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Creepshow Season 1 Blu-ray Review

The debut season of “Creepshow” offers up mixed results.

Based on the film franchise of the same name, the first season of the Shudder original series is comprised of 6 hour-long episodes which contain 2 stories each (so basically 12 half-hour episodes). The stories involve werewolves in WWII, a monkey paw, a corrupt Mayor, a lake creature, weight loss gone awry, a suitcase man, a creepy head in a dollhouse, a severed finger, hellions on Halloween, a woman and a corpse in an elevator, a growing creature, and a scarecrow.

Although the late George A. Romero and Stephen King are not involved in this TV iteration, the series does thankfully involve folks who were involved with the first two films such as Greg Nicotero, Tom Savini and John Harrison. Together these horror veterans go to town with all sorts of genre stories (new and adapted) including an adaption of a Stephen King short story from the “Night Shift” book titled “Gray Matter.” Despite the clear enthusiasm of those involved with this project, the host of guest stars (such as Adrienne Barbeau, DJ Qualls, Jeffrey Combs, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tobin Bell) and the practical effects, the episodes themselves are largely forgettable horror fare or stories that never live up to their promise ala “Bad Wolf Down” and “Times Is Tough In Musky Holler.” None of the episodes are wretched, but there’s also nothing here that’s on the level of the first 2 “Creepshow” films either. While that may be a high bar in terms of horror anthology storytelling, there should be at least a few stories that make an impact. The only stories that are above average are the creepy dollhouse episode “The House of the Head” and the horror-comedy creature feature “The Finger.”

Equally disappointing is the Creepshow Creep. When I saw the Creep in the 80s tie-in comic book all those years ago, my imagination went wild wondering what the story behind this creature was. In this series, he’s basically a flimsy looking puppet who just laughs. Not exactly spine tingling…

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? Budget limitations aside, the episodes have solid hi-def transfers.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How do the episodes sound? Expect effective audio tracks. 

Extras:
* RLJE trailers
* Commentary on all 6 episodes by Greg Nicotero, various writers and directors, etc. The fun thing about these tracks is all the easter eggs they point out.
* The best booklet I have ever seen! It is done in the form of a mini-comic. Within this booklet is a free 30 day trial for Shudder, an episode guide, comic intros to the episode, and episode credits.
* Featurettes on all 6 episodes which contain photo galleries, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with cast members.

May 22, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Creepshow, Creepshow Season 1 Blu-ray Review, Creepshow TV Series, Greg Nicotero, Shudder, Stephen King