Tales from the Void, Season One

Maybe the word “void” is a fitting way to refer to a creepypasta subreddit. Evidently, that is how the community sees itself, since all the stories adapted for this anthology series came from r/NoSleep short fiction horror community. Some contributors parlayed their stories into book deals and a handful have even been optioned. Of course, many have been largely ignored. Perhaps fittingly, and certainly not unexpectedly, the quality varies greatly throughout the 6-episode first season of creator Francesco Loschiavo’s Tales from the Void, based on r.NoSleep stories, which releases tomorrow on BluRay.

Shrewdly, the opening episode, “Into the Unknown” is the best of the six (and the only one provided for review when the series debuted on Screambox). The darned thing just shows up one day in the parking lot of a large, somewhat isolated apartment building. It is like a giant square, non-reflective black flat-screen TV that hovers in the air. It also appears invisible to cameras and film, as Harris discovers. He is the only one exhibiting intellectual curiosity about it, but plenty of his neighbors are obsessed.

Harris’s friend Anton has the night-watch, while Bill (who seems to hold some kind of building captain position) and his hired goons guard it by day. Increasingly paranoid, Bill fears the Square must be some kind of government experiment and/or a threat of unknown origin. He is determined to protect the building, especially Harris, from the Square, no matters how much it hurts.

Throughout it all, director Joe Lynch maintains a moody atmosphere and skillfully builds the mounting paranoia.  The adaptation of Matthew Dymerski’s tale lacks the black humor and snappy attitude of many of Lynch’s film, particularly Mayhem and Everly, but it creates a sense of a self-contained community, under extreme stress.

Conveniently, the second episode, also happens to be second best in quality too. “Fixed Frequency” harkens back to 1980s teen horror, following three punky kids who prank their neighbors, by hacking their baby-monitors. Juan does not think it is very funny to terrify young mothers, but he plays along with Kurt and Cedric, because of peer pressure. Then, at their last house of the night, they hear an ominous bogeyman voice talking back to them through their walkie. It seems like he is exactly what they pretended to be—and he is coming for them next.

Helmed by Loschiavo, “Fixed Frequency” perfectly hits the right nostalgic notes. If anything, it feels a little truncated, but that suggests how effective the set-up is. Of all the first season episodes, this one could most easily be fixed-up into a feature length treatment.

Unfortunately, “Starlight,” also helmed by Loschiavo, is by far the most predictable. It follows Whit Barnett, a would-be influencer, who is as abrasive as he is pathetic. Yet, he has been selected for a mysterious new game show, which, of course, is exactly what we think it is. Oh, that crazy dark web.

The Evil Touch: Heart to Heart (Early Stallone)

For a greedy wastrel, a perfectly good serial killer should never go to waste. He believes his rich, disapproving aunt should be the so-called “Monster’s” next victim, even if he must kill her himself. Where did this sinister scenario come from? The mind of Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the teleplay under the oddball pen-name of Q. Moonblood several years before the release of Rocky. The upcoming re-release of Stallone’s first starring-role in Robert Allen Schnitzer’s Rebel offers an opportune time to revisit his first IMDb writing credit, the “Heart to Heart” episode of the American-produced Australian anthology series, The Evil Touch, hosted by Anthony Quayle.

Nephew Richard is lazy, entitled, and mean-spirited, so his wealthy guardian Aunt has finally decided to write him out of her will. However, it will take a few days for her lawyer to return from his ill-timed business trip, which leaves ample time for Richard to kill her.

Since the Monster has been amassing a horrendous body-count across the countryside, the ne-er do well nephew assumes if he copies the killer’s M.O., her murder will automatically be attributed to the serial killer. He just needs to make nice with his Aunt, so he can lure her somewhere isolated. However, there are a few variables to his plan that he cannot control, but experienced genre viewers might anticipate.

Nevertheless, Stallone, a.k.a. Moonblood, gives his big twist an amusing additional half-twist. Consequently, “Heart to Heart” is surprisingly satisfying, in a suitably macabre way. Regrettably, episodes of The Evil Touch are currently only available as inferior-quality YouTube uploads. Yet, the slightly blurry video adds a hallucinatory effect that makes each episode feel like a feverish dream.

