Creepshow TV Series – Season 3 (2021) – PART 3

…and here we are. As the inevitable tears start forming around your frowny faces since this is the LAST entry in our take on Creepshow Season 3, yours truly is cradling all of you collectively in my arms singing you the goodbye lullaby since we’ll have to wait for the next season of this glorious horror-anthology show on the #ShudderNetwork (wait, why use the hashtag again?). This was another solid season that showcased the perfect balance of keeping the tried and true vintage, comic book tone of the original movies while still trying to innovate plot lines and visuals to feel somewhat modern for a new crowd. 

To me, this series is like a nice neighborhood dive bar where the settings are comfortable, the regulars always waving at you and ready with a good story but at the same time, we all know that a jukebox that works with an app will bring A LOT more patrons for the music and that having Wifi in the bar would ensure that everyone can keep in touch via social media…or reading really cool horror blogs with a personal twist *ahem* while enjoying a scotch. Keeping what works and being innovative CAN live in the same space and this latest season of Creepshow! Let’s finish STRONG folks! 

Time Out

Director(s): Jeffrey F. January

Writer(s): Barrington Smith, Paul V. Seetachitt

Starring: Matthew Barnes, Devon Hales

Damn, it’s rare that a Creepshow entry makes me somber for days after viewing but this tale is classic in the category of being careful what you wish for but takes it up a notch by making the main character…well…likable. The story is pretty simple in which a student finds out that his newly obtained closet has the power to slow down time so that days in the closet would equal only minutes in the real world. You can pretty much guess where the horror part plays in this story but let’s focus on the twist that the main character is actually a GOOD GUY. His only mistake seemed to be wanting the best life for his himself and later his loved ones. Usually when someone gets a taste of a powerful thing, they either become a d*ck or is already a d*ck and becomes an even bigger d*ck and you’re sort of rooting for hell to reign on them as soon as possible. However, this is a good guy who for better or worse just had a freak accident in the worst place possible. The actual ending though, left me gutted, be ready to close your mouth in the end on this one out of shock. 

The Things in Oakwood’s Past

Director(s): Enol Junquera, Dave Newberg, Greg Nicotero, Luis Pelayo Junquera

Writer(s): Daniel Kraus, Greg Nicotero

Starring: Mark Hamill, Danielle Harris, Ron Livingston

Alright, HONESTY time…not like I ever lie to my faithful Vault freaks. However, I must admit I should say that I’m not really a fan of any of the animated features that the Creepshow brand has brought to the Shudder network. There’s a reason why the Halloween special that they did a couple years back never reached the vault since I do not find the animation style of the Creepshow Shudder universe to be one that I particularly enjoy. Although I did enjoy the short animated bits int he movies that made a good transition between tales and even a wonderful wraparound story in Creepshow 2 (…They eat…MEAT!), the actual animated bits on the show do not really capture that spirit and in all honesty, I mostly roll my eyes and wait for the next tale to begin. Now this entry…not that different as far as the animation is concerned, HOWEVER, the voice acting in the short was quite a treat which kept me watching, which says a lot for me considering I was about to skip to the next entry within 2 minutes of the tale. It was a pleasant surprise to find out GEEK GOD Mark Hamill and Horror Queen Danielle Harris were voice actors in this tale and the addition of Ron Livingston gave more cred to this simple tale of all hell breaking loose in a small town. Overall, fun entry just focus on the great voice acting and you’ll be swell. 

Drug Traffic

Director(s): Greg Nicotero

Writer(s): Christopher Larsen, Mattie Do (story)

Starring: Reid Scott, Michael Rooker, Sarah Jon

This was probably my favorite entry of this season because it combined two things that one would think would NOT go together; creepy Asian-influenced horror and political satire…I know, right? Why would these two things even consider being together and how the hell did it work? Well, it did my friends, all it took was to take a closer look at the recent bi-polarity of our country as of late and throw in some Asian characters that need help and do not get it in any sort of efficient way since people would rather argue about the issue than help the people that are actually suffering at the moment. Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now and focus on the horror; the visuals of this entry are just terrifying; there’s something about how Asian horror takes something so simple and make it damn disturbing to the point where you think about the visuals long after the entry is finished. Spoiler alert, there is a floating detached head in this entry and yeah, it’s damn scary to think about, especially in the dark. The way the thing stalked its victims is just damn terrorizing and based off the characters in this entry, you sort of start cheering for the head but then you look at it and decide, nah, I’ll remain neutral in this entry. TONS of fun for viewing macabre pleasure and the performance by veterans Rooker and Reid are top notch. THIS is Creepshow. 

A Dead Girl Named Sue

Director(s): John Harrison

Writer(s): Heather Anne Campbell

Starring: Christian Gonzalez, Joshua Mikel

This was a great entry that also had sort of a political satire tone to it in the sense that sometimes, justice comes from the people’s actions and NOT words. To me, in cases where there is actual wrong, not theoretical wrong, mob justice seems appealing to me. Yes, in a lot of cases it doesn’t work out (Looking at you Elm Street!), but you can’t help but feel satisfied when a bad person gets what’s coming to them and it’s even better when a group of folks agree and make it a spectacle. This entry is a good way to finish the season because it has you raising your fist in glorious celebration when the monster defeats the man. The style of this particular entry was quite enjoyable since it had a nice Sin City feel to the visuals with an almost noir tone in how it was shot but don’t be fooled, this is a tale of vengeance and monsters, my favorite kind of combo! 

That’s a WRAP folks! Thanks for taking this journey with me on Creepshow Season 3! I’ll see you for the next one and in the meantime, let’s keep supporting this glorious entry on the streaming Macabre GOD that is the Shudder network! You hear me universe? THE SHUDDER NETWORK THAT EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH…subtle right? 

Life is FAR more interesting when we take interest in things that scare us.