CREEPSHOW SEASON ONE: NO TRICK, A REAL TREAT

In 1982 film director George Romero of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD fame, writer Stephen King who brought us IT, SALEMS LOT, PET SEMETARY and more and special effects master Tom Savini who did the gore effects in DAWN and DAY OF THE DEAD came together with a new creation. This was CREEPSHOW, their homage to those classic gore filled comics from the days of pre-comic book code goodies like TALES FROM THE CRYPT and THE VAULT OF HORROR. It was this film that kicked off so many anthology shows that followed. King wrote the stories, Romero directed and Savini did the effects for the movie. It used garish lighting at times, animated comic book panels that came alive into the short sequences and gruesome horror for the time. In short it was magnificent.

The movie did solid box office at the time and fans loved it. But for some reason it never spawned a franchise of films. Why? Who knows? What it did do was influence a number of young people who saw the movie. They went on to move into the horror scene as writers, directors and producers. Among them was Greg Nicotero.

Nicotero got his earliest jobs in the film business working for Savini and learning his craft from him. He was a co-founder of KNB Effects, one of the biggest effects companies in film to this day. That took him to working hand in hand with a little thing called THE WALKING DEAD. And from there that led directly into CREEPSHOW THE SERIES.

Made for the Shudder streaming service, Nicotero has lovingly crafted this series to follow in the footsteps of the original. No one story per episodes instead we get two stories flying off of the pages of Creepshow comics, animated sequences of the Creep laughing and pointing us in the right direction to view each tale. What he has achieved here is not just a homage to those classic comics but to Romero and King’s vision of a new comic, a new movie based on stories filled with horror. He’s done them proud.

The series features 6 episodes, 12 stories, that range from a Halloween tale to melting people turned to grey goo intent on overrunning the Earth. There are tales of corporate greed that results in murder to soldiers becoming werewolves. Maybe you’ll enjoy the scarecrow that becomes a murderous companion or a loch ness type monster that no one believes in but is found. All of these and more are found in season one.

Each and every director of this series has obviously watched the original film made almost 40 years ago. The twisted camera angles, the glaring neon back lighting, the overflowing buckets of gore and creatures are all found here just as they were in the original. There is humor in horror on hand. And just like the original there are moments of tenderness among those gore filled stories, moments of sadness when talking about the creatures of the night.

Not only that there are top notch actors from the horror field on display here. Bruce Davison, the original Willard, is on hand. Jeffrey Combs who brought us Herbert West the Re-Animator plays a Nazi. Tobin Bell, known to everyone as Saw, is here as a police chief. David Arquette, everyone’s favorite deputy from the SCREAM franchise, is on hand too. Plus the best tie in to the original, actress Adrienne Barbeau who was in the original film is in the first episode.

All of this would be for naught if the series didn’t provide laughs and scares, if there wasn’t enough blood and gore on hand to satisfy fans of the genre and if there wasn’t some nice twist to most of the stories. Thankfully it offers all of that and more. With such names as Stephen King, Joe Lansdale and Joe Hill writing various stories used here the series is one to be treasured. In addition to that there is plenty of extras on hand discussing the episodes and the creation of the series.

When the final episode, the final extra finished and I turned off the disc player I found I only had one complaint. That was that it was over. That it would be some time before another season was available, be that on disc or on the streaming service Shudder. It was good enough getting the service might be worth it. If you loved the original film you will love this series. The language may be a little rougher but the same love of horror and horror comics remains. This one is worth adding to your collection. 

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THE POSTCARD KILLINGS: EUROPEAN SERIAL KILLER

While on their honeymoon in Europe a young American couple is killed during their stop in London. The girl’s father Jacob Kanon (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) goes over to identify her body. A 30 year veteran New York City detective even he is stunned at the brutality and strangeness of their murder. His ex-wife Valerie (Famke Janssen) comes over as well and asks him to pursue the killer, but he already had that in mind.

This begins THE POSTCARD KILLINGS based on the novel by James Patterson of Alex Cross fame and Liza Marklund. Published in 2010 the journey from book to film was stalled for years until RJL finally picked up the reins and got the job done. All involved have done a fantastic job.

As Jacob starts looking into things he’s told by the London Police not to get involved. Then he hears on the news that a postcard was sent to a London newspaper and passed along to the police by the alleged killer. When he approaches them asking to see the evidence he is denied and told to let them handle the job. Determined to find the killer with or without them, he lets them know that they had their chance for his expertise to be added to the case.

Gathering information he begins to assemble the bits and pieces, the clues that will lead to the killer. It turns out this wasn’t an isolated incident and more killings have taken place across Europe. Each of the victims was mutilated in a strange fashion, body parts removed to appear at the next murder sight. The killer is also posing the victim’s bodies as well.

As Jacob assembles the clues he’s led to Swedish art critic Dessie Larsson (Cush Jumbo), the latest journalist to receive a postcard. The Swedish police tell him not to get involved. A joint European task force has been assembled to track down the killer and bring him to justice before more people are killed.

