Creepshow TV Series – Season 4 (2023) – PART ONE

This series has been fantastic throughout its (now) four season run but I would be a LYING vault keeper if I said every single one of the entries were solid gems. I find the timeline interesting because If we’re being real on this sacred ground (or website…all hail Agents of Guard), the first season started ridiculously strong, to the point where one would question why did it take so much time to bring this wonderful anthology series to television?!? Next season was solid but definitely felt the dip from the first season. Third season was when it seemed from my point of view where the Shudder Network was running out of steam, cash or both because we started getting weird animated shorts and it seemed like the stories were a bit contrived and perhaps even lazy but overall still a very watchable series. There was a year or so break between seasons 3 and 4 which seemed to be great idea to reflect, refresh and get some darn energy back to the series because this latest season of Creepshow was REFRESHING. Each story different from the last with an nice mix of humor, thrills and of course some that I feel should be full on movies! So let’s get to the reviews of this latest SPOOKtacular season! 

Twenty Minutes with Cassandra 

Director(s): Greg Nicotero

Writer(s): Jaime Flanagan

Starring: Samantha Sloan, Ruth Codd

Fun choice for the first episode of the newest season because I liked met more than I thought I would and before you say that’s not the best sort of selling point for an episode, I have more fun with any art form that makes me change my mind than one that I like off the bat because the former takes much more clever energy. The beginning of this tale starts off with a desperate runaway seeking shelter from an unassuming tenant with wild claims that a “monster” is after her but by the time the episode ends, there’s a much deeper and somehow humorous turn to the story that makes you very satisfied. I couldn’t tell whether I should be giggling or become pensive toward the end of the story but no matter what, I was definitely entertained. It’s almost as if the show heard my inner thoughts about lazy writing from the previous season and responded as such because the clever twist of the point of the story made me happy to be a part of the Creepshow family once again. 

Smile

Director(s): John Harrison

Writer(s): Mike Scannell

Starring: Matthew James Dowden, Lucie Guest

This was classic Creepshow creepiness where a couple is following a trail of photos that somehow tell the future and with each passing photograph that much closer to a living nightmare. I liked that the story was once again engaging and creepy to the point where by the time you get to the end, although you expect the upcoming horror, you are still unsettled about how we get to that point. The story is tragic as it is creepy but I love the fact that the tone of this particular episode is a complete 180 from the first entry of the same episode. This entry leaves the viewer with a sense of suspenseful dread which you then quickly appreciate after contemplating the story as a whole. 

The Hat

Director(s): Kailey Spear, Sam Spear

Writer(s): Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi

Starring: Ryan Beil, Sara Canning

This entry seems like something right out of Creepshow 2 based on the story, the (right kind of) campiness, the effects and overall tone! The story is a cautionary tale that is so common in horror anthologies and yes, although there are no M. Night twists in this flick and anyone who knows how a story works can basically call every plot point in this entry, I absolutely loved it for what it was; a FUN horror short. The story follows an author of the macabre having writer’s block and the solution is found in a hat worn by his favorite author of the same genre. What he finds however…and I’m pretty sure you’ll know what I’ll say at this point…but he finds that the hat is more than he bargained for (insert diabolical laugh here). So yes, is it the most original idea? Hell NO. However, I loved that this entry was trying to be more fun that creative because the performances were over the top in a non-annoying way, the effects were a nice throwback to 80s practical effects and the ending was so on-brand Creepshow style that it made you appreciate the series being back and makes you want to watch the next short so yes, this entry did EXACTLY what it wanted to do in the grand scheme of the series. 

Grieving Process

Director(s): Kailey Spear, Sam Spear

Writer(s): Mike D. McCarty (short story), John Esposito 

Starring: Sachin Sahel, Rachel France, Kingston Chan

YAASSS, let’s end this article with a LOVE story. I’m fond of horror love stories, especially in short hand since we can get on with the main point in every horror love story which is “What is one willing to do for love of the other?” No matter how you slice it, there’s going to be a line that’s crossed in the name of love and it’s nice to see that story unfold in a shorter entry form so we can get right to the good stuff. The story follows a chef as his wife falls ill and the only way to make her feel better requires a…ahem…special diet. Again, it’s a story that pretty much plays out as one would expect but damn was this entry entertaining. Big shout out to the make up folks who did a great job with the ghoulish look of the monster (or monsters? Tee hee hee) and the practical effects group for creative ways to make make humans look delicious, wait what? I didn’t say that, you did….err, let’s move on. 

This is PART ONE of a three part series so I look forward to seeing you all for PART TWO! 

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