Tales from the Void: Into the Unknown, on Screambox

Sometimes geometric shapes are scary, like spirals in Uzumaki or the Monolith in 2001 (at least if you’re an ape). A mysterious square has much the same effect in the first episode of this series based on stories originally published on r/NoSleep, a popular source for next generation creepypasta horror. An inexplicable square creeps everyone out in “Into the Unknown,” Tales from the Void’s first episode, which starts streaming Sunday on Screambox.

The darned thing just shows up one day in the parking lot of a large, somewhat isolated apartment building. It is like a giant square, non-reflective black flat-screen TV that hovers in the air. It also appears invisible to cameras and film, as Harris discovers. He is the only one exhibiting intellectual curiosity about it, but plenty of his neighbors are obsessed.

Harris’s friend Anton has the night-watch, while Bill (who seems to hold some kind of building captain position) and his hired goons guard it by day. Increasingly paranoid, Bill fears the Square must be some kind of government experiment and/or a threat of unknown origin. He is determined to protect the building, especially Harris, from the Square, no matters how much it hurts.

In the post-episode interview segment, Matthew Dymerski, the author of the original r/NoSleep story, identifies the Twilight Zone episode “The Monsters are Due on Main Street” as his primary influence, which definitely shows. Frankly, there is considerably more time devoted to the collective madness than the big dumb object itself.

However, director Joe Lynch maintains a moody atmosphere and skillfully builds the mounting paranoia.  The adaptation of Dymerski’s tale lacks the black humor and snappy attitude of many of Lynch’s film, particularly Mayhem and Everly, but it definitely creates a sense of a self-contained community, under extreme stress.

Masters of Horror: Dreams in the Witch House

The attrition rate at H.P. Lovecraft’s Miskatonic University must be staggeringly high. However, a diligent student like Walter Gilman is sure to make it through to graduation, right? Good luck kid. He just rented a cheap, decrepit boarding house to stretch his budget, but he will not find it to be a restful living environment in director Stuart Gordon’s adaptation of Lovecraft’s short story, “Dreams in the Witch House,” a particularly Lovecraftian episode of Masters of Horror, which screens during the Lovecraftian horror series at Anthology Film Archives.

The late great Gordon was the definitive interpreter of Lovecraft, having helmed Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dagon, and “Dreams in the Witch House.” Originally, his frequent star and collaborator Jeffrey Combs was supposed to have a role, but it was not to be. His fans will still recognize Ezra Godden from Dagon (especially since he wears Miskatonic sweatshirts in both).

Godden plays Gilman, whose new digs are so cheap, there must be something wrong with them. Unfortunately, he cannot afford anything better. The same is true for Frances Elwood, a young single mother living across the hall with her infant son. On his first night in the building, he helps her with a rat problem. Then he starts having nightmares of rats. Rather disconcertingly, Masurewicz, the weird man on the ground floor, asks if he has seen the one with the human face yet.

The physics student has noticed how the corner of his studio resembles a theoretical portal between dimensions. He later finds similar geometrical figures in the Necronomicon, which mysteriously finds its way to Gilman in the Miskatonic library, even though it is supposed to be under lock and key. The increasingly agitated grad student deduces his room is the gateway for the shadowy figures that terrorize him at night.

Once again, Gordon shows a keen affinity for Lovecraft’s work. It would be hard to get more Lovecraftian than “Dreams in the Witch House,” which combines science and the supernatural. It is indeed a cosmic encounter that culminates in madness.

Yet, Gordon keeps it all relatively grounded. He had a keen eye for teasing fears out of a creepily lit corner. Again, Godden made a solid Lovecraftian everyman/fall-guy, while Campbell Lane is terrific as the tormented Masurewicz.

