The five best segments of Shudder’s Creepshow series season four

Shudder Original series Creepshow returned for its fourth season in October, and with the usual massive crush of horror releases that rolled out during Halloween, I was just able to finish the series recently. Overall, I thought it was pretty strong!

Of course, there were a few meh episodes, but most were better than average, and a few really stood out. Remember, this is just one person’s opinion, so you may feel differently…but here are my five favorite episodes from season four of Creepshow.

Number 5: Something Borrowed, Something Blue– Alison and Ryan are in the midst of wedding planning when she gets a call from her arrogant, wealthy father Frank, from whom she has been estranged for years. He claims he is dying and wants to make amends, as well as meet his future son-in-law. Frank pulls Ryan aside at the end of the visit and tells him a big secret: There is a monster in the basement, and it must be fed a human every 15 years. If Ryan will take over the responsibility, the wedding can be held at Frank’s house, and he will leave his entire fortune to Alison when he dies. Of course, there is a twist to this story, which is one thing I loved about it. Horror legend Tom Atkins plays Frank, which is another positive thing, and this episode was fun.

Number 4: Meet the Belaskos – Set in a world where vampires are known to exist, this episode introduced us to the Belasko family. Mom, Dad and teenage daughter Anna are vampires moving into a suburban neighborhood, right next door to a man who hates vampires. His teenage son Alex does not feel the same way, and is instantly smitten with Anna. When the two begin to hang out at night, they end up falling in love, and Alex’s Dad pulls together a group of equally bigoted friends. Violent chaos ensues. What I most liked about this episode of Creepshow was the characters, most of whom were sympathetic. In my opinion, horror works best when the writer/director can make viewers actually care about the characters. If you like them, you feel invested in them (and the story), and you want them to make it out of the story alive.

Number 3: Twenty Minutes with Cassandra – The first episode of Creepshow opened with this gem of a story. Lorna (played by the amazing Samantha Sloyan of Midnight Mass) gets home from work and just wants to kick back with a pizza and some wine. Unfortunately, her peace is destroyed when Cassandra (Ruth Codd, another great Mike Flanagan favorite) bangs on her door, claiming that something is after her. She is telling the truth, there is a vicious monster out there, but he isn’t really after Cassandra…instead, he kills everyone who tries to help her. This is a fun story, particularly with Lorna’s creative use of household implements to create weapons, but it also has some depth to its story. Inner demons, anyone?

Here are my top two favorite segments of Creepshow’s fourth season

Number 2: The Parent Deathtrap – I really enjoyed this one! It’s one of the more campy segments of this season, and it’s just a delight to watch. Lyle’s parents are rich, but he is never good enough for them. Instead, he is bullied and disliked at school, and even gets stood up for prom by popular Violet, just one more thing that makes his parents nag at him. Finally pushed past his breaking point, Lyle kills them both, thinking he will finally have the peace and quiet he has been craving. But, not so fast! His parents come back as ghosts, and continue to torment him for several years. Of course, this being a Creepshow tale, there is a comic book twist at the end, but the cast really made this one shine.

Number 1: George Romero in 3D – Boy, did I enjoy this story, which is included in the last episode of the season. Martin works at his mother Sarah’s struggling book store, which she is about to lose, thanks to an evil landlord. When fellow employee (and crush) Dawn finds a box under the stairs, she and Martin open it up to find it filled with Image 10 3D comic books. Martin knows that Image 10 was owned by George Romero, and believes this is the answer to paying off the landlord and keeping the store. When he puts on the 3D glasses, the comic book image comes to life in front of him, and a zombie is on the loose. Only those wearing the glasses can see it, but it can still eat people, so Martin puts the glasses back on and turns to a page containing a drawing of George Romero. In a really cool special effect, the black and white drawing comes to life, looking like the character in a-ha’s video for Take On Me. Together, Romero, Martin and Dawn work to get rid of the zombie before he multiplies.

Overall, the entire season was positive for me. There wasn’t a single story that bored me or left me feeling like I had wasted my time, and I feel like the heart and soul of the original Creepshow film was firmly in place. Here’s hoping Shudder renews the series for a fifth season!