Review: Creepshow “A Creepshow Animated Special”

Overview:

A Creepshow Animated Special features two especially twisted tales that feel like perfect additions to the Creepshow oeuvre. “Survivor Type” depicts a man’s struggles after he becomes stranded on a desert island with not much more than his own rattled mind and a whole lot of heroin. The character reflects on his past and how he’s reached this bleak place, but his chances of survival seem less likely the more that he explores himself. “Twittering from the Circus of the Dead” highlights the worst family road trip of all time, but suddenly this very lame take on a circus turns into a much more dangerous exercise in family bonding. The very real executions and showcase of zombies might not just be impressive production design and commitment to the bit.

Our Take:

There’s been a surprising surge in television productions turning out animated episodes, not because they planned to, but as a result of COVID restrictions slowing down production in other ways. This may appease some audiences, but it’s usually an awkward endeavor. A random animated episode of The Blacklist or Black-ish doesn’t feel natural, but Creepshow on the other hand actually has precedent in this territory. Segments of the Creepshow movies, especially Creepshow 2, feature animation that call back to the EC Comics aesthetics that the movies want to cultivate. In this sense, an animated Creepshow special that coincides with Halloween actually feels exciting rather than an occasion to roll eyes.

An experiment of this nature could be a real disaster and just tonally ruin the atmosphere of creepy horror that Creepshow strives to cultivate. Some people just aren’t as frightened by animation as they are by live-action material and so this installment faces that obstacle on top of the actual quality of the storytelling. Something like this could be a real disaster, but A Creepshow Animated Special displays smart instincts and uses the animation to its advantage. This new medium actually gets to enhance the series and help stories come to life in a way that otherwise might not be possible, which is exactly what something like this should do.

Some of the animated episodes of these series just feel like the storyboards are being crudely brought to life and that any semblance of motion is better than no episode at all. Thankfully, A Creepshow Animated Special isn’t interested in just turning out content and there’s some really impressive and delicate work that’s gone into the animation here. It makes a big difference that the series also has some animated reference point to draw from with EC Comics and that they don’t have to develop a whole new look for this material. The animation studio Octopie rises to the occasion with the Creepshow license, but they’re still restricted by the basic budgetary restrictions that affect Creepshow as a whole. There are scary visuals and these stories get to come to life in a creative way, but it does also largely feel like an extended digital motion comic. This may not bother some people, but the jerky style may also be a deal breaker for others. Thankfully, A Creepshow Animated Special has good stories and performances to fall back on here.

Staying true to the anthology nature of the series, A Creepshow Animated Special presents two stories and allows both of them to breathe across the span of 45 minutes rather than cramming them both into a half hour. It’s a smart decision to select stories from both Stephen King and Joe Hill (who also both make animated cameos here) and in the case of King, “Survivor Type” is actually one of the author’s more notorious short stories. Creepshow’s adaptation of this grim story about a man who’s stranded alone on an island doesn’t shy away from the increasingly dark subject matter that begins to suffocate the protagonist. There are many moments in this story that involve amputations and infections that are genuinely hard to watch.

Kiefer Sutherland can sometimes be all over the place with his performances, but he really relishes this role and commits himself to this pained character. There’s plenty of yelling, which is Sutherland’s expertise, but there are also more lucid moments where Sutherland brings a twisted and sardonic sense of humor to the character. In the final act of the story he actually sounds unhinged and it’s some of the better work that Sutherland’s done.

“Twittering from the Circus of the Dead” is a more active story than its predecessor, but it still features flashbacks and the character’s wild imagination allows the story to ping pong around different scenarios before the major set piece of the zombie circus is reached. Joey King has turned into such a promising and fearless talent, but her role here isn’t an easy one. Her character basically has to just narrate action through the whole story, but she’s able to bring such energy and youthful cynicism to her performance. This is another role that could read as inauthentic if it’s not done right, but King really goes all over the emotional spectrum in her performance. She’s able to turn this very expository role into something that’s actually fun.

Both of the stories in A Creepshow Animated Special are successful, but it’s hard to say if presenting these tales as animation creates a better product that what could be done through live-action. It’s possible that both of these stories were actually going to shot and it’s tempting to think what could be accomplished with these graphic visuals with the use of practical effects and prosthetics. However, a great job is done with them in animation and the special definitely picks two stories that particularly benefit from the animated treatment due to how they’re told. This surprising turn of medium could even trigger an animated Creepshow spin-off series or at least turn the idea of an animated Halloween special into a yearly tradition for the show if it’s popular enough with people. A Creepshow Animated Special allows the series to test these waters even if that wasn’t their original plan.

A Creepshow Animated Special is a successful take on the franchise and even though the turn to animation may not be for everyone, this entry will still make audiences wince from terror. This does feel like a version of Creepshow that’s compromised in some respects, yet the stories told here are still more effective and memorable than some of the entries from the first season. A Creepshow Animated Special is a fun way to spend this Halloween season and a great palate cleanser between titles. It’s unclear whether this is the first of many animated Creepshow installments or if it will remain an anomaly, but A Creepshow Animated Special is proof that this kind of thing can work.

‘A Creepshow Animated Special’ premieres Thursday, October 29^th on Shudder