating around the bush, as far as I am considered.Possible Minor SPOILERS! Jamie (Henry Thomas), a recently divorced guy who works in a laboratory developing flavors for the food industry, suddenly starts having strange visions. At first he thinks it's the chemicals at work, but he soon suspects he's seeing through somebody else's eyes sometimes. He find's out that his visions show him the life of a beautiful young woman he has never met before, he becomes obsessed with her..."Chocolate" has some interesting moments, but over all it is more of a Drama then it is horror - and it is not a good Drama. The episode is almost suspense-less, and apart from the beautiful female cast and a (little) bit of weirdness in a few parts, it is not really worthwhile. The acting is not bad, and Jamie's visions have some style and originality, but over all the episode disappoints. Still worth watching if you plan to see the entire series (such as I do), but out of all the episodes I've seen so far (about 15, some from the first season, some from the second) "Chocolate" is the least interesting.

In fact, now that I think of it, I find anything directed by Garris to be very boring. This episode starts out with an interesting premise, and then goes nowhere with it. Maybe Garris didn't realize he only had one hour to tell this story! This episode, in typical Garris fashion, seems to have been made by robots. There is nothing exciting about it. It grabs you at the beginning, then slowly lets go, amounting to nothing. I kept looking at the clock, wondering when something was going to happen to forward the story and heighten my interest. No such luck. I don't understand why Mick Garris is depicted as a horror veteran when he has failed to create anything memorable in any of his series or movies,(at least the 6 or so that I have seen).So far, from I've seen, my favorite from this series has been "Dreams in the Witch-House," directed by Stuart Gordon who was behind "Re-Animator." Check it out!

Chocolate, from series creator Mick Garris, is a good story. It plays out very well and doesn't fall prey to too many clichés or lapses of logic. The story is told in flashback by our hero Jamie (Henry Thomas) who is recounting how he came to be spattered in blood to an unseen man. The thing that will probably turn off most younger fans of the genre is that Chocolate is very old fashioned in a way. It's all about the slow build. Garris wants you to fully sympathize with Jamie and he's prepared to take his time to build this very one note story until it is perfect. When the bloody finale finally comes it is a bit of a letdown, but the build has been so well done that one is willing to forgive it for its lackluster denouement. All in all Chocolate is an average episode from a capable director who has done far better things. Still, its nice to see something other than a freakshow or gorefest can be included in the series and still be considered horror.