Shudder’sCreepshowjust received itsSeason 2 renewal, but the entirety of Season 1 has yet to premiere. That’ll change tonight, Halloween night, as the Season 1 finale airs both on demand and on the Shudder TV live-stream at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT. We couldn’t wait for our Halloween treat. We went ahead and watched the Season 1 finale, which features two segments that are some of the creepiest and crawliest on the show to date: There’s thePaul Dini&Stephen Langford-scripted “Skincrawlers” as well as theJoe Hillshort story adaptation ““By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain.”
But where do they rank among the 12 total segments? That’s what we’ve got for you below, a subjective rundown of the spine-tingling stories in order from least-to-most nerve-wracking. Make no mistake, there’s something to love in each and everyone one of these segments, be it the practical effects work on display, the incredible production value, or watching some of your favorite actors hamming it up. They’re all delights in the halls of horror; some are just better than others. Somespoilerswill follow.
Shudder is available on all of your favorite devices and platforms, including Apple TV Channels. Nicotero’s Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy award-winning Make-up Effects studio KNB EFX GROUP will again serve as creature creators in Season 2.
Shudder’sCreepshowis produced by the Cartel with Monster Agency Productions, Taurus Entertainment, and Striker Entertainment:Stan Spry,Jeff Holland, andEric Woodsare executive producers for the Cartel;Greg NicoteroandBrian Wittenare executive producers for Monster Agency Productions;Robert Dudelson,James DudelsonandJordan Kizwaniare executive producers for Taurus Entertainment;Russell Binderis executive producer andMarc Mostmanco-executive producer for Striker Entertainment.
“Lydia Layne’s Better Half”
Written by:John Harrison, story by John Harrison & Greg Nicotero
Directed by: Roxanne Benjamin
Cast: Tricia Helfer, Danielle Lyn, Michael Scialabba, Jordan Patrick
When Lydia accidentally kills her lover and needs to hide the evidence, she gets trapped in an elevator with the body. The temperature rises and Lydia begins to wonder: will she survive until rescue comes, or will she join her dead lover in hell?
While I love the premise of this one, there’s just not enough going on here to keep the tension up and it undercuts on the creepy factor. Helfer and Lyn do their damnedest to sell the shifting power dynamics in their fraught relationship (even after death) but the pacing in this short segment just feels off. Props to the props team, however, for delivering a unique (and satisfyingly squelchy) murder weapon and one of the most realistic severed heads we’ve seen in some time.
“Gray Matter”
Story by: Stephen King, adapted by Byron Willinger and Philip de Blasi
Directed by: Greg Nicotero
Cast:Adrienne Barbeau, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tobin Bell
After the death of a loved one, a drinking habit becomes insatiable.
Creepshowchose to launch the series with this segment–and it’s the one I happened tobe on set for–which sounds solid on the surface, but ultimately falls flat. The talent assembled behind and in front of the camera here is great, the story is straightforward, and the set dressing and creature effects are superb. It’s just that it rushes through the character’s relationships so fast that we never get a sense of this storm-lashed small town and their place within it, so by the time we get to the big reveal, it gives a little gasp instead of a shock to the system. (But there are oh so many Stephen King Easter eggs hidden away in that set…)
“The House of the Head”
Written by: Josh Malerman (Bird Box)
Directed by: John Harrison
Cast:Cailey Fleming
Dolls are Evie’s favorite companions, but when a severed toy head appears in her dollhouse, Evie can no longer protect them.
I actually liked the second segment of the series' opener better than the first, but your mileage may vary. The creepiness really came through thanks to the disturbing head that appears in an otherwise wholesome child’s dollhouse. Things get increasingly dire throughout the story’s run, giving it perhaps the best pacing of the lot, but she never fesses up to her parents about just what is going on within the little house. That’s fine; it’s a classic horror trope that ratchets up tension and frustration in the audience. But though the head itself eventually made its way into the wider world, there was no extra gut punch to bring the miniature horror out in a bigger way, and that’s a missed opportunity.
“All Hallows Eve”
Written by: Bruce Jones
Cast:Connor Christie, Madison Thompson, Jasun Jabbar, Andrew Eakle, Michael May, Julia Denton, Scott Daniel Johnson, Tom Olson, Erica Frene
Even then they’re a little too old, this group of friends still want to trick-or-treat but getting candy isn’t all they are looking for.
Here’s a great segment that’s fit for the kiddos. It felt like a throwback toAre You Afraid of the Dark?orGoosebumps, mostly because it centers on a group of kids semi-terrorizing a neighborhood on Halloween. The only issue here is that they give away the hook a bit too early. There’s a mystery at the center of this friendship group and it’s one you may kind of figure out before too long. Still, it’s a solid story that ends with a one-two punch of a great practical effects reveal and, for once, a somewhat happy ending.
“The Companion”
Written by: Matt Venne, based on the short story by Joe R. Lansdale, Kasey Lansdale & Keith Lansdale
Directed by: David Bruckner
Cast: Logan Allen, Afemo Omilami, Carey Jones, Voltaire Council, Dylan Gage, Addison Hershey
One night, Harry stumbles upon an old scarecrow. But when he accidentally brings the scarecrow to life and finds a dead body in its wake, can he fix everything before he becomes the scarecrow’s next victim?
If you’ve dabbled in such scarecrow stories asR.L. Stine’s “The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight” from his “Goosebumps” series orAlvin Schwartz’s “Harold” from “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”, then you pretty much know what you’re getting from this Lansdale Family story. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that the short runtime for this segment robs us of getting to really know the main character beyond his experiences of being bullied at home. Cut in a flashback explainer that’s almost as long as the main story itself and things start to get a little messy. But the reason “The Companion” ranks this high is due to the super-creepy practical effects work and the fact that we’d love our own spooky skeleton monster to do our bidding.
