{"id":347347,"date":"2021-10-02T01:26:34","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T22:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/creepshow-is-less-humerus-than-it-thinks-with-skeletons-in-the-closet\/"},"modified":"2021-10-02T01:26:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T22:26:34","slug":"creepshow-is-less-humerus-than-it-thinks-with-skeletons-in-the-closet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/creepshow-is-less-humerus-than-it-thinks-with-skeletons-in-the-closet\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018Creepshow\u2019 is Less Humerus than it Thinks with “Skeletons in the Closet”"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#\u2018Creepshow\u2019 is Less Humerus than it Thinks with “Skeletons in the Closet”<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

     <span class=\"mx-1\">We have a bone to pick with this episode, folks.<\/span>\n<\/p><div id=\"\"><figure class=\"sf-entry-featured-media<\/a> \"><img width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/creepshow-3_2.jpg\" class=\"articlethumb wp-post-image\" alt=\"Creepshow 3_2\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/creepshow-3_2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/creepshow-3_2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/figure><!-- START BYLINE --><div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray\">\n        By\u00a0Meg Shields\u00a0\u00b7 Published on October 1st, 2021 \n        <\/div>\n    <!-- END BYLINE -->\n\n    <p>Like a stubborn zombie that just won\u2019t stay dead,\u00a0 Shudder\u2019s <strong><em>Creepshow<\/em><\/strong> is back for round three. Over the last few years, the ghoulish anthology series<\/a> has gifted us with some good (and even\u00a0great) segments. But the show has yet to truly find its fiendish footing, straying from its guiding karmic principle to deliver muddled entries that fail to live up to the morbid morality tales that make <em>Creepshow<\/em>, well,\u00a0<em>Creepshow<\/em>. My co-reviewer in crime Rob Hunter and I are back in the saddle for season three. So enough chit-chat. Let\u2019s dig into the segments of <em>Creepshow <\/em>season three, episode two: \u201cSkeletons in the Closet\u201d and \u201cFamiliar.\u201d\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
\u201cSkeletons in the Closet\u201d<\/strong>
Director: Greg Nicotero
Teleplay: John Esposito
Story: Greg Nicotero<\/p>\n
Lampini (Victor Rivera<\/strong>) and his partner Danielle (Valerie LeBlanc<\/strong>) are getting ready for the grand re-opening of their Hollywood prop museum. Money is tight, but Lampini is convinced that the museum will be a success. He\u2019s got a new, secret exhibit in the works. And unlike movie stars, props never die. Then, on the eve of the grand re-opening, Lampini\u2019s rival Bateman (James Remar<\/strong>) comes calling to expose the dark secret behind the new exhibit.<\/p>\n
Shudder\u2019s Creepshow<\/em> wears its fanservice on its sleeve. The show is very explicitly by and for horror fans, winking at its audience like it\u2019s got an especially pesky grain of sand in its eye. All of these easter eggs, nods, and homages are ostensibly part of Creepshow<\/em>\u2019s draw. And on some level, you have to respect the show\u2019s unapologetic app<\/a>eals to the horror fandom. Its in-jokes tend to boast a goofy, \u201cwe know this is silly but we couldn\u2019t resist\u201d gait. Case in point: the Halloween-indebted Hospital name in last week\u2019s episode, an unsubtle acknowledgment of the segment\u2019s debt to the work of John Carpenter. Creepshow<\/em> loves to cite its sources and we can\u2019t fault them for that.<\/p>\n
That said, there is a difference between sly little in-jokes and framing an entire segment around horror fandom as a concept<\/em>. The Creepshow<\/em> format is one of error and comeuppance. And while Shudder\u2019s series has strayed from this guiding principle for better (\u201cThe Right Snuff\u201d) and for worse (\u201cWithin the Walls of Madness\u201d), karmic carnage is still what fuels the show\u2019s narrative raison d\u2019\u00eatre.<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t quite clear who, exactly, is on the receiving end of ghoulish justice in \u201cSkeletons in the Closet.\u201d Structurally, the episode seems to expect us to identify and root for Lampini despite his actions and arrogance clearly pinning him as the character most worthy of being taught a lesson. But because Lampini is painted as an audience surrogate, Creepshow<\/em> can\u2019t bring itself to punish him for being, effectively, what it needs its audience to be. Which is to say: a die-hard horror fan. Rather than take a risk and critique the not-so-cool aspects of horror fandom (of which there are many), the segment just shrugs its shoulders and throws more film references at the wall. There\u2019s no time to dig into how Lampini\u2019s family magic works or why a certain skeleton seems to self-animate for no reason. Indulgently re-staging the Psycho<\/em> shower scene is way more important (after, mind you, lambasting Gus Van Sant for doing the exact same thing).<\/p>\n
