As a kid I loved watching Tales From The Crypt. I didn’t have HBO, so I caught it on NBC as it was edited (save for one time when I saw two episodes at my brother’s house since he had HBO). A few weeks ago I picked up the second season which was on sale at Best Buy and it was my first time since that previous time when I was a kid that I got to see episodes unedited. It’s really great that Warner Bros. put out all 7 seasons. I’m really only familiar with mostly seasons 1-5. A few days ago I ordered seasons 1,3,4,5.
Today I got in season 5 and I got to rewatch several episodes so far that I remember.. One thing this show really had going for it was the twists. A lot of episodes had twists at the end. One episode from season 2 called “Three’s A Crowd” had one hell of a twist that is still pretty intense and sad even now. Another episode called “The Ventriloquist’s Dummy” with Don Rickles and Bobcat Goldwait was freaky when the real “Dummy” was shown.
Others were just downright scary, like the episode starring Morton Downey Jr. called “Television Terror”.
The show was also notable for having some episodes that barely skirted horror or didn’t have any at all. Two really good episodes that immediately come to mind are Walter Hill’s “Cutting Cards” which was about Lance Henriksen and Kevin Tighe as gamblers who keep trying to one up each other. Definitely hilarious and great. As well as cringe worthy when the titular “Cutting Cards” segment occurs.” Another is “For Crying Out Loud” which features Lee Arenberg as a sleazy rock agent whose conscience is voiced by Sam Kinison. This one isn’t even remotely scary. It’s just damn funny watching Lee Arenberg go crazy.
This tv series was a staple of my childhood, and there were episodes that I didn’t remember the title, but remembered the twist or aspects of the episode. Like the current one I’m watching. “House Of Horror”. Scary and starring Courtney Gains, Kevin Dillon, Will Wheaton, and a nerdy Jason London.
If you’ve never seen a Tales From The Crypt episode, you should. There’s something for everyone, and it’s interesting seeing what character actors star in certain episodes or what big name writer or director did a certain episode.
Rene’s song of the day: “Zachary Makes His Move” by Ron Grainer
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