By Geno McGahee
The Ray Bradbury Theater is a show that really had an impact on me as a child but the one tale that really stands out is THE PLAYGROUND. There aren’t many things scarier than evil children and there are several things that stand out here that make this tale creepy to this day. You add in the greatness that is William Shatner and we have a winner here.
Charles (Shatner) is a businessman with a childhood that haunts him. He was viciously bullied by a group of children at a playground and that event has stopped him from bringing his young son, Steve (Keith Dutson), to one. As he gets pressured by his sister, Charles walks to the playground to ease his mind, but it does the direct opposite. He sees all the children still there that were bullying him as a child and they’re still young. They start chanting “Charlie”, and he flashes back to when he was a young small child, his son’s age, and the trauma he dealt with.
His sister, Carol (Kate Trotter), won’t shut up and keeps pressuring Charles to bring Steve to the playground and to experience life. When he brings up bullying, she snaps at him and tells him that Steve has to learn how to deal with it. Now, Steve is only six years old and Charles was right to protect him, but his sister nagged him so much that he gave in and walked him to the playground.
Remarkably, they go to the playground at night, which is just really eerie. As he walks holding Steve’s hand, the tension increases and Charles attempts to prove that this is all in his mind. He starts climbing up a slide to face off with his old bully and beat this demon, but his son pushes him from behind and down the slide he goes and that’s when things get strange.
THE PLAYGROUND is very creepy and intense. Shatner brings his brand of overacting and the creepy kids are incredibly creepy. The fact that they are playing in the playground at night makes this more unsettling. When I was a kid, this tale creeped me out. As an adult, it has done the same thing. I love this tale. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 9/10
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