H1 presents an original anthology television movie featuring four tales of horror and dark humor. While there is no host, the Twilight Zone-type tales are tied together with a strong connection to the world of music.
In "Disco Inferno," buddies Buck (Erik Palladino) and Randy (Danny Masterson) love heavy metal above all else, as jobs, girlfriends and life have passed them by. On their way home from a concert, Buck wraps his car around a light pole. They make their way to the only building around, a nightclub where disco never ended that seems to be stuck in the '70s. As strange things begin to happen, the two friends discover that the music they love may be their only salvation.
The generation gap takes on new meaning in "My Generation," when Deadhead Bob Henry (Roberts) meets his match after picking up a young hitchhiker named Todd (Chris Masterson), who has a very different taste in music but a very similar taste in murder.
In "Room Service," veteran rock star Jimmy Blitz (Duran Duran's John Taylor) goes to war with the hotel maid, Marge (Holland Taylor). As Blitz rips apart his hotel room each night, Marge puts it back together immaculately each day. But as their war escalates, who will be "the last man standing?"
In the final gut-wrenching tale, "More Than a Feeling," Martin Potter (Nelson) is a man who can spot true musical talent when he hears it. In fact, his "feeling" comes in the form of excruciating pain that explodes in the pit of his stomach. However, while all Martin's discoveries have been spectacular successes, they also all have suffered quick and horrible tragedies. As his latest find, Darcy Lane (Marla Sokoloff), begins her quick rise to stardom, Martin desperately tries to keep her from suffering a horrible fate.
Twisted tales behind the music
Strange Frequency is VH1's entry into a world that mixes music and horror, using top-notch talent and excellent production values. While three of the four tales are fairly predictable to anyone who is familiar with Twilight Zone, music does seem to be a natural partner for a horror anthology.
Several of the stories use the rift between different types of music and the people who love their tunes. In Strange Frequency, music is used to save and to destroy, with two tales focusing on those who love music and two tales focusing on those who make music. It's the perfect match for a cable station that went from focusing on easy listening to making cutting-edge biographies of bands and rock stars with the popular Behind the Music.
While Strange Frequency doesn't have a lot of surprises, it does have a few. "Disco Inferno" offers nothing new and is the least interesting of the four segments. In "My Generation," Roberts and Chris Masterson are devilishly evil going toe to toe as birds of a feather who don't appreciate each other's musical taste. Similarly, in the goofy "Room Service," Holland Taylor and John Taylor play off each other to the hilt. "More Than a Feeling" leaves the comedy behind for something with more of a punch.
