By Melissa Antoinette Garza
In the late 80s and throughout the majority of the 90s, horror fans were entertained and captivated by the HBO television show Tales from the Crypt. The show was hosted by a sarcastic and humorous skeletal puppet known as The Cryptkeeper. He told purposefully bad jokes yet he did so with a certain undeniable charm that made him likeable. The puppet was created by Kevin Yagher who has done quite a bit for the horror world. He is the same mastermind who designed the Chucky doll from the Child’s Play films and he also was responsible for the Freddy puppet that swallowed Patricia Arquette in Nightmare on Elm Street part 3. His special effects contributions are endless. Without question his creation for Tales from the Crypt definitely added to the show’s popularity and subsequent spinoffs.
There are plenty of good things to say about Tales from the Crypt. Though, it wasn’t always the scariest horror production, it was by far more frightening than shows like Tales from the Darkside and Monsters.
One of the first episodes is a remake of one of the tales in the 1972 anthology of the same name. It is basically exactly the same though I will admit the atmosphere and acting in the original is far better. Joan Collins was the lead and she sold the performance.
Nonetheless, this was a pretty decent rendition. The story is simple. A greedy wife (Mary Ellen Trainor) who has grown tired of her husband (Marshall Bell) murders him at Christmas. Her very young daughter Carrie Ann (Lindsey Whitney Barry) has no idea what just transpired.
Meanwhile, a news report on the radio warns that an escaped murderer dressed like Santa (Larry Drake) is on the loose and in the area. Of course, Santa shows up but the wife is unable to call 911 because she just murdered someone.
Though this isn’t really a horrifying tale, it’s still a fun watch. Those who haven’t watched the show in a while, I definitely suggest revisiting them. It would be nice if one of the streaming sites would pick them up.
In the meantime, the DVD collections aren’t that much to buy.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10
