A sentimental journey to the land of nightmares – review of the second season of “Creepshow”

Eleven stories with a thrill

It all began in 1982, when George Romero and Stephen King, a master of literary horror, released Creepshow – a film consisting of five comic-book stories straight from the darkest nightmares. The production turned out to be so good and fascinating that at the end of the 1980s, a series was created on its basis, which had as many as seven seasons. In 2019, AMC Studios decided, referring to the original, to refresh the horror series with the same title as the original, now counting two seasons.

Creepshow season twoconsists of six episodes. In each of them (except the fourth) we find two independent stories. Altogether, eleven stories with a thrill, connected by the fascination with evil of the main characters, macabre, madness and finally references to the classics of the genre, which is what horror lovers like the most. Each of the stories told by a different artist is a showcase, paying tribute to the masters of the genre. Individual stories are also full of sentiment and nostalgia, which have their well-deserved place in the horror style. This is an added value compared to the first season of the series, making the characters expressive. It is thanks to the stories presented that we can make a sentimental journey to the land of nightmares, refresh the creativity of the last century and feel this amazing atmosphere again, which is rather in vain in contemporary horror cinema. In addition to vampires, zombies and cannibals, we also find more modern motifs, thanks to which we can observe the evolution of the oldest film genre in the world.

Zombies, vampires and other bogeymen

Zombies straight from the movie by George Romero, teenage vampires, a crazy marriage of murderers or a meeting of the third degree of astronauts with an alien civilization are just some of the scarecrows in the second season of Creepshow . The horror galaxy is also made up of a little boy fascinated by horror movies and full of black magic, as well as a talented engineer who designed a virtual chamber that allows you to move to your favorite horror movies. So nothing that we would not see in a horror movie.

This is the essence of the series – simplicity, schematicity and kitsch expressed directly with the use of catchy and proven tools from the horror props. The creators do not choose their means and focus on well-known motives that effectively scared us as a kid. And this is in fact the idea to provide viewers with emotions and feelings accompanying viewers during the original screening. Hence the presence of vampires, zombies and other spooks on the set reminiscent of the best productions of the 80s and 90s.

Inspirations continued

There is a lot of inspiration from classics of the genre in Creepshow . The series clearly refers to the works of Stephen King, George Romero, Eugenio Martin, Sam Raimi or the loner from Providance, i.e. Howard Philips Lovecraft. The creators do not choose their means, giving us terror in its purest, original form. This is also indicated by the meta-narrative, which is full of classics of the genre. This is due to numerous, often direct references to recognized productions.

However, there are also stories thematically similar to our times – there are, among others, themes illustrating the changes taking place in society under the influence of modern technologies and the dangers of their use, which was missing in the previous season. However, all these motives are well known to us and nothing can surprise us. And this was not the intention of the directors of individual episodes. The camp style, kept in a humorous tone in some segments, serves as entertainment, as in the original from the late 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. Creepshow is to entertain, teach and make the evening pleasant for fans of all kinds of horror.

How is the second season going?

The second season in terms of plot does not differ from the first and it can be safely said that it is slightly more equal than the previous one due to the stories presented. Older viewers who remember the original series in their youth will surely be pleased with the presence of Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing in the presented fragments of Horror Express . The creators also tried to supplement the cast with actors we know from other interesting productions. The series features, among others, Josh McDermitt ( The Walking Dead ), Keith David ( Requiem for a Dream ), Ryan Kwanten ( Pure Blood ), Justin Long ( Tusk ) and Barbara Crampton, known from numerous horror films ( Reanimator, From Behind the Worlds, Monster on the castle ).

Greg Nicotero (responsible for special effects), who previously can be admired in a dual role – makeup artist and director – in The Walking Dead, also contributed to the project . It was he who took care of the great visual setting. Nicotero has made every effort to ensure that it is consistent with the prototype and reflects the spirit of the old days, when the series was still available on VHS tapes. I must admit that the opening game looks great and many fans of horror will come to mind images of vampires, mummies, werewolves or underwater monsters straight from Universal Studios . Nicotero’s projects reflect his fascination with terror from an early age, which shaped him as an artist devoted to his work. Summarizing, Creepshowis the result of the joint work of horror movie fans, thus paying tribute to the classics of the genre.