‘Creepshow’ S3, Ep. 2 “Skeletons in the Closet” | “Familiar” TV Recap & Review

After a somewhat lackluster season three premiere, Shudder’s Creepshow rights the ship with episode two. The first segment, “Skeletons in the Closet,” is directed by showrunner Greg Nicotero, written by John Esposito (Graveyard Shift, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour), and stars Victor Rivera (Zombieland: Double Tap, Tomorrow’s Monsters), Valerie LeBlanc (Just Beyond), and James Remar (Dexter).

The second segment, “Familiar,” is directed by Joe Lynch (Mayhem), written by Josh Malerman (Bird Box novel), and stars Andrew Bachelor (The Babysitter), Hannah Fierman (V/H/S), and Keith Arthur Bolden (Lovecraft Country).

“Skeletons in the Closet”
Directed by Greg Nicotero
Written by Greg Nicotero & John Esposito

“Skeletons in the Closet” follows Lampini (Rivera) and his girlfriend Danielle (LeBlanc), a horror movie prop-obsessed couple who inherited Lampini’s late father’s prop museum. The museum has an impressive collection, everything from the Tall Man’s Orb from Phantasm to Dennis Hopper’s chainsaw from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The couple plans a massive exhibit reveal for their opening, featuring real-life skeletons used in films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Poltergeist.

When Lampini’s prop-bidding nemesis, Bateman (Remar), shows up and threatens to blackmail Lampini for grave-robbing the skeletons, Danielle murders him, and the couple melts him down to bones and displays his skeleton in their exhibit. Bateman’s skeleton then comes to life, using different props from the museum to kill Danielle and other staff members.

Before Bateman can kill Lampini, Lampini’s father’s skeleton, also used for the exhibit, comes to life and defeats Bateman in battle. Lampini then poses Danielle’s skeleton in the exhibit to celebrate the grand opening.

RELATED: ‘Creepshow’ Scream Factory Collector’s Edition Arrives June 20th

The horror fan in me loved seeing all of the props and picking out Easter eggs. Watching the orb from Phantasm make a kill was great, and a well-done reenactment from Psycho put a smile on my face. There was also a great shout-out to the classic Ray Harryhausen stop-motion skeleton fight from Jason and the Argonauts. The segment was creative and fun, much like the “Night of the Living Late Show” episode from season two.

My only real issue in “Skeletons in the Closet” was my dislike of all the major characters. Lampini was this incel-esque, self-obsessed movie lover, with the seemingly personality-less and uber-attractive girlfriend only there to worship him for his “magic” until she realized he’d been stealing bodies. Lampini’s personality was arguably more terrible than the blackmailing Bateman, so it was weird for me to see his character win the day unscathed (while still making out with his girlfriend’s skeleton) when comeuppance is typically the moral to Creepshow stories.

Maybe that was the point? I still enjoyed the segment quite a bit, though it felt like an outlier in the series.

“Familiar”
Directed by Joe Lynch
Written by Josh Malerman

The story of “Familiar” begins with Jack (Bachelor) and his bubbly artist girlfriend Dawn (Fierman) getting a little buzzed and hitting up a local psychic for some after-drinks fun. During the reading, psychic Boone (Bolden) slips Jack a note, telling him that a dark presence is following him.

After the couple leaves, Jack notices a red-eyed creature following him at every turn, disrupting his daily life. He brings his worries to Dawn, who dismisses him but gives him a handmade lamb. He then calls Boone, who offers a necklace, hoping to lure the creature to “innocent bait” and trap it.

After a failed attempt with the necklace, Jack uses the lamb but falls asleep during the catch. As he hears Dawn scream from the crate that he’s used to catch the creature, he thinks the creature is playing tricks on him. He dumps the crate to a nearby water source, hoping to drown the creature. When he arrives home, Jack sees the creature again, but this time with a waterlogged version of Dawn at its side, telling him she believes him now.

Check out all of our Creepshow coverage here!

This segment had much more of the classic Creepshow vibe in both the story and filming style. I loved the shout-outs to the original 1982 film, using the crate as a major plot device and the waterlogged zombie, which reminded me of Ted Danson and Gaylen Ross from the original’s “Something to Tide You Over” segment.

Much of the lighting was similar, too, using bright reds, pinks, and purples. All three main actors were strong, and the story itself brought on the creepy vibe of an evil presence always following you, almost in an It Follows type of way. Like many of the previous Creepshow segments, I was impressed with the monster makeup and effects, which were all practical.

This segment definitely felt like the most fitting for the series thus far in season three.

We’re hardworking geeks who love to geek out, but we can’t do it without you! If you enjoyed this article and want to see more like it, please consider tipping our writers. Also, as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.