Anthologies are a hard piece of media to truly dissect. They are a rare form of media which is able to both offer something and sometimes nothing for everyone at the same time. I personally have my own love hate relationship with them. In an effort to broaden my horizons, I’ve recently started to dive into different types of anthologies. The horror genre is a fantastic place to start. For me as a comic fan, the classic issues of EC Comics’ Tales from the Crypt offer something new with every issue. Tales was my introduction to the genre, seeing old episodes of the television show back in the day.
When the comics code authority cracked down on horror books, television was the next logical step. Tales eventually grew to an HBO series. Long before the Crypt Keeper ever found life on the premium cable, Rod Sterling brought us The Twilight Zone. Twilight remains one of the most celebrated anthology series of all time, eventually finding new life in our current streaming age thanks to Netflix. It has even experienced success on the big screen and, more recently, a reboot with Jordan Peele. The recent boom of independent filmmakers has also given us fan favorite series with V/H/S and The ABCs of Death.
None of that happens, though, without one of the pioneers of the genre, Creepshow. Creepshow originally found success in 1982. It spawned off two sequels and a Shudder original series. While the latter series only has one season under its belt, it currently has another one in the works for next year. Until then, the Creeper has returned with an animated special. Bringing on board the talents of Kiefer Sutherland and Joey King; this special offers up two brand new stories just in time for Halloween.
The first story, “Survivor Type”, tells the story of a shipwrecked doctor (Sutherland) who is attempting to get back to land, while the second story, “Twittering from the Circus of the Dead”, chronicles a family out on vacation with an angsty teenager (King) live tweeting the entire thing. In their travels, they stumble upon a zombie circus and get a bit more than they bargained for. If you’ve seen the first season of the Shudder series, you know that there is already a degree of animation that is brought to the storytelling. It will transition between the practical effects of the Creeper and then to the comic book pages as it begins its stories. It’s no different here, although the animation is obviously a bit more prominent. Though for an animated special it feels like a bit of false advertising.
This feels more like a motion comic than actual animation. Given that the series already has a heavy emphasis on comics as a storytelling technique - it makes sense. Motion comics aren’t gonna be for everyone. My biggest problem with this particular approach to storytelling is the limitations of the art form. Both of these stories toward their conclusions rely heavily on emotion. Viewers are robbed of the impact of that emotion; due to the motion comic stop not being able to convey the needed emotion. It almost acts like pictures dubbed with emotional reactions to the story.
Sutherland and King both bring a degree of emotion anyways, but it just feels like a radio show. I liked these both for different reasons. For only being twenty minutes each, the writers were able to convey a vast amount of detail and back story. These characters feel intimate and tragic within the same breath. Of the two, I would vote for “Circus of the Dead” as the standout. Telling the story through the lens of tweeting allows for a subtle approach to social commentary. Not something that was to be expected but something I definitely appreciated.
Overall, Creepshow: Animated Special will satisfy fans of the long-running series. Both tales feature high-caliber performances from Kiefer Sutherland and Joey King, though at times the special can feel more like a radio drama than an animated special. The animation approach comes across more like a motion comic, resulting in a lack of emotion that the characters attempt to make up for. Luckily, the actors do justice with voiceover work. You just don’t get the satisfaction of seeing it.
RORSCHACH RATING:
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Victims and Villains is written Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (and produced by) and more. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. This review was edited by Cam Smith. A Creepshow Animated Speical is property of Shudder. We do not own nor claim any rights. A Creepshow Animated Specials is streaming exclusively on Shudder beginning October 29th, 2020.
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