Masters of Horror: Cigarette Burns

Supposedly, watching this film drives its audience into fits of insanity and death, so, of course, collectors want it. The fictional film La Fin Absolue du Monde predates mockumentaries like Fury of the Demon and Antrum that supposedly documented similarly deadly movies. Yet, what will really interest horror fans is the chance to see John Carpenter direct Udo Kier. “John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns,” an episode of the Mick Garris-created anthology series Masters of Horror, is not hugely Lovecraftian, but it is probably his best work of the 21^st Century thus far, so nobody will object to it screening during the Lovecraftian horror series at Anthology Film Archives.

Kirby Sweetman would prefer to concentrate on programming his struggling repertory cinema, but to pay the bills, he often works as a cinema sleuth, tracking down rare prints for clients. Hans Backovic’s “La Fin Absolue de Monde (The Absolute End of the World)” is the rarest of the rare. Honestly, Sweetman did not believe it still existed, but Bellinger, his mysterious new client, assures him it does. Supposedly, it only screened once at Sitges, resulting in bloody, stomach-churning riots. Bellinger went to see Vincent Price introduce Dr. Phibes instead, which sounds like a great choice, but he has regretted it ever since.

To pay off his debts, Sweetman starts following the film’s trail, starting with the only critic who filed a review. Since then, he has obsessively re-written his review, filling thousands and thousands of pages. Ominously, Sweetman also starts showing symptoms of the madness associated with the film, after listening to tapes of the critic’s interview with Backovic. Much to his alarm, the circular Ringu-like flashes of light he sees, referred  to as “cigarette burns” by those in-the-know, usually herald a descent into madness.

Even though “Cigarette Burns” was produced for television, it has a dark elegance that feels very much like classic Carpenter. It was also scored by his son, Cody Carpenter, who collaborated on the Firestarter and David Gordon Greene Halloween trilogy soundtracks, so “Cigarette Burns” also sounds very Carpenter-esque.

Creepshow Season Four

When a series is based on a classic George Romero-Stephen King film, it better be mindful of horror movie traditions. That continues to be the case for the strongest horror anthology currently going. The very first episode, “Grey Matter” co-starred Adrienne Barbeau in a King short story adaptation. Then it incorporated elements of the films Horror Express and Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in Night of the Living Late Show and A Dead Girl Named Sue. There are highs and a few lows, but as usual, the best episodes harken back to the 1982 fan favorite during the fourth season of Creepshow, which premieres tomorrow on Shudder.

“20 Minutes with Cassandra,” directed by showrunner Greg Nicotero and written by Jamie Flanagan starts out as a monster-stalker story, which it definitely is, but it takes an interesting turn. Ironically, this is the most thoughtful tale of the season, which makes it an outlier, but in a good way. Samantha Sloyan is also terrific as Lorna, the invaded home-owner, especially in her scenes with Okwe, the pizza delivery guy she is trying to keep out of it, played understated humor by Frankie Francois.

The second story of the season premiere, “Smile” directed by John Harrison and written by Mike Scannell, is also super creepy. Somehow, an award-winning photojournalist and his wife find themselves stalked by a mysterious figure, inexplicably taunting them with pictures he or it should not have been able to snap. In this case, it is the eerie details that make the stalking so intense.

The second episode starts with some serious horror fan service in “The Hat,” directed by Kailey & Sam Spear and written by Byron Willinger & Philip De Blasi, tipping its titular Homberg to authors like Richard Matheson. Those are the kind of legends Jay Stratton wants to join, so he borrows the hat formerly owned by his idol, Stephen Bachman (a mashing together of Stephen King and Richard Bachman) once sported. It is suitably macabre in an EC Comics kind of way and Marlee Walchuk’s portrayal of his literary agent is very funny, but not fundamentally inaccurate.

Unfortunately, the B-side, “Grieving Process,” directed by Kailey & Sam Spear and written by Mike D. McCarty and John Esposito, is gorier but much less fun. A Michelin-star chef’s wife barely survives a brutal attack, but her personality changes drastically. So does her appetite. This is probably the lowest point of the new season, because it is so downbeat and predictable.