“Night of the Paw”
Written by:John Esposito
Directed by:John Harrison
Cast:Bruce Davison, Hannah Barefoot, Susannah Devereux, Grace Toso, Ryan Clay Gwaltney
A mortician saves the life of a woman who shows up at his door one night, but unbeknownst to her, the man had wished for a murderer to come put him out of his misery… maybe she wasn’t so fortunate after all.
Another classic. This one’s a twist on the “monkey’s paw” tale, about a titular totem that grants three wishes–one for each curled finger–that always come with a price. It’s a version of the genie’s cautionary tale (which also appears inCreepshow) but this one’s elevated by Bruce Davison’s excellent performance. This story harkens back to the original tale, which arrived over 115 years ago fromW. W. Jacobs, and puts a somewhat modern twist on things. It’s creepy, for sure, and it’s got some twists that you may see coming but are still enjoyable to watch. But other than Davison’s performance, accolades go to the effects for their zombie work; A+ stuff there.
“Times is Tough in Musky Holler”
Written by:John Skipp and Dori Miller
Cast:David Arquette, Dane Rhodes, Karen Strassman, Tommy Kane, Tracey Bonner, Kermit Rolison, Connor Hammond
Former Mayor Lester Barkley is in prison, and with his most loyal supporters locked up too, his odds don’t look good. Their gruesome means of control went too far, and now, they’ll be getting a taste of their own medicine—or rather, the dead will be getting a taste of their former mayor.
But evenbetterzombie work comes in this segment. This story goes back to the ol' “vengeful punishment for past dirty deeds” idea; comeuppance, if you will. And the narrative dances between the current events unfolding and the recent past history which reveals that, yep, these people probably deserve whatever’s about to happen to them.
Oddly, when you see David Arquette’s name, you’d think he’d be the main focus here, but he’s not really. He’s a bit player to Dane Rhodes unhinged and wonderfully performed usurping mayor and “magic man” of Musky Holler. This segment is perhaps the most original of the bunch and its creature effects deserve a hand (and some arms, legs … and a face.) And believe me when I say that seeing that room full of suspended chairs on chains in person, now knowing what awaits above, is delightfully disturbing. The way this one ends with a take on good old-fashioned American pie is just delicious.
“The Man in the Suitcase”
Written by: Christopher Buehlman
Directed by: Dave Bruckner (The Ritual)
Cast:Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, Will Kindrachuk, Ravi Naidu, Madison Bailey, Ian Gregg, Nasim Bowlus, Carey Jones
A college student brings the wrong bag home from the airport only to find a pretzeled man trapped inside, afflicted by a strange condition that turns his pain into gold.
Remember that genie story I teased earlier? Here it is. You’d think that people would learn not to be greedy little shits with such stories as these in our culture, but I guess the promise of untold riches is too strong for some to resist. This story combines the cautionary tale of wishes that come with too steep a price to pay with a sort of “Stanford Prison Experiment” that puts the beneficiaries of said wishes in the place of power, and pain. The more they torture the poor trapped djinn, the more money they get. But unbeknownst to them, even if it’s knownst to us in the audience, they’re playing right into his hands. And they’re not the only ones, as is evidenced by the number of suitcases awaiting transport at the segment’s end. So while the genie effect may not be the best of the bunch, the unique spin on this story makes it stand out.
Written by: Rob Schrab
Directed by: Rob Schrab
Cast: Dave MacDonald, Callan Wilson, Kid Cudi, Nelson Bonilla, Jeffrey Combs, Kate Freund
A platoon of American soldiers is forced to hide out in a dilapidated police station during WWII, but they soon discover something more sinister than war has been unleashed inside the building: a werewolf.
This one had us at Jeffrey Combs, but then hooked us even further with Nazis and werewolves. I mean, how can you go wrong? This tightly plotted little WWII story feels like it deserves its own franchise (as doesMarko Kloos’s similar story"On the Use of Shape-Shifters in Warfare", which was adapted into Netflix’sLove, Death & Robots). We not only get to see Combs go all-out as an enraged Nazi leader and father to a murdered (Nazi) son, we get to see a bunch of commandos get the ultimate upgrade via voluntary lycanthropy. It’s original, it’s gory, and it’s great.
“By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain”
Spoilersahead since this segment comes from the season finale.
Written by: Jason Ciaramella and Joe Hill, story by Joe Hill (from his new collection,Full Throttle)
Directed by: Tom Savini
Cast: Sydney Wease, Connor Jones, David Alexander Kaplan, James Devoti, Gena Shaw
Rose finds Champ, the legendary monster of Lake Champlain. But when her unhinged step-father threatens to take all the credit, Rose realizes Champ may actually still be lurking in the lake, waiting to strike.
Off-screen, this segment has perhaps the mostCreepshowpedigree after “Gray Matter.” Its story hails from Joe Hill, son of Stephen King and the troublesome child in the firstCreepshowmovie. It also sees horror icon Tom Savini not only leading the sculpt of lake-monster Champy, but also directing the short. All were expertly handled. This is more than a story about a monster prowling the depths of a small-town lake, it’s the story of a monstrous man taking advantage of a wounded family and sowing discord with his every breath. Sure, it may be another comeuppance tale and one that you see coming, but this segment is a great combination of human menace on the part of James Devoti’s contemptible Chet and earnest emotions on behalf of the kids, with a dash of monstrous intervention. We believe in Champy.
