‘Creepshow’ – Season 3, Episode 2: ‘Skeletons In The Closet’ & ‘Familiar’

I’ve actually done pretty well with my reading this week (all things considered) and today was going to be a book review. I say was… It was going to be a book review until I watched the new episode of ‘Creepshow’ and realised that I would have to post about that instead. Because it was just brilliant. I’ve been through a couple of Seasons of ‘Creepshow’ and the unfortunate rule of thumb is that in each episode, one story is always much better than the other. I mean, of course one will be better but the other one is often so disappointing that it affects the Season as a whole and that’s not cool. Not yesterday though, both episodes were great and while that does raise questions over whether the show can continue to meet that standard, lets just enjoy what we have for now. I know I always say this but these shows are only a free ‘Shudder’ trial away… Anyway, back to it…


‘Skeletons In The Closet’

A movie buff opens a prop museum but a rival collector could put everything at risk…

A solid story that’s backed up by what feels like the largest number of ‘Geek Easter Eggs’ in a show since ‘Ready Player One’. Honestly… You’d think that setting your story in a prop museum would offer enough opportunities to geek out… While these opportunities are all taken, it’s when the actual plot kicks off that we get to see this loving homage to all your favourite horror movies (with a big nod to Ray Harryhausen at the same time) play out in a suitably scary fashion. And when you think that’s enough… ‘Skeletons’ kicks it up a notch by turning the tale right on it’s head and taking the ‘skeleton theme’ that one step further. It’s weird, it’s a lot of fun and it made me hold my breath in all the right places. I don’t think I’ve seen an episode of ‘Creepshow’ open as strongly as it did here.

 

‘Familiar’

Jackson is being followed by a dark force, but will his attempts to rid himself of it work?

‘Skeletons In The Closet’ kicked things off so well that you had to feel sorry for whatever story that came next. ‘Familiar’ had that unenviable task and while it was never going to match up, it was still a very well told story with some sweet little jump scares and a twist that somehow had a bigger impact because you could see it coming a mile away. That was it, you could see it coming but our ‘hero’ couldn’t and just watching it play out like that really struck home. And the look on Jackson's face right at the end, you could feel the terror coming off him. Sometimes, still being alive (at the end of a ‘Creepshow’ episode) can be a lot worse than the alternative…

Two very solid stories then which was a more than welcome surprise for this viewer. I’ve got my fingers crossed for more of the same next week.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘Deathworlder’ – Victoria Hayward (Black Library)

Image
Before I get into the review proper, thank you Black Library for sending me a copy of ‘Deathworlder’ in return for a fair and honest review. Talking of ‘fair and honest’… There will be loads of the latter but I enjoyed the hell out of ‘Deathworlder’ so… We’ll see how being fair goes ;o) That’s your only warning, lets talk ‘Deathworlder’… Lazulai is a world beyond the brink, its battle against the tyranids all but lost. Once-magnificent cities lie in ruin. The seas boil. The skies crack. Horrific alien bioforms devour. In mere days the planet will be consumed. The 903rd Catachan ‘Night Shrikes’ defend one of the last fortresses still standing. Led by Major Wulf Khan, to die fighting is all that is expected of them… until she is given one last mission: to lead a squad through the apocalypse and recover a piece of archeotech that may doom or deliver the entire Lazulai System. Facing insurmountable odds and zero hope for aid, the major must hold her squad together as they pick their way ...
Read more

‘Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth’ (1992)

Image
Every time Halloween comes round, I promise myself that I’ll watch more horror films and read more horror fiction; we’re halfway through the month and you can see how that’s going so far… There’s still plenty of October left though so lets see how I do from now until the end of the month ;o) First up is ‘Hellraiser 3’ which I watched last night, mostly because I love it (you can tell how this post is going to go, sorry…) but also because it was cheap on Prime and I’m still just on the wrong side of payday. Here goes… TV reporter Joey Summerskill’s life is changed forever when she witnesses the horrific death of a teenager, torn apart by bloody chains. Joey’s search for a story leads her to the Lament Configuration Box but it has already been opened, waking an old evil from its slumber… Now Pinhead walks the earth once more, creating a new army of Cenobites from the transmuted flesh of his victims; his one desire to reclaim the Box. Even with help from an unexpected source, Joey Summers...
Read more

‘Cursed City’ – C.L. Werner (Black Library)

Image
I always have these vague ‘reading resolutions’, for the New Year and without fail, they all come to absolutely nothing. I still read loads, just none of the books that I meant to… This year is panning out slightly differently and I think I’m going to enjoy it. All the books that were originally ‘out of sight, out of mind’, in the loft at my old place, are now all over my new place and wherever I look, I’m constantly discovering books that I totally forgot I had but now quite fancy reading. Books like ‘Cursed City’ for example… I’m not going to tell you how long ‘Cursed City’ was sat in my loft, lets just say it was long enough for me to totally forget it was there and buy myself another copy… Oh well. I found it on the shelf the other day (only the one copy now) and figured it was way overdue a read, let me tell you about it… Ulfenkarn is a city of nightmares. Its vampiric rulers have indulged their bloodlust in every shadow-clad alley, turning the once-proud metropolis into a charnel...
Read more