Creepshow (2019) [TV Review]
TV Series: Creepshow (2019)
Streaming On: Shudder
Creepshow has always been a snapshot of what I love most about horror: spine-tingling stories that could easily have been told around a campfire, making you laugh at the most seemingly inappropriate times. The original Creepshow, directed by George A. Romero, is a horror-comedy anthology that features some of the best names to ever grace the screen, including Leslie Nielsen and Ted Danson.
Shudder’s take on the series, which launched late last week, is the follow-on I was hoping for. It’s abundantly clear from the outset that a lot of love and dedication went into the reboot, and so much of the craft that went into making the show came directly from the people who worked on Romero’s movie, or grew up inspired by it. The worst thing I have to say is that one of the stories in the first episode didn’t end in the charismatic manner that I’ve come to expect from Creepshow, but isn’t that the nature of these weird stories? Some behave as they ought, while others act out, unruly.
Introduced by a real-world puppet rendition of the host from the first movie, the first episode covers two stories: “Gray Matter,” a trip into one kid’s struggle to help his father after the death of his mother; and “The House of the Head,” where a little girl notices something is very, very wrong with her dollhouse—a circumstance that seems to threaten her own life.
One of the key things I appreciate about both of these stories featuring children is that, even though Creepshow is really what I’d call in the spiritual family of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for adults, the emotional weight of what these kids are experiencing is given its due consideration. There is no moment in which a parent turns on the light and says, “See? There’s no monsters under your bed.”
And while the performance of the young teenage boy in the first story did play as if he were reading off his lines directly at points, the writing itself continued to shine through. A particularly memorable line from the first story runs: “I remember something my daddy used to say to me. He’d say, ‘Son, there are things in the corners of this world, that if you look ‘em right in the face, they’ll drive you insane.’”
The appeal of the original Creepshow—that common, unfortunate events can spiral in such insane, otherworldly directions—also largely remains in the first episode of the new season.
Some time after my initial watch of the first episode, I told Ande and Destiny that I was grateful that Shudder had chosen to keep the episode to one a week, making the new releases last all the way until Halloween. Ande pointed out the irony that we’ve come so far down the binge-watching rabbithole that old methods of doing things now seem novel, and I’m inclined to agree. (Though I sincerely doubt any of us are complaining.)
I will also be the first to admit my caution in hearing that Greg Nicotero would be a producer: The Walking Dead has cast an incredibly long shadow over the horror world, and my hesitation stemmed from a concern that that serious, gritty tone would also be found in Creepshow. I’m so glad to see that so far at least, I’m wrong.
My criticisms of the first episode are largely focused on some nebulous wish that the host was voiced and given more of its own personality, and that the ending of “The House of the Head” was given more in the way of narrative legs to stand on toward the end.
If you’re looking for the charm and fun of the original Creepshow, so far that’s still very present in the new season, and I know that’s going to add a huge level of fun to my Halloween season. And for how much I love the Pittsburgh area, getting the treat of the new Creepshow is just icing on the cake.
Article Written by Laura Kemmerer
Laura tuned into horror with an interest in what these movies and books can tell us about ourselves and what societies fear. She is most interested in horror focused around the supernatural, folklore, the occult, Gothic themes, haunted media, landscape as a character, and hauntology (focusing on lost or broken futures).
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