Homecoming Review Country : USA Year: 2005 Genre: Horror Format: Broadcast Running Time: 60 minutes Network: Showtime Joe Dante proves that he's still one of the Masters Of Horror with this politically-charged helping of hair-raising terror. Credits Directed by Joe Dante. Written by Sam Hamm. Starring Jon Tenney and Thea Gill. In this entry to the new and exciting series, Masters of Horror, Joe (The Howling) Dante returns to his roots in horror, but gives us a bold political statement in the process. Based on Dale Bailey's award winning satire "Death and Suffrage," adapted by Sam (Batman) Hamm, and directed by Dante, "Homecoming" asks the question, "What would all the slain soldiers say, given the chance to speak for or against or current war in Iraq?" "Homecoming" opens when a Republican president is running for re-election and a war he duped the nation into fighting still rages on. Campaign consultant David (Jon Tenney) Murch and right-wing author Jane (Thea Gill) Cleaver, are debating on an obvious parody of several issue-oriented talk shows when the mother of one of the fallen soldiers cries to the nation and says she wished she could have her son back. Well, Murch in his sleazy politician ways lies and tells her about his brother dying in Vietnam and if he could have one wish, it would be for her to have her son back. After that, all hell literally breaks loose and an army (no pun intended) of US soldiers return to life to speak out and vote against this current President, who oddly enough looks just like our own village idiot George Bush. Cleverly executed sometimes hilarious, "Homecoming" is a perfect example of horror's ability to address subjects too touchy to deal with in other genres. It also takes the political subtext of George Romero's Dead series and puts it in our time, without becoming an anti-war statement or silent protest. We even get treated to a little in joke in which a tombstone (in Arlington cemetery) reads 'G.A. Romero'. Simple enough right? Well, not really. The show delves into plenty more touchy issues and really makes you think about our current situation overseas. I commend Joe Dante, Mick Garris, and Showtime for having the balls to speak out against these types of politics and satirizing one of the most controversial wars of our time. "Homecoming" ranks with the best of the best so far and definitely the Pit of Horror seal of approval. OFFICIAL SITE 'THE INCIDENT ON AND OFF A MOUNTAIN ROAD' REVIEW 'DREAMS IN THE WITCH-HOUSE' & 'DANCE OF THE DEAD' REVIEW 'CHOCOLATE' REVIEW SOUNDTRACK REVIEW Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com