Next episode, “Parent Death Trap, directed by P.J. Pesce and written by Erik Sandoval & Michael Rousselet, returns to the black comedy of the last season. Although miserable Lyle Veljohnson is rich in money and position, he is dirt poor when it comes to family love and support. His WASPy parents are so nasty, he finally kills them, but that won’t be the end of things. Not even close. Shaughnessy Redden and Loretta Walsh are indeed pretty hillarious as his ultra-snobby and controlling parents. It is backed by “To Grandmother’s House we Go” (director: Justin Dyck, writer: William Butler), which is an okay werewolf yarn that appropriately shares familial themes.

“Meet the Balaskos,” written and directed by John Esposito, is by far the most heavy-handed, lectury installment of the new season. It is sort of like Fright Night, except the Vampire-Americans who move in next door are just another under-represented demographic group, who must endure the prejudice of their new next-door neighbor. However, “Cheat Code,” directed by Justin Dyck and written by Claire Carre & Charles Spano, is one of the season’s best. A recently widowered father tries to bond with his son through an old school cartridge video game, but they deduce its sinister powers a little too late. Coming on the heels of Totally Killer, “Cheat Code” should further establish Lochlyn Munro as one of the top horror dads.

Scare BNB: The Hosts

Seriously, Hollywood and indie content makers just seem to hate people making an extra buck. If you doubt it, when was the last time you saw a positive portrayal of online BNB host or a ride-share driver in film or television? It is pretty clear these hosts are little weird too, but in this case they have an excuse. They market their cottage as haunted, so they reasonably assume their latest guests want the usual “treatment” in Scare BNB: The Hosts, the first two-episode arc of the new anthology series premiering tomorrow on DIVABoxOffice.tv.

June, Layla, Ellie, and Gemma are all old friends, who have come to Nashville for their favorite annual music festival. June and Layla are already a couple, whereas Ellie and Gemma are slowly taking their friendship in that direction, after the latter’s recent breakup. To their credit, Mitchell and Deede, their online BNB hosts, do not seem to care about that. Their brand of creepiness is something else entirely.

Initially, the retired couple tries to treat the women to some jump scares, but when they learn their guests are not into it, they assure them the cottage is not really haunted. It is just their marketing gimmick to stand out. However, Layla, who has a history of sleep paralysis (during which she regularly sees demonic figures), has a particularly disturbing episode. The most distressing part being June can see it to.

The two thirty-minute-plus episodes of The Hosts story arc constitute a pretty clever and economically constructed anthology story. The sleep paralysis angle really distinguishes it from all the previous BNB horror already out there. DIVABoxOffice.tv is dedicated to “queer” programming, but both episodes of The Hosts are quite accessible to viewers outside their target community. (Sure, there is some hooking-up going on, but it is healthier and less in viewers faces than Hulu’s upcoming Wreck.)

Creepshow: Drug Traffic & A Dead Girl Named Sue

Horror can be a keenly effective vehicle for social commentary. The great George Romero was a master of inserting his liberal perspective, without detracting from the narrative. However, when didacticism gets in the way of the storytelling, it is especially obvious in the horror genre. Such thoughts are prompted by this week’s episode of Creepshow (featuring an inventive Romero homage), which premieres this Thursday on Shudder.

Prepare yourself for a lecture on the American healthcare system in “Drug Traffic” (directed by Greg Nicotero and written by Mattie Do & Christopher Larsen). In this case, the drug smuggling of the title refers to the life-saving prescription drugs that are affordable in Canada, but prohibitively expensive in the U.S. It is crusty border guard Beau’s job to keep them out. Before your eyes roll out of your head, take comfort from the way crafty old Beau outsmarts the opportunistic leftwing Congressman, who organized a patient caravan up to Canada, with plenty of media to film it, of course, of course.

However, unbeknownst to either Federal public servant, the Congressman’s party includes a very sick young woman, whose mother hopes to forestall a rather macabre transformation with a pharmaceutical cocktail. It is not much of a spoiler to say this turns into a monster story—and it’s a cool one. Fan favorite Michael Rooker is funny as heck as Border Patrolman Beau, while Reid Scott is spectacularly cynical as the power-hungry Congressman. (The suggestion that many politicians advocating greater socialized medicine don’t really believe in it and are only following their polls earns a red “fact check: true” checkmark.) Together, these characters and juicy performances largely deconstruct and undermine the story’s ideological slant—and that’s a great thing.

