Joe Dante has never made a scary horror movie, but he HAS made a lot of funny ones. Like John Landis (who has also lent his name & talent to a few "Masters of Horror" episodes), Dante is more renowned by movie fans for his quirky sense of humor than his ability to scare us. But unlike the Landis-directed episodes, "The Screwfly Solution" features none of Dante's trademark goofiness that made "Gremlins" & "The Howling" such classics. Though the series was created to showcase the style & talents of various directors, this particular episode looks like it could have been directed by anybody. Fortunately, the story itself is good enough to make this one worth checking out.

"The Screwfly Solution" is an apocalyptic sci-fi/horror story, in which there are increasing outbreaks of violence throughout the world, committed by men upon women whenever they are sexually aroused. Two scientists (Jason Priestly & Elliott Gould) have a theory that the human race is being chemically manipulated to stop reproducing, much like scientists have done in years-passed to rid the planet of various deadly species of insects. As the incidents of violence engulfs the globe, the focus of the story shifts to Priestly's wife & daughter, who flee north to avoid being killed. It's actually too bad Dante's indelible mark doesn't pop up from time to time, because even though this is based on a brilliantly conceived short story by James Tiptree, the basic premise is goofy enough to serve as a platform for some great black comedy. Then again, maybe Dante isn't the right director for the job. Unlike his theatrical body of work, this one features a lot of sex, nudity & some scenes of unsettling violence, par-for-the-course elements in most "MoH" episodes, but out of character for Dante. Sure, these scenes are well done, and the story itself feels fairly epic in scope considering the budget restrictions of television shows, but it seems as though Dante is catering to the no-holds-barred nature of the series, rather than vise-versa, belying the original intentions of creator Mick Garris.

Anchor Bay has done another great job with the transfer of this episode. It is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, belying its TV origins, and sports accurate black tones & a blemish-free picture. The audio rendered in 5.1 Dolby Digital & 2.0 Dolby Surround. In short, this "Masters of Horror" episode looks and sounds as good as any feature film you'd care to mention.

Dante & screenwriter Sam Hamm provide a decent audio commentary, and both are also featured in the making-of featurette, "The Cinematic Solution," where we learn this is a project Dante's has wanted to tackle for quite a long time. "The Exterminators" is another featurette focusing of the visual effects. Also included is a still gallery, and like all the other "MoH" discs, the screenplay on DVD-ROM.

"The Screwfly Solution" isn't scary at all, but it does tell an intriguing apocalyptic what-if tale that's fairly faithful to the original short story. Fans of director Joe Dante might be a little disappointed that his quirky & humorous touch is almost nowhere to be found, though this episode certainly maintains the same "anything goes" tone of the series. Recommended.