Creepshow - Public Television of the Dead

 This was the second segment of the episode following "Model Kid", a beloved homage to The Evil Dead, public television of the 70s/80s, and the great painter Bob Ross. That this has Ted Raimi as just some guy on an Antiques show hoping to cash in on a book he found in a cellar, soon to be struck by a demonic possession after the host unlocks the Book of the Dead with a special key and reads from it, makes the segment extra groovy. How could I not get a kick out of "Bob Ross Against the Evil Dead"? Mark Ashworth as Norm Roberts, a calm, gentle, sweetheart of a painter whose soothing voice and brush strokes seem to ease any tensions that might ail you, if not carry you away into whatever landscapes he brings alive on canvas. Marissa Chanel Hampton is perfect as the soft-hearted but browbeaten public television subordinate stuck having to deliver news on cut budgets, lost timeslots, appeasing narcissistic asshole host who get into an innocent character (who reads storybooks while speaking through a teddy bear puppet) enough to convince plenty of kids to watch her, and leaning out staff due to setbacks beyond her control. When the Book of the Dead is opened, read, and possesses Raimi, the Kantarian demon looks for more souls and human hosts to possess. Eventually the television station is in disarray, with dead bodies strewn throughout, and a few hosts possessed, looking to read from the book out into public (including kids watching television in their homes). I think if you love The Evil Dead and Ted Raimi, this will be a hoot. Is this anything beyond surface homage created to entertain a particular audience? Yes, but I love the recreation of a public television of decades past, and Ashworth ably channels Ross superbly well. Coley Campany is the foul-mouthed, racist, cutthroat children show host with lots of demands and noise, leaving Hampton's Claudia often taking most of the bitch's gruff. Todd Allen Durkin is the camera operator tasked with multiple jobs since the crew for Roberts' fledgling art show was cut to shreds in favor of Campany's Mrs. Bookberry's Storytime. Peter Leake is Goodman Tapert, the antiques show host who unlocks the Book of the Dead, unleashing hell on the entire television station. The key in the forehead of Tapert, left to stick out while he's floating about with pallid flesh and white eyes (the arms snap up with the body forming a T-shape), did crack me up. This isn't the least bit intense. After watching the first two Evil Dead films on Saturday (while recovering from my second Pfizer shot), "Public Television of the Dead" is more of an amusing nod to the great Raimi films (and Ash Vs. the Evil Dead) than something that ever gets under the skin. That the Book of the Dead really favors the one we know all so well, when introduced, popped me, I will certainly admit. I just loved how this was my choice after just watching two of the Evil Dead films not but a few days ago. That "Bob Ross" takes matters into his own hands and even uses a paint brush and lighting equipment to combat possessed Raimi (among others) is inspired, to say the least. It is mentioned by the cameraman that Norm Roberts was changed by his experience in Vietnam, returning with a heart and desire designed to comfort not do any harm.

3.5/5