The Washingtonians

Based on a Bentley Little short story, this is one of many weak episodes that characterize the less-than-thrilling second season of TV’s “Masters of Horror”.

To be fair, on a conceptual level, the show isn’t completely devoid of interest: falsifying and deliberately distorting historical fact is a highly topical theme, one which goes beyond the debatable process of mythicizing great figures of history (it’s no coincidence the story opens with a list of the “false truths” exploited by the George W. Bush administration to justify American military intervention in Iraq).

This doesn’t take away from the fact that the overall result is rather disappointing. The irony is there, but its claws aren’t very sharp, and with the exception of an amusing closing gimmick (the dollar bill with the portrait of a warmongering president), it shows a persistent tendency to cross the line into the absurd.

Beyond that, the story is slow to take off and the cast offers less-than-convincing performances. The awful ending at the house, as perfunctory as it is insipid, will in all likelihood disappoint even the most indulgent viewer.