Creepshow the Series - Gray Matter / The House of the Head

I do wish I could say that the first episode of Shudder’s “Creepshow” series, a homage to EC Comics and Stephen King, set a fire of enthusiasm in me, considering the hype I’ve read and heard on podcasts, but the first two episodes left a bit to be desired. I honestly am still optimistic out of the twelve stories/episodes a few of them will land well.

Still seeing Adrienne Barbeau in “Gray Matter” was a fun surprise, even if her role isn’t all that significant. She operates a store quite barren of food and other items because of a hurricane stirring up in the area, many of the population in her sleepy town fled for safer environs. The town sheriff (Tobin Bell) and doc (Giancarlo Esposito) are playing cards while Barbeau is at the table, the three shooting the shit when a teenage boy (Christopher Nathan), droopy faced and sullen, arrives hoping for a particular brand of beer for his alcoholic father…their family lost the mom and it took a toll that got a whole hell of a lot worse. Afraid to return home, Nathan stays behind with Barbeau while Bell and Esposito decide to go to the boy’s house to check on his pop (Jesse Boyd)…they can’t imagine what they will find. Nathan gives Barbeau feedback on what has happened to Boyd over the weeks since they buried the mother and for some strange reason he’s had this very horrible reaction as he has kept drinking. In fact, Nathan horrifies Barbeau when he informs her that this grotesque effect has taken hold on Boyd, changing his very form into this slimy, gelatinous creature that is hungry for much more than booze, as Bell and Esposito will learn to their absolute horror. It gets apocalyptic by episode’s end. I guess fans will look for easter eggs, and I noticed a billboard with missing pets, including Cujo, there is moss on the box of beer as Esposito explains to Barbeau he just can’t seem to get rid of it no matter how hard he tries (the meteorite Stephen King moss spread story from “Creepshow”, quite the “Lonesome Death” was on the mind while watching this for sure), and reports of missing twin girls threw up a reminder of “The Shining”. The creature is a bit too CGI for my tastes but I recognize Nicoterro and company were operating under a tight budget. The creature’s way of “absorbing” a victim is rather yucky and how it seems to “split” and grow is hideous enough. The gradual storytelling by the boy—I wasn’t that blown away by Nathan’s performance, a bit underwhelming and I just felt he could have been creepier considering what he has experienced and is willing to do for his dad—I didn’t think was all that shabby (Boyd’s gradual “disintegration” has him finding goo in his mouth, bloating, with skin infection, and eventual blob-like transformation reveal quite a gross series of transitioning), as Barbeau reacts as many others would when they realize what this kid was willing to do for his dad because of a “promise to quit drinking”. 2.5/5

I like the concept of “The House of the Head” even if the overall results (mainly the conclusion) didn’t quite suit my fancy. A little girl (Cailey Fleming) is given a dollhouse (it is quite elaborate, even opening so she has access to all rooms, and it is multiple stories to boot, complete with an attic), and creates her own family (and dog) for it, realizing that this rotted, severed head has “taken up residence”, despite not “being invited” by her. Whenever Fleming returns to the house, things about the inside of the dollhouse change, as the family (a husband, wife, and son doll makes up the family) seems petrified while the head shows up in different rooms, seemingly acting as if it “owns the place”. She wants to be rid of the head, so she adds dolls to it hoping they can “bump it off”, such as a cop and Shaman, but they are “dispatched” eventually when she returns to see occasionally the “progress”. She has a dollhouse/doll artist with a shop who provides Fleming dolls or items for her house (he also sold her parents the house), played by Guy Messenger. I had figured Messenger might know more than he was letting on since the house and its contents came from his store, but the episode never follows up on that. Fleming’s parents (Rachel Hendrix and David Shae) aren’t aware of what their daughter is experiencing, as she keeps them at a distance while growing more terrified. I like the idea that something mysterious and evil can show up unannounced and alter a child’s imaginative world, seemingly taking over despite her best efforts to get rid of this “intruder” but besides a giant decapitated head with a elongated mouth under her bed when Fleming hopes to toss it out of the dollhouse, nothing really scary ever comes of the episode. She just dumps the house (and its evil head) on some other unfortunate family. The decapitated heads of the family, as the head becomes the “head of the house” I thought was rather a nifty visual as the girl realizes that the head will not tolerate any other true owner of that it. 2.5/5

The Creeper opening the crate with the old comics inside at the opening I do think is a cool recall to Romero’s film, and its presence on the show is a definite fan hug to us who love “Creepshow”. There was particular emphasis on using comic excerpts to also tell parts of the story, sometimes right from the page, one block to the next. I don’t mind that as a technique, because I think that was one of Romero’s gifts visually in the film, and it does save on budget, too. And reminding us that the comics are a major reason why we got the film and this series is important. And once again, there are advertisements and gems inside the comics for horror fans to enjoy. So not at all a wasted time. And I’m still game for the remaining ten still to come.