REVIEW - CREEPSHOW EPISODE 305 DELIVERS TIMELY TERROR AND ANIMATED AGONY
When it comes to anthology films, many would argue that CREEPSHOW is the bar for quality. So it was no surprise a few years ago when SHUDDER announced that they would be producing a weekly anthology series under the CREEPSHOW banner, which is now in its third season. Each week horror fans are treated to two new tales of terror all glazed in the EC comic stylings that CREEPSHOW has been known for. This week’s episode is no different with a duo of diabolical diddies that showcase both the classic and new styles of storytelling this show is delivering.
***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***
The first segment, “Time Out”, feels like classic CREEPSHOW. Tim is bequeathed an armoire that upon entering allows him all the time in the world...so he thinks! We follow Tim from preparing to take the LSAT all the way into fatherhood as he climbs the legal corporate ladder. His secret, he gets more work done than anyone because of his time-defying furniture. See, every time Tim is inside the armoire, time seems too slow to a crawl outside. So hours inside mean seconds outside, and he uses this to his advantage to do all the work. As one might imagine, there is a downside: while inside, Tim ages at an exponential rate. So the more time spent inside the armoire, the less time spent alive in the outside world. In true CREEPSHOW fashion, there is a point to this story about the importance of not working ourselves to death when we miss out on the true fruits of life, living it.
This episode reminded me both of CREEPSHOW the movie and the long discontinued HBO TALES FROM THE CRYPT series. More of the latter than the former, but this story was both interesting and entertaining. Gore hounds will find little here, but that is even more of a testament to the effectiveness of this story despite a few gripes. The message would have benefited from a tad more subtlety, and the comic-page flipping aesthetic was a tad distracting. Those two things aside, this was a fun segment and I hope to see more like this.
The second segment diverges significantly into familiar animated territory with a story called, “The Things in Oakwoods Past”. This one has a pretty well known horror voice cast including MARK HAMILL, DANIELLE HARRIS, and RON LIVINGSTON and revolves around a small town opening a time-capsule. In true CREEPSHOW fashion, said time-capsule is loaded with relics of the past that have big teeth and even bigger appetites. A literal hell is unleashed on this small town and what follows is an animated bloodbath that gives CASTLEVANIA a run for its money.
Once the time-capsule opens, this episode literally explodes with entertainment. The beasts unleashed on this town resemble the creatures from heavy metal covers come to life. All that aside, while I liked that they tried to shake things up with an animated episode I do kind of wish I liked the animation style more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad in the last, but there are parts where some more detail would have really helped flesh (pun intended) this out. This segment also doesn’t have that signature CREEPSHOW morality sub-text, and in some ways it feels out of place in the CREEPSHOW environment. What is kind of a saving grace and a distraction is the wrap-around news segment that starts and ends this last story. While I liked the humor it brought, it again didn’t feel like a CREEPSHOW story. Then again, this is a new generation of CREEPSHOW!
That’s it for this week’s coverage of SHUDDER’S CREEPSHOW and we will be back next week with episode 306!