“A Dead Girl Named Sue” (directed by John Harrison and written by Heather Anne Campbell, based on Craig Engler’s short story) is the second Creepshow story that incorporates scenes from Romero’s conveniently in-public domain Nightof the Living Dead, following The Night of the Living Late Show. The story unfolds on the same night as the fateful events in that farm house, in a small town not so far away. Ironically, many of the good townsfolk want to take advantage of the confusion to dispense some frontier justice on the corrupt mayor’s sexual predator son, Cliven Ridgeway.

Back in the station, Police Chief Evan Foster can see the news reports from the classic movie playing on TV. He does not believe in lynch mobs, so he sets out to take Ridgeway into protective custody. Yet, what he finds will test his principles.

Although set concurrently, “Dead Girl Named Sue” is a fitting Living Dead story for our violent year of 2021. At a time when so-called “bail reform” in cities like New York has turned policing into a catch-and-release endeavor, we can well relate to the frustration of Foster and his fellow townsmen. For those who know the film intimately, it is also worth noting the town’s band of prospective vigilantes is racially mixed. Such is the extent of the anger at the town’s revolving door jail.

Creepshow: Time Out & The Things in Oakwood’s Past

In horror movies (and TV) time will always catch up with your stupid butt. No matter what you do, that bell tolls for you. This week, one character tries to cheat time and another looks forward to what might be preserved in a time capsule, but in this genre, everything comes to a bad end. Frankly, the first story is a bit more Twilight Zone-ish and the other is animated, but it is still all the same difference when the latest episode of Creepshow premieres tomorrow on Shudder.

That wardrobe in “Time Out” (directed by Jeffrey F. January and written by Barrington Smith & Paul Seetachit) is not just a family heirloom. It offers a time-out from the passage of time, as Tim learns, when he inherits it from his grandmother. That means he can pop in on the morning of a law school exam and study for hours (or even days). However, even though time stops in the outside world, he still ages inside. Her final note to Tim cautions against using it too much. She also emphasizes he must always keep the key with him when he goes inside, but seriously, what could go wrong?

Smith & Seetachit’s premise is interesting, like the inverse-opposite of Adam Sandler’s Click, including the fact that it is entertaining. It isn’t really horror, but it definitely follows in the tradition of tragically ironic anthology stories, such as Twilight Zone’s classic “Time Enough at Last.” “Time Out” is a bit of a series ringer, but it is cleverly conceived and well-executed, so genre fans should definitely appreciate its merits.

In contrast, you can’t get much more Creepshow than “The Things in Oakwood’s Past” (directed by Greg Nicotero & Dave Newberg, written by Daniel Kraus & Nicotero, with Enol & Luis Junquera credited as animation directors). That’s right, this one is animated, in an entertainingly colorful Creepshow/EC Comics style. Mac Kamen is a human-interest reporter who has come to Oakwood to do a story on the opening of a time capsule discovered by town librarian Marnie Wrightson (presumably a hat-tip to artist Bernie Wrightson).

Wrightson hopes it might hold answers the town’s great mystery. Like Roanoke, the entire population of Oakwood disappeared two hundred years ago. Eventually, the town was re-colonized, but nobody ever figured out what happened.

Creepshow: Stranger Sings & Meter Reader

Monster movies are different than horror films. Godzilla and King Kong are supposed to inspire shock and awe, because they are so far removed from human-scale, whereas monsters in horror movies are unnerving because they are all too human. Those are kind of-sort of the monsters we meet in this week’s episode of Creepshow, which premieres this Thursday on Shudder.

It is a siren that leads poor Barry astray in “Stranger Sings,” directed by Axelle Carolyn and written by Jordana Arkin, but as a doctor, he has a usefulness that could save his life. Miranda is tired of life as an immortal siren, so she wants Barry to swap her voice-box (and powers) with that of her mortal pal Sara, who is eager to assume her uncanny existence.

