Fans of sci-fi/horror will be extra pleased with the newest episode of Shudder’s Creepshow, especially if they enjoyed episode three’s “The Right Snuff,” directed by Joe Lynch. Lynch returns to direct “Pipe Screams,” the first segment of episode four. “Pipe Screams” is written by Daniel Kraus (Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia), and stars scream queen and horror icon Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, We Are Still Here), Eric Edelstein (Jurassic World, Green Room) and Selena Anduze (The Haunting of Hill House). The second segment, “Within the Walls of Madness,” is a Lovecraftian tale directed by John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside, Book of Blood), written by John Esposito (The Walking Dead) and Greg Nicotero. The episode stars Drew Matthews, Denise Crosby (Pet Sematary, Star Trek: The Next Generation), and Nicholas Logan (I Care A Lot). There are SPOILERS AHEAD, so readers beware!
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“Pipe Screams”
Directed by Joe Lynch
Written by Daniel Kraus
Financially struggling plumber Linus (Eric Edelstein) has been called to an old, barely standing apartment building by the viciously racist and intolerant slumlord, Victoria (Barbara Crampton). The ancient lead pipes in the basement are clogged and leaking, and Victoria naturally blames her residents, rather than her own failures to keep the building up to code. When Linus is hesitant about the job, and explains the dangers of lead pipes to Victoria, she threatens to do everything she can to cause Linus’s business to fail. He reluctantly agrees to help, but after Victoria leaves, he quickly realizes something has come out of the pipes and killed the building’s resident cat. Linus nopes right out of there, trying to fix the problem from Janet’s (Selena Anduze) apartment.
While alone in the apartment, a slimy, hairball-like blob corners and attacks Linus, eating the flesh from his hand and face. Right before his demise, Janet saves the day, capturing the blob in a bucket. Unknowing what to do with the creature, they gather the residents of the building and call Victoria, who angrily arrives in the middle of the night. They confront Victoria about the lead pipes, to which she belittles them and offers to bribe them. Little does she know, she’s standing over the pipe where Linus and Janet have returned the blob, and it drags Victoria into the pipes to her death.
This segment had an extremely classic Creepshow 2 feel (think “The Raft” or “Old Chief Wood’nhead”). The messaging wasn’t too deep, and the cheese factor in the acting was high. I really liked Edelstein’s performance. On the surface, he gave off that sleazy character type that Josh McDermitt gave us in episode two, but I saw a financially desperate specialty worker, insistent on keeping the business going, while obviously still grieving the loss of his brother. He reminded me more of Oscar Isaac’s character in the Coen Brothers film, Inside Llewyn Davis. It was also refreshing and amazing seeing Barbara Crampton in a villain role. She typically plays the heroine or sweetheart, so seeing her with an overly iniquitous attitude was great.
The message of the segment wasn’t too buried, pointing out the outrageous mistreating of lower-class tenants by slumlords that is far too rampant in America. The gore and creature effects were cool, gross, and fun. I enjoyed this segment a lot. It was short, sweet, and to the point.
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“Within the Walls of Madness”
Directed by John Harrison
Written by John Esposito & Greg Nicotero
In this obvious shout out to HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, members of a top-secret mountain crest government team are seemingly axe-murdered by team member Zeller (Drew Matthews), who recalls his story to a writer, after being imprisoned for his crimes. Zeller claims that a portal opened up in the wall, and a tentacled creature murdered the entire team, and that he asked the team scientist, Dr. Trollenberg (Denise Crosby), to look at the video recording, to prove his innocence. In order to protect her research, and after revealing her knowledge of the elder gods within the mountain, she pins the murders on him, and tries to call them forward again, forcing Zeller to kill her just as evacuation reinforcements arrive.
Fast forward to Zeller’s final wish before he is put to death by the system, and all he wants to do is use the device that Trollenberg used to call the elder gods. Thinking it was silly, they agree, allowing Zeller to call the gods, open to portal, and spell death and eternal doom for everyone involved.
This segment was probably the most straightforward of the season. It seemed a bit rushed, and like we’d seen it before (as it is super similar to Lovecraft’s work), but was still enjoyable and dipping into the cosmic horror feel that the series started last week. Drew Matthews did a fine job, with this particular performance was overshadowed by Denise Crosby, who is always a treat when on screen in a horror/sci-fi situation.
The effects were a mixed bag of practical and CG for the creature, which were used sparingly. Some of the shake-and-shudder camera effects were distracting and seemed unnecessary, but understandable with putting a small budget to a Cthulhu-esque theme. I enjoyed it, but it certainly wasn’t even close to the best segment of the season.
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