In 1982 horror fans were frothing at the mouth, not from some zombie bite but because they heard about a new movie being released called CREEPSHOW. Directed by George Romero of NIGHT OF THE LICING DEAD fame, written by horror author Stephen King and with effects supplied by Ton Savini who had worked with Romero on DAWN OF THE DEAD, there was little doubt the movie would be great. It delivered on all levels. A tribute to the old EC comics the trio had grown up with it spawned a sequel that didn’t quite do as well as the first film.
Then the streaming service Shudder decided to take the title to a series on their service. Produced by special effects genius Greg Nicotero the series followed the same format as the film, offering the Creep presenting a tale or two each episode. The series was popular enough that several specials followed and a second season was released. That season is now available on disc.
Following the same pattern as season one the Creep introduces a new story each episode. Some are great and some are mediocre but that will happen with series like this. Teen angst is covered as a girl tells her counselor she believes her brother is trying to kill her. The end result is more upsetting than one would believe. An installation in Antarctica unleashes a bounty of demons on the world.
One of the most creative episodes involves an inventor who creates an immersive virtual reality pod. What makes this so creative is that he uses the horror film HORROR EXPRESS as his world. Combining footage from the film with newly shot material is fascinating to watch and works well.
Everything from legendary creatures found in the outdoors to a science fiction story of astronauts coming into contact with aliens for the first time are used for stories here. And most of them use the tried and true blueprint formed in those classic old comics. If you do something or someone wrong, justice will eventually find you and flip the scales. Like in an episode where a ruthless landlord discovers there is something more inside her pipes than she realized.
For me my favorite episode of the season was one called “Public Television of the Dead”. Set in the fictional public broadcasting station WQPS the program director is forced to tell Norm Roberts that his program “The Love of Painting with Norm Roberts” has been canceled to be replaced by “Mrs. Bookberry’s Magical Library”. In reality Mrs. Bookberry is an arrogant self-absorbed racist who could care less who this affects. On another set they are shooting an episode of “The Appraiser’s Road Trip” (an obvious parody of “Antiques Roadshow”). Host Goodman Tapert has as his guest actor Ted Raimi. Yes the real Ted Raimi and brother of director Sam Raimi of THE EVIL DEAD fame. Ted has brought along a book held in his family for years, the Necronomicon. Tapert opens the book and begins to read for it releasing demons into the studio with dire consequences. The reason this episode is so special is all the ties into the whole EVIL DEAD mythology and actors etc. If you know those items you can’t help but laugh through this one.
The series brings in a number of directors of horror films with most being directed by Nicotero himself. The production values are far above what many series like this offer. Each story is fully formed and doesn’t feel like you walked into the middle of something. All involved deserve kudos.
Having grown up with series like THE TWILIGHT ZONE, THRILLER, THE OUTER LIMITS, NIGHT GALLERY and last TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE and TALES FROM THE CRYPT I am a huge fan of anthology series. You can tell from watching this series that those involved were fans of those shows as well. Now a new generation has their own anthology show to remember when they grow older. Thank goodness it’s one as good as this one is. Time to look forward to season 3.
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