“Stranger” initially appears to be a tiresome gender-warfare exercise in woke horror, but it rights itself at the last minute. Still, the uneven comedic tone never really clicks and Barry, earnestly portrayed by Chris Mayers, remains the only remotely sympathetic character (at least if you hold to notion that killing people is bad).

“Meter Reader,” directed by Joe Lynch and written by John Esposito is not perfect either, but it is much more successful. It happens to be another story of pandemic horror, which always sounds like fun, doesn’t it, but in this case, it is different. The pandemic in question involves a massive outbreak of demonic possession. Abigail’s father Dalton has natural immunity, making him a logical choice to serve as a “Meter Reader,” a sort of blue-collar exorcist. In fact, he considers himself more like a plumber than a priest. The problem is Dalton is late returning home, calling into question the continued validity of his immunity.

This is not the best Creepshow story, but it is the one that stands the most to gain were it to be expanded into a full-length feature. Lynch and Esposito give us a full narrative, but they only scratch the surface exploring the implications of their demonic plague-world. Indeed, they could easily use more time to address the question “can evil be a pandemic” and the corollary “can a pandemic be evil?” Regardless, Abigail Dolan and Jonathon Schaech are quite strong as Abigail and her father. Plus, Lynch’s cool duster-wearing-motorcyclist-at-sunset visuals are well-suited to the Creepshow aesthetic.

Despite an uneven start, “Meter Reader” takes this week’s Creepshow to some interesting places. Anthologies tend to be uneven by their nature, so we can give an above-average one like Creepshow a pass on its occasional misfires. Recommended for “Meter Reader,” the latest episode of Creepshow start streaming Thursday (10/14) on Shudder.

Creepshow: Skeletons in the Closet & Familiar

Horror fans are a lot like serial killers. They both like to collect. However, you want to be sure you’re not the one being collected. Viewers can see the dark side of the collecting impulse in the latest episode of showrunner Greg Nicotero’s Creepshow, which premieres Thursday on Shudder.

In “Skeletons in the Closet” (written by John Esposito and directed by Nicotero), Lampini’s late father was an avid horror movie prop collector, so he has turned the family collection into a museum on the Hollywood Strip. Just when he is poised to make a splash with an exhibit of actual human skeletons that appeared in classic films (this is a very real phenomenon that happens more often than you would think), his father’s old nemesis “Bateman” (sort of like “Newman!” in Seinfeld) arrives to ask awkward questions of providence. However, that might turn out to be a mistake, given Lampini has an excuse to have a bunch of skeletons lying around.

“Skeletons” is another wonderful loving, yet drolly macabre love letter to horror fandom. Nicotero and Esposito incorporate some very funny visual homages to iconic films, such as Psycho, The Shining, and Jason and the Argonauts. The latter is especially deranged, but somehow it makes perfect sense within the narrative. The great James Remar is terrific as the sleazy Bateman and Valerie Leblanc vamps it up entertainingly (and lives up to the pressure of a Hitchcock-inspired shower scene) as Lampini’s girlfriend, Danielle. Frankly, this is the sort ironic, fan-appreciating story Creepshow does best, along with segments like “Night of the Living Late Show” and “Public Television of the Dead.”

The vibe is more serious (at least by Creepshow standards) throughout “Familiar” (written by Josh Malerman and directed by Joe Lynch), but it is still rather amusing to watch a yuppy lawyers and hipster artist deal with an uncanny stalker. Fortuitously, Jackson’s wife Fawn just happened to drag him in for a reading from Boone the psychic, as a lark, soon after a demonic familiar latched onto him. Boone has advice for dealing with the supernatural parasite—and conveniently, he accepts all major credit cards—but the correct execution will be a tricky matter.

Creepshow: Mums & Queen Bee

Tonight's episode addresses two very real-world phenomena that pose serious risks to society. One is extremist militia secessionism. The other is brainless, brain-rotting pop. The latter turns out to be much scarier than the former in the first episode of showrunner Greg Nicotero’s third season of Creepshow, which premieres this Thursday on Shudder.

