Okay
horror fans, are you ready for some closure? “Closure” might be too strong a
word, but fans of the internationally popular Canadian horror series who were
surprised by its cancellation after only two seasons will surely settle for
more. It turns out some of Todd Smith’s associates were less evil than he
thought and some were more so, but isn’t high school always like that? The
Necronomicon-like Book is still all kinds of evil, but maybe it is no longer
Todd’s fate to be the “Pure Evil One,” predestined to destroy the world with
its apocalyptic power (that’s not necessarily a good thing for the world) in Richard
Duhaney & Craig David Wallace’s animated feature, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil: The End of the End (trailer here), which releases
today in a Canadian limited-edition DVD/BluRay collector’s set.
Happily,
for newcomers, TATBOPE—TEOTE starts
with an attitude-rich recap of everything we need to know, sort of like the
classic spoof Soap, but in the George
Carlin-like voice of Jimmy the Janitor. Despite triumphing over evil, Smith is
a little depressed, because he inadvertently killed his best dude Curtis Weaver’s
science nerd girlfriend, Hannah B. Williams. Frankly, Weaver is pretty chill
about it, all things considered—and he completely lets Smith off the hook when
Williams inexplicably returns from the dead.
Of
course, this Williams is different. We soon learn she is an evil clone, who has
thrown her lot in with the evil stoner dudes. Of course, it will take the gang
quite a while to figure this out, for obvious reasons. On the plus side,
Atticus Murphy, Jr., the former high school guidance counselor and leader of
the underground satanic cult has decided to be good. He will also start pushing
a mop when he discovers Jimmy took his old gig while he was gone. At least the
janitor position pays better.
Screenwriters
and series co-creators Wallace and Charles Picco maintain the same ruckus and ribald
sense of humor in the animated format. This film is not afraid to go to
tasteless places for a laugh, but it understands all the established horror
conventions and skewers them quite drolly. It is also easy to identify with the
knuckleheaded characters. If you didn’t know someone like them in high school
then you were one of them.
In
a way, TATBOPE—TEOTE is like Star Trek: The Animated Series. The
animation is not spectacular, but it is the same cast and the same writers, so
it is the next best thing to new episodes of the classic series. If you were
fans of the original TATBOPE, this will
satisfy your cravings and those who are new to the franchise will still get a
kick out of its lunacy. For home viewing suggestions, it would pair up nicely
with either Deathgasm or Bad Kids of Crestview Academy. (Frankly,
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea should
have been more like this.) Highly recommended for fans of cult television,
midnight movies, and macabrely wacky animation, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil: The End of the End is now available
on Canadian DVD/BluRay and VOD platforms, from Raven Banner Entertainment.