Working together off the books the pair gather the information needed to find the killer, eventually discovering it’s not one but a couple committing the atrocities. Not only that but the phrases found on the postcards are passages from the Bible. And the poses are from various famous works of art. But there is a reason for both of these things being clues to the identity of the killers, a reason that Jacob and Dessie will learn before the police.

As the date grows closer to the next murders the police are at a loss. New cities and new victims pop up across the continent. Each one is grisly and at one the hands of Jacob’s daughter, cut from her body when she was murdered, appear. While shut out of the investigation a sympathetic German detective befriends Jacob and passes information on to him. As the trail narrows suspects are arrested and released with no evidence. Working outside the law, it’s up to Jacob to bring them in.

The movie works on many levels, most importantly because of the acting of Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Most will recognize him as Negan from THE WALKING DEAD series but he’s been around for some time. He shines here as Jacob, both tormented and driven at the same time, a father determined to find justice for the woman who will always be his little girl. He carries the weight of the film on his shoulders and does an admirable job of it, making the character sympathetic and believable.

Critics of the film have called it predictable. Most mysteries these days are. They’ve also slammed it as seeming like CSI: EUROPE. I found neither to be true and this is coming from someone who watches and reads a ton of mysteries. While the police procedural side is there it has been for the entire history of film mysteries. This one adds to that the task force compiled of several countries.

The lone outsider working outside the system has been used before as well but in the end does it matter? The movie provides a decent mystery at first that melds into a story of trying to find a way to convict and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. In the hands of all involved the movie delivers on all counts. The pacing is slow but works, allowing the story to be told. Don’t expect the usual shoot em up/explosion quotient from a Hollywood films but instead a well thought out story and you’ll find this as entertaining as I did. 

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BRAHMS-THE BOY II: SEQUELITIS

When movies are successful enough they now generate sequels. With any luck they go even further and create a franchise, a series of movies made for cheap that generate tons of money for the film studios releasing them. This is great for fans of a movie and even better when the movie is a solid flick. But most second features in a series end up not quite as good as the original. Such is the case with BRAHMS: THE BOY II.

If you remember the first film it involved a young woman hired by an elderly couple to watch their son while they went on vacation. Except when she got there the little boy turned out to be a doll. Eventually we learned that there actually was a young boy who had been scarred during a fire now living in the walls wearing a porcelain mask. As the film ended we saw he survived a stabbing by our heroine and was repairing the doll she shattered.

The sequel kicks off with mother Liza (Katy Holmes) and her young son Jude (Christopher Convery) surviving a home invasion, leaving both of them traumatized with Jude now not speaking but writing anything he wants to say. Thinking a new setting will help they move to the Heelshires' property with husband/father Sean (Owain Yeoman). This is the property from the first film but not the main house, instead still on the grounds.

Once they move in strange things begin to happen. Jude finds Brahms, the doll, buried on the property. Taking him home and cleaning him up his attachment to Brahms deepens daily. He wants Brahms to eat with them, to be served a plate of food. Liz can hear voices coming from Jude’s room. Out of the corner of her eye she can see someone run by, thinking it is Jude, only to have Jude come up behind her. Is something actually taking place of is this Liz’ method of dealing with the trauma of the break in?

Also disturbing is the presence of a caretaker on the grounds named Joseph (Ralph Ineson). Walking the grounds with his shotgun, accompanied by his dog, Joseph talks of things from the past but seems to be hiding something. A shadowy figure, could he be behind some of the things taking place?

Eventually Jude finds the old mansion from the first film, guided there by “Brahms”. Liz finds him and takes him home but not before the feeling of something strange going on there. As things begin to escalate at home, the feeling of security the relocation was supposed to bring declines as does the thought that Brahms is a good way for Jude to communicate. Before decisions can be made by both parents, their options become limited. Is it Liz? Jude? Or is Brahms really making it happen?

The movie does a decent job of keeping the tension at peak level throughout. Knowing what we do of the first film we’re aware of the dangers that this family is facing. At least we think we do. But this becomes part of the issue, we already know that Brahms survived the first film. But do we? Or have they chosen a different path where Brahms is nowhere to be found and some new evil force is making things happen? Or was Brahms the doll really the cause of everything in both films? All of these options are on the table before finally being revealed.

I’ve always said the sign of a good actor is when you believe they are the character they are playing and don’t notice that this is acting. All three of the main actors here do a great job. Holmes has developed into an actress that deserves more and better roles. She’s convincing here as Liz and you are concerned for her and the safety of her family. Convery, for his young age and playing most of the film in silence, is perfect as the wide eyed innocent whose life is being taken over. And Yeoman shows again how good he is, something I thought back when he was featured in THE MENTALISTS TV series.

So does the film work as a sequel? Yes and no. It is a solid story, the performances are well done and it looks good. But it doesn’t have the same impact as the first film did and that film didn’t feel worthy of a sequel. Taken on its own the film might be better, without the baggage of the first film. If you go in that way the odds are you’ll enjoy this one better than someone who saw that film. It’s good for a night’s rental and entertainment but I don’t see this one moving forward into a complete franchise. Better to stop here. 

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