It might be based on a Joe Hill short story, “Mums,” but the standard comeuppance opener of episode S3E1 (adapted by Nicotero & David J. Schow and directed by Rusty Cundieff) is probably the worst of the entire series. Jack’s mother Bloom once had substance abuse issues, but his father Hank is the dangerous one. Sadly, he uses her history to create a cover story after accidentally killing her, while plotting an act of domestic terrorism. Jack suspects something is wrong, but when he plants the weird seeds she left behind, what sprouts might just lead him to the truth.

Right, we have Bloom, who gets buried and Jack planting seeds. The names are really on the nose in this episode. Everything else is just as paint-by-numbers. Hank’s grisly fate is obviously assured due to his unsavory ideology and Ethan Embry’s performance does nothing to elevate him above a base caricature. That means there is no suspense, since the ending is preordained and there is no humor, presumably because the themes are thought to be so serious. Only Malone Thomas stands out with some nice work as Beth, the conflicted babysitter and co-conspirator, supplying the sole element of complexity. As a result, “Mums” plays out like didactic score-settling, which makes it a chore to watch.

Fortunately, “Queen Bee” (written by Erik Sandoval & Michael Rousselet and directed by Nicotero) is better in every single respect. Trenice and her friends Debra and Carlos each believe they are pop idol Regina’s “number one fan.” Maybe Carlos isn’t so adamant about it, since he can countenance selling pictures of her soon to be delivered baby to the tabloids. Regardless, all three would be delighted to be present when she gives birth, so when Debra’s nurse mother lets slip Regina’s entourage has taken over a floor of her hospital, they are all off like a rocket.

Folklore: Pob

Ghosts are as important to Thai culture as Buddhism and Muay Thai. Logically, the former frequently plays a role in the nation’s ghost stories. Fittingly, the Thai installment of HBO Asia’s anthology of stories inspired by national supernatural myths and urban legends focuses on a ravenous ghost. Much to his frustration, the spirit’s haunting will become unusually complicated in Folklore: Pob, directed by Thai auteur Pen-ek Ratanaruang, which screens this Friday in DC, as part of the Sackler/Freer’s Thai Buddhist Ghost Stories film series.

Manop is a crime blogger for a news site that apparently does not pay well. He cannot afford to get his car out of the shop and he is behind on his ailing mother’s hospital bills. However, opportunity might be calling when he arrives at the scene of a newly arrived American PR executive’s grisly murder. Much to his surprise and trepidation, Mena the ghost (or pob) offers to explain how John Conrad met his gory demise (Conrad—nice touch, right?).

Presumably, the Pob is responsible, because he is a pob. Yet, initially Conrad throws him off his ghostly game. In fact, the garrulous American does not recognize Mena is a supernatural entity when he awakens, so he offers the spirit a beer and a sandwich. As the night progresses, Conrad pulls Mena into more Earthly misadventures, which causes the pob to start losing his ghostliness.

The opening and closing of Pob are creepily atmospheric, but most of the guts in the middle are quite droll, in a pitch black humor sort of way. As director and screenwriter, Ratanaruang (a.k.a. Tom Pannet, known for Headshot), offers up some sly commentary on East vs. West culture clashes that mostly avoids the typical shopworn clichés. Plus, Chankij Chamnivikaipong’s black-and-white cinematography is eerily stylish.

Creepshow—The Series: Gray Matter & House of the Head

When it comes to horror pedigrees, this one is pretty intimidating. The original Creepshow movie was inspired by EC Comics, based on Stephen King stories, directed by George Romero, and co-starred Adrienne Barbeau and an uncredited Tom Akins. There was also a sequel that was okay. Still, the original film leaves some large shoes to fill, but at least King and Barbeau will both lend a hand. Comic books get sinister again when producer-showrunner Greg Nicotero’s series reboot of Creepshow premieres tomorrow on Shudder.

It seems like old times in a good way when the series kicks off with an adaptation of King’s “Gray Matter,” directed by Nicotero co-starring Barbeau as Rose, the kindly elementary school teacher and general store proprietor of a small coastal Maine town. Of course, it is Maine. Indeed, look closely at the notice board for a few Stephen King Easter eggs. A “Storm of the Century” is bearing down on the tiny burg, so most of the townspeople have evacuated, leaving only Rose, Doc, and [Police] Chief. They figure they will just kvetch their way through the storm, until teenaged Richie Grenadine bursts through the door, clearly in an agitated state.

