Masters of Horror/Jenifer

Jenifer
Season 1, Episode 4
Airdate	November 18, 2005
Written by	teleplay Steven Weber story Bruce Jones
Directed by	Dario Argento
← 1x03 Dance of the Dead	1x05 → Chocolate
Masters of Horror — Season One

Jenifer is the fourth episode of the first season of Masters of Horror.

Jenifer has two insatiable appetites: sex and intestines. Frank's love of the first causes him to ignore the second, but the farther it leads the more obvious it is that Jenifer is not meant for this world.

Cast: Steven Weber (Frank Spivey), Carrie Anne Fleming (Jenifer), Laurie Brunetti (Spacey), Kevin Crofton (Homeless Man), Jasmine Chan (Amy), Brenda James (Ruby), Harris Allan (Pete), Cynthia Garris (Rose), Jeff Ballard (Jack), Beau Starr (Chief Charlie), Julia Arkos (Ann Wilkerson), Matt Garlick (Institute Guard), Mark Acheson (Side Show Owner), Jano Fransden (Hunter), Brad Mooney (Friend), Riley Ruckman (Friend)

Plot Overview

While staking out a location with his partner, cop Frank Spivey steps outside the car and sees a man hustling a bound and distressed woman off to the waters edge. Sensing something strange but unable to get the attention of his partner, Frank follows the two and finds the man has bent the woman over a barrel and is preparing to cut off her head with a hatchet. Giving him a warning but receiving only 'you don't know what she is' in return, Frank is forced to shoot the man. Before expiring, the man says only 'Jenifer'.

The woman, vulnerable and crying but unable to speak, is hideously deformed with large black eyes and a twisted mouth full of teeth. Despite this, Frank releases her from her bonds and she cries into his shoulder.

Instructed by his chief that it was a fair shooting but required to attend mandatory psychological evaluation, Frank sees Jenifer being led through the police precinct and can't help but follow her with his eyes. At home, he tells his wife about the shooting and she tries to be sympathetic. After tending to a small cut her got from Jenifer while releasing her, his wife tries to have sex with him but he becomes strangely obsessed with thoughts of Jenifer and the small cut, but when Frank starts to go too far she stop it.

Checking on the status of Jenifer, he finds that the man he shot wasn't a crazy homeless man but was once a wealthy businessman. He also finds that Jenifer has been taken to Watkins Island, where the conditions are so poor that he has her released into his custody and takes her home. Arriving late and night while his wife and son are sleeping, he gives Jenifer a bed downstairs. While Frank dreams of Jenifer has a normal looking girl, he awakes to find her standing in his bedroom wrapped only in a sheet. His wife comes in and starts screaming when she sees Jenifer's disfigured face. Trying to explain that it would be inhumane to make her leave, his wife insists. Out of some sense of competition, Jenifer quickly grabs his wife and bites into her lips.

Frank drives Jenifer far into the country with the intention of leaving her with a professional institution but is unable to explain why nobody will take her. During this, Jenifer gets more and more affectionate with him and he doesn't refuse her attention. Despite her hideous face, Jenifer has the body of a very attractive woman and she and Frank have sex in the car, which Frank clearly enjoys. Frank brings her back home asking his wife for one more day to find her a home but Jenifer quickly races upstairs. Following her to the bathroom, they find that Jenifer has caught and disemboweled the family cat. Horrified, his wife and son leave him.

Distraught and driven to drinking, Frank continues a cycle of having sex with Jenifer and then her continuing to do horrible things that Frank can't bring himself to punish her for. This time, after coming home and finding that she is chewing on the remains of a friendly little girl from next door, Frank goes to a local circus to bribe the owner into taking her in. Returning home later, Frank is initially happy that the burden has been lifted finds the man is instead stuffed in his refrigerator. Knowing that this can't continue, Frank and Jenifer leave to live a life secluded in the woods.

Having lost his job and family, Frank goes into the local town and gets a job helping at a convenience store. Frank begins to feel better and offers to stay late so that the store owner's son, Jack, can go to a party that night. Unbeknownst to him, Jenifer is watching them from afar.

After being teased about a girl he has a crush on, Jack goes off alone in the woods and sees Jenifer briefly. Following her deep into the woods, he finally sees her face and she attacks him. Frank returns and finds Jack still barely conscious in the cabin basement while Jenifer is eating him. Knowing that there can be only one way to stop the killing, Frank binds Jenifer's hands and takes her off to the forest with axe in hand. About to strike the killing blow, Frank is shot by a passing hunter. Before dying, he is only able to say the word 'Jenifer' before dying. Releasing her, Jenifer begins the process of imprinting on the hunter.

Notes

• Deaths and Gore: Both Frank and the homeless man are shot once. Jenifer, who has a fondness for intestines, kills and eats a cat, a young girl, a sideshow owner, and castrates a teenage boy. She also bites Frank's wife.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• Dario Argento is easily the most famous Italian horror director, having created the notable films Deep Red and Suspiria in addition to collaborating with George Romero on Dawn of the Dead. He is credited along with Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci with perfecting the distinctive giallo style of Italian horror/suspense films.

• Shopkeeper Rose is played by Cynthia Garris, wife of series creator Mick Garris. She has previous appeared with Steven Weber in the Mick Garris directed adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining, as the decaying woman in the bathtub.

• Frank Spivey is played by Steven Weber, best known for his role in the television sitcom Wings and Hollywood movies such as Single White Female and Leaving Las Vegas.

Quotes

• Ruby: What in the name of holy god is that?

• Pete: She's fucking awesome and she's got a great rack, for a morlock.