TV Recap & Review: ‘Creepshow’ S2, Ep. 1 – “Model Kid | Public Television of the Dead”

April 2, 2021

creepshow halloween special — Photo: AMC / Shudder

Season two of Shudder’s Creepshow has finally started, and after the success of the first season and its spinoffs throughout 2019-2020, producer and special effects artist Greg Nicotero (Creepshow 2, The Walking Dead) promised to deliver a wild ride. Nicotero made good on that promise with the dropping of episode one on April 1st.

In season one, each episode had two segments, typically written by different writers from the horror genre, including Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Josh Malerman. Season two looks to be kicking off the same way, as the first episode presents segments written by John Esposito (Graveyard Shift, The Walking Dead) and Rob Schrab (Monster House). Both segments were both directed by Nicotero. I’ll be recapping these segments, so before you keep reading, SPOILERS ARE AHEAD. You’ve been warned!

“Model Kid”
Directed by Greg Nicotero
Written by John Esposito

If you’re a fan of the original 1982 Creepshow film, this story will feel a bit familiar to you. It’s basically an expanded retelling of the wraparound story that starred Joe Hill and Tom Atkins. “Model Kid” starts off with an amazing shoutout to 1930’s black and white Universal Monster movies, showing us a fake film that we all wish was real, Gillman Meets The Mummy. The film turns out to be all in the imagination of Joe (Brock Duncan), a young monster enthusiast, while he paints and plays with his monster models. We’re also introduced to Joe’s mother (Tyner Rushing), who shares his passion for monsters in a heartwarming way but looks a little worse for wear and is pretty clearly dealing with a sickness. She explains to Joe that his aunt and uncle are coming to live with them, not only to help her with her treatments, but also to help them get back on their feet financially. Joe’s Uncle Kevin (Kevin Dillon, The Blob) is an abusive know-it-all who thinks having a passion for monsters is for losers. Joe is less than pleased with the situation, to say the least.

After talking things out and seemingly understanding, Joe’s mother dies suddenly in her sleep, leaving Joe in the care of his aunt and uncle. As the days go on, Joe’s uncle becomes unruly, smashes Joe’s models and is increasingly physically abusive to both Joe and his aunt. Joe then finds an ad for a voodoo doll in his horror magazine, orders one, and creates it to look exactly like his uncle Kevin. After toying (no pun intended) around and giving Kevin comedic injuries, the final showdown comes when Joe makes the voodoo doll fight his other monster models, resulting in a bloody ending for Uncle Kevin.

I really loved the expansion of this retelling. I always found myself wanting to see more story from that original Creepshow wraparound, so the nostalgia came flowing back from the moment I could recognize this story as that one. Though if you’re looking for something completely original, this story isn’t it. The emotional dynamic shown between Joe and his mom highly elevated the stakes in this story, as Joe continuously saw his passion for monsters as a tribute to his mother, and his uncle Kevin continuously stomped on that tribute. Kevin Dillon was truly detestable as Kevin, much in the way Atkins was.

The effects were fantastic, giving us some great classic-style practical monster suits of Gillman, The Mummy, and Frankenstein’s Monster. There were a lot of scenes with the throwback lighting and comic-style of the original film, making this short feel even more like a part of the universe. My only issue with this segment was during the climax, which had a gruesome ending, but cut away from the gory parts the audience had been waiting for. It seemed out of character for Greg Nicotero to not show us the goods, especially with some of the scenes in the second segment.

“Public Television of the Dead”
Directed by Greg Nicotero
Written by Rob Schrab

We’re quickly introduced to WQPS, the local public access channel that features kid-friendly shows (much like PBS), like The Love of Painting with Norm Roberts (a Bob Ross tribute), Mrs. Bookberry’s Magical Library (a mix between Reading Rainbow and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) and The Appraiser’s Road Trip with Goodman Tapert (much like Antique Road Show). After some introduction to the characters, Ted Raimi (playing himself) guests on Goodman Tapert’s (Peter Leake) show, bringing the Necronomicon as his appraisal item. Goodman opens and reads from the book unleashing the evil Deadites onto the radio station to wreak havoc.

With the help of Norm Roberts, the station crew must stop the Deadites as they multiply and try to read the Necronomicon on camera in attempts to spread the evil to the channel’s viewers. A bloody battle ensues, with hilarious Raimi-esque freakout camera shots, and perfect Evil Dead II Deadite makeup (Nicotero was a makeup specialist on Evil Dead II). The crew manages to stop the Deadites and close the book of the dead, saving the channel’s viewers from the evil within…or DO THEY?

Okay, I can tell you the last thing I was expecting was a Sam Raimi-tributing Evil Dead spinoff/fan film where fake Bob Ross fights the Deadites. However, I can tell you I was 100% in on it. As a huge Evil Dead fan, this segment gave me everything I wanted and more. It was fun, hilarious, horrific, and thrilling all at the same time. The acting was cheesy, the camera work was erratic and choppy (in a good way), and I felt like I’d just gotten off a roller coaster at the end. I was smiling the whole time.