Because of its self-imposed catch-22, \u201cSkeletons in the Closet\u201d fails to achieve any kind of narrative satisfaction. This is a shame because we\u2019ve seen Creepshow<\/em> segments entirely based within meta-horror contexts before. Heck, \u201cNight of the Living Late Show\u201d and \u201cPublic Television of the Dead\u201d are some of the best segments in the series. But their success, ultimately, isn\u2019t due to their easter egg hit rate, but their ability to tell really solid, satisfying stories. It isn\u2019t clear what direction \u201cSkeletons in the Closet\u201d is punching, let alone what we\u2019re supposed to take away from all its disparate, unconnected ideas. The hope seems to be that we\u2019ll be so distracted itemizing references that we won\u2019t notice. Yawn.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFamiliar\u201d<\/strong>
Director: Joe Lynch
Writer: Josh Malerman<\/p>\n
Drunkenly stumbling out of a karaoke bar, Jack (Andrew Bachelor<\/strong>) and Fawn (Hannah Fierman<\/strong>) find themselves drawn towards a psychic\u2019s neon-lit storefront. Fawn, an open-minded artist, is earnestly stoked to have her palms read while her partner, a pragmatic lawyer, politely indulges his girlfriend\u2019s more esoteric tastes. Then, silently, Boone (Keith Arthur Bolden<\/strong>) the psychic slips Jack an ominous note. Something evil is stalking the lawyer. Understandably spooked, Jack soon finds that he is, indeed, being menaced by a dark presence which he soon learns is a familiar: a parasitic entity that needs to be caught and dispatched to rid Jack of its nightmarish influence. With Boone\u2019s help, Jack sets up a trap. But unbeknownst to the terrified lawyer, the familiar has a trap of its own.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamiliar\u201d feels less like a\u00a0Creepshow\u00a0<\/em>segment than a speedrun of a Blumhouse film. In theory, this isn\u2019t a \u201cbad thing.\u201d But because of its unavoidably rushed pace, \u201cFamiliar\u201d fails to achieve its much-needed dramatic punch. You can spot the twist ending a mile away, which wouldn\u2019t necessarily be a problem if the emotional stakes actually landed. Both Bachelor and Fierman turn in totally serviceable performances. But it\u2019s very hard to care about these two when the segment needs to set up a whole demonic rulebook in such a short amount of time. The result is a \u201cgotcha\u201d ending that only hits hard in theory.<\/p>\n
There is no clear reason as to why\u00a0<\/em>this familiar has latched onto Jack. He isn\u2019t rude to Boone and from what little we see, he isn\u2019t nefarious in his law practice. There is no clear indication as to why we should revel in the tragic conclusion of his efforts to rid himself of the demon. It all feels very random. And while this is certainly nihilistic, it feels counter to Creepshow<\/em>\u2018s whole karmic deal. This isn\u2019t a sin in and of itself, but it\u2019s a lazy vibe compounded by the segment\u2019s million miles a minute pacing that leaves very little room for us to invest emotionally in these characters. In the end, the segment has nothing to say other than \u201cwouldn\u2019t that\u00a0<\/em>suck\u201d and I really hope this approach doesn\u2019t become the norm for the series.<\/p>\n
Also: for some reason, and maybe<\/em> we can blame the familiar for this, the ADR in this segment is noticeably terrible. Distractingly so. It is only outdone by the creature\u2019s design, which after the stellar showcase in \u201cQueen Bee\u201d is a huge letdown. That the segment shows the monster early and often, despite it looking like a Spirit Halloween reject, is a wild choice.<\/p>\n\n
This week marks two swings and two misses for Shudder\u2019s\u00a0Creepshow<\/em>. Neither \u201cSkeletons in the Closet\u201d nor \u201cFamiliar\u201d provide the narrative punch necessary to justify venturing outside of the format\u2019s karmic box. But that\u2019s one of the boons of the anthology format: every episode is a chance to turn things around. See y\u2019all next week!<\/p>\n
Follow all of our Creepshow coverage!<\/em><\/p>\n
    Related Topics: Creepshow, Shudder\n    <!-- AUTHOR BOX -->\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
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\n            Meg Shields is the humble farm boy of your dreams and a senior contributor at Film School Rejects. She currently runs three columns at FSR: The Queue, How’d They Do That?, and Horrorscope. She is also a curator for One Perfect Shot and a freelance writer for hire. Meg can be found screaming about John Boorman’s ‘Excalibur’ on Twitter here: @TheWorstNun<\/a>. (She\/Her).        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“#\u2018Creepshow\u2019 is Less Humerus than it Thinks with “Skeletons in the Closet”” <span class=”mx-1″>We have a bone to pick with this episode, folks.<\/span> <\/p><div id=””><figure class=”sf-entry-featured-media “><img width=”800″ height=”533″ src=”https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/creepshow-3_2.jpg” class=”articlethumb wp-post-image” alt=”Creepshow 3_2″ loading=”lazy” srcset=”https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/creepshow-3_2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/creepshow-3_2-768×512.jpg 768w” sizes=”(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px”\/><\/figure><!– START BYLINE –><div class=”row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray”> By\u00a0Meg Shields\u00a0\u00b7…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":347348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/creepshow-3_2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-347347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}