Reviewers have sworn a blood oath not to reveal any details regarding the horrifying whatsit, so you will have to see for yourself. However, the real strengths of the opening story are the classic King setting and the first-rate cast. In addition to Barbeau, Gray Matter co-stars Tobin Bell from the Saw franchise as Chief and Giancarlo Esposito (who isn’t necessarily a genre specialist, but is always interesting on-screen) as Doc. Watching these three do their thing will always be great fun.

In contrast, there are no recognizable faces in The House of the Head, but it is sit-up-and-take-notice creepy. Young Evie’s imagination drew positive stimulus from her deluxe custom doll house, until a body-less head turned inside it. Suddenly, her family of dolls looks absolutely terrified and starts moving on their own. That head seems to exert an evil influence within the doll house and it scares the heck out of her too.

Screenwriter Josh Malerman’s premise is so ingeniously simple and altogether insidious, it seems amazing nobody did it before. Yet, he deserves credit for a fresh kind of doll horror. John Harrison’s direction is also tight, tense, and completely unsettling, while young Cailey Fleming is completely earnest and unaffected as Evie.

Gray Matter is an entertaining nostalgia trip for Creepshow fans, whereas House of the Head is one of the better TV horror anthology stories of the year, so far (along with “Legacy,” “Only Child,” and “Little Monsters” from Two Sentence Horror Stories and “A Traveler” from the latest Twilight Zone reboot). Based on the first episode, we’re optimistic the Creepshow series will prove worthy of its name and lineage. Regardless, Gray Matter and House of the Head are enthusiastically recommended for fans of King, the franchise, and horror anthologies when they start streaming tomorrow (9/26) on Shudder.

Two Sentence Horror Stories: Scion

Most insurance companies probably would not cover the treatment offered by this radical cancer clinic, but patients are better off that way. Skeptical patient Noah Ingraham suspects the cure could be even worse than the life-threatening disease in Scion, which premieres tonight on the CW, as the latest creepy tale in the current season of Vera Miao’s Two Sentence Horror Stories.

Ingraham has held up pretty well thanks to the support of his boyfriend Isaac, but his elitist parents are not so warm and fuzzy. It was their idea to check Ingraham into Dr. Lucie’s exclusive clinic, but there is something about the place that rubs him the wrong way. Maybe it is the janitor who looks and acts like he was lobotomized.

Of course, Ingraham initially hopes for the best, but his doubts and suspicions are quickly fueled by Izzy, a fellow patient, who happens to be the black sheep of a fabulously wealthy blue-blooded clan. Soon, Ingraham is experiencing vivid nightmares and losing time. According to Dr. Lucie, these are common side effects of the treatment, but that is not very reassuring, is it?

In some ways, Scion parallels Alice Waddington’s soon-to-be-released Paradise Hills, but director Natalia Iyudin and screenwriter Sehaj Sethi do not let the foreboding and dread get lost amid the woke statement-making. Iyudin deftly capitalizes on the claustrophobic setting and Ingraham’s very relatable position of vulnerability to build tension. It maintains the season’s impressive style and production standards, especially the work of cinematographer Guy Poole and the design team, who greatly contribute to the eerie mood. 

As Dr. Lucie, Kate Jennings is entertainingly sinister and arrogant, in the best tradition of horror movie doctors. Most of the waspy characters are rather bland and perhaps logically so, but Stanley Simmons chews the scenery with admirable zeal as the rebellious Izzy. Plus, the facility itself could pass for a tony clinic near the Bramford Building (a.k.a. The Dakota), as seen in Rosemary’s Baby.

Scion is another above average example of anthology television, but the heavy-handed conclusion also shows the risks of prioritizing message over story and character. Fortunately, it is outweighed by the ominous vibe and mounting paranoia so nicely realized by Iyudin and company. Still recommended for horror fans, Scion premieres tonight (8/22), as part of the second season of Two Sentence Horror Stories, on the CW.