Well, here we are. It is with a heavy heart that I remind you the debut season of the anthology series Creepshow has come to an end. We’ve laughed, we’ve shuddered (get it?) and we’ve binged in awe at the horrific, yet beautifully scripted, stories brought to us by horror streaming service, Shudder. It’s a creepy show for creeps. What else could you possibly need?
While we are sad to see Creepshow go so quickly, one can’t help but smile at the announcement that followed the finale. After a record smashing first season Shudder has renewed Creepshow for a second season!
Also See: Viewers Beware: Shudder’s Creepshow is Returning for a Second Season!
In the season finale, we kick things off with a tale of pure allegorical paranoia in “Skincrawlers”, a lurid tale about finding your perfect image at a deadly cost. This is where we meet an overly eager Doctor who claims he has discovered the best and quickest solution to weight loss. It is painless, super quick, and doesn’t require any diet or exercise.
Sounds great. The catch? It’s really f*cking weird. Even by Creepshow’s standards. This treatment recruits the help of rare, exotic, eel-like creatures that latches onto its target to suck away all the excess body fat. Since this is Creepshow, it doesn’t take long for things to go horribly wrong.
Think Alien with a touch of Invasion of the Body Snatchers for good measure. Doesn’t sound too spooky but don’t you worry. Through this story’s compelling yet deeply flawed characters “Skincrawlers” tells a story that start off a bit slow as everything gets established and then wastes no time getting to the bloodshed in the story’s final few minutes, boasting impressive special effects.
“Skincrawlers” is the clear favorite in this finale. It makes for a macabre and a flat out weird tale that often builds up that sweet, sweet comic tension but rarely lets you laugh aloud to relieve it; you’re either too grossed out or engrossed to let yourself do something so trivial. It’s a hell of a great watch that was the perfect starter for this episode.
Now let’s tone things down and plunge into the depths of the slightly less enjoyable “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain”. This literal creature feature follows Rose who believes she has found Champ, the legendary monster of Lake Champlain, but the real monster may still be out there.
This appeared to be some kind of ghastly coming of age tale, however it plays out as a melancholic but sick folk story. Complete with the bad guy getting his just desserts. While that’s fine it’s just that: fine. Not the worst and certainly not the best, “By the Silver Water” may not have been the best choice to finish off the series.
I can’t help but notice my issues with this story directly parallel the issues I had with episode four’s “Lydia Layne’s Better Half”. Like with “Lydia Layne’s Better Half”, my only reason for watching the episode all the way through was the hope that it would redeem itself at some point. It talked a big game only to fall flat on it’s face with it’s rushed plot and strict absence of suspense. It’s main (and only) highlight was the design of the lake monster. Other than that? It makes for background noise and not much else.
If you haven’t already, be sure to binge the entire first season of Creepshow on the Shudder app!
Wicked Rating: 7/10
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