MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: CREEPSHOW: SEASON 1 (2019) (Acorn Media Internationals Blu-ray Review)

CREEPSHOW: SEASON 1 (2019)

Label: Acorn Media International
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Cert. 15
Duration: 265 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Directors: Greg Nicotero, John Harrison, Rob Schrab, David Bruckner, Roxanne Benjamin, Tom Savini

The Shudder Original anthology series Creepshow revived George A. Romero and Stephen King's ode to the ghoulish tales of E.C. Comics in 2019 for a episodic streaming format, each episode offering up a pair of pulpy tales sure to tickle the horror loving pleasure centers of your brain. The first episode offers up "Gray Matter" and "The House of the Head". The first being an adaptation of Stephen King's same-titled short story directed by Greg Nictoero, the Lovecraftian tale of a grieving alcoholic father who turns to the bottle after his wife's death, which leads him down a path of grotesque transformation. It's proper start to the series that features Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) and Tobin Bell (Saw) among the cast. This one is littered with fun little Stephen King Easter Eggs with references to The Shining, Cujo and Pet Sematary. The second half of he episode "The House of the Head" is based on a short story from Josh Malerman, author of the Bird Box, and directed by John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside), who was the composer for the original Creepshow film, another solid creeper about a precocious young girl who has a newly acquired handmade dollhouse, her doll family she subs "The SMithSMiths" live inside, but one day she notices a toy severed zombie head inside the house and it has a sinister effect the doll occupants of the home. Eagle-eyed viewers will no doubt catch a familiar rug pattern from The Shining tucked away inside the dollhouse, this one brought to mind Hereditary just a tad with the use of miniatures, but not really in any other way.

Episode two pairs "Bad Wolf Down" and "The Finger", the first being a WWII set werewolf flick directed by Rob Schrab (The Sarah Silverman Program) about a platoons of U.S. Soldiers pinned down inside an old cottage by Nazis, who are lead by Reinhardt (Jeffrey Combs, From Beyond). Inside they encounter a mysterious woman in white, who turns out to be a werewolf, which gives them an edge over the Nazis. I love me some werewolf films and this one goes gonzo with the werewolf carnage at the end with nods to The Howling, American Werewolf in London and the original The Wolfman, and literally dripping with gore! The second half of the episode is "The Finger" based on a story by David J. Schow (Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III) and directed by Nicotero, starring DJ Qualls (Road Trip) as a down on his luck loser who finds a bizarre severed finger that starts to grow, turning into something akin to a gremlin by way of xenomorph looking creature that can sense his sinister desires and carries out a series of gruesome murders, each time returning home with a body part, much the same way that a loyal cat will leave you a dead mouse on your doorstep. This one is also steeped in gore and features some stop-motion animation creature effects that I loved.

Episode three doubles up "All Hallow's Eve" and "The Man in the Suitcase", the first based on a story by former Creepy and Eerie horror-comics writer Bruce Jones, about a group of dead teenagers that return to their neighborhood every Halloween to have their revenge on the bully's who killed them. This one has a vibe and tone that brought to mind the "Halloween School Bus Massacre" segment of Trick 'r Treat (2007), but notably the short story was written back in 1982. The second half of the episode "The Man is in the Suitcase" a trio of college kids come across a suitcase, inside a man, very much alive, is twisted and contorted unnaturally to fit inside. He semi-explains the mysterious way he ended up ion the luggage and despite one of the teens attempting to get him help, which he refuses, he starts spitting up gold coins from his mouth. Two of the teens take advantage of the man in the suitcases gold-coin dispending abilities with little care fir his well-being, which increases when they subject him to extreme pain, which they take full advantage of, until his Djinn nature is revealed, to their peril.

Episode four kicks of with the David Bruckner (The Ritual) directed "The Companion", based a story by Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-Tep), about a young boy cruelly abused by his older, sadistic sibling, who while hiding from his brother discovers a creepy scarecrow that ends up aiding him in putting an end to his sibling's abusive treatment once and for all. The second half of the double-bill is "Lydia Layne's Better Half" directed by Roxanne Benjamin (There's Something Wrong with the Children), a nasty tale wherein a boss lady kills her lesbian lover after an argument over a promotion, she then tries to cover it up, but ends up being stuck in an elevator with her corpse and she ends up with her just desserts.

Episode five's pairing of "Night of the Paw" and "Times Is Tough in Musky Holler" are both directed by John Harrison, the first is a macabre take on classic Monkey's Paw tale, here starring Bruce Davison (Willard) as a mortician looking to end his life with the help of a fugitive cold-blooded killer (Hannah Barefoot, King Richard) who shows up on his doorstep mortally wounded. Love the cemetery set pieces of this one, very E.C. comics looking stuff, and of course the Monkey's Paw twists are deliciously diabolical. The second half is the tale of a small town during the zombie apocalypse whose people turn on the corrupt Mayor who ruled over the town with a tyrannical fist during the zombie uprising, subjecting him tot he same horrors he subjected the townsfolk to.

The final episode features a creature-feature two-fer with "Skincrawlers" and "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain", the former directed by Roxy Benjamin (Body at Brighton Rock) from a story by Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series), about a new revolutionary weight loss treatment involving a rare species of leeches that dissolve fat. A could be client (Dana Gould, Stan Against Evil) is skeptical about the process but on the day he volunteers to have the procedure performed on live TV a rare solar eclipse derails the treatment in a most horrific way. Fans of stuff like Squirm, Slugs, Shivers and Slither are sure to revel in this ultra-gory and squeamish delight, chock full slime-covered eye-trauma and gore gags. "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" is directed by horror royalty Tom Savini (Night of the Living Dead '90) from a story by Joe Hill (The Black Phone), about family who father does while searching for Lake Champlain's fabled lake monster "Champy". The mom is now with a new abusive boyfriend Chet (James Devoti, The Walking Dead) who treats her and the kids like shit, and when the daughter discovers that her dad was right about the local legend shitty Chet attempts to steal the glory, but the toothy sea-beast "Champy" has other plans.

I thought the first season was pretty terrific, there's a great group of talent in front of behind the camera, the stories are interesting and varied, and the special effects were solid. At times you can tell it reverts to comic book panels to show the werewolf transformations or whatnot because obviously they couldn't afford to show it all live-action or rendered digitally, but that's the beauty of it, that fits right into Creepshow vibe! I also loved how they have the live-action to comic panel and vice-versa, the garish lighting style and comic book framing, it's just a fun time.

The stories themselves are right in that E.C. Comics-inspired sweet spot of black humor, twisted morality tales and the macabre, it just tonally feels like a proper successor to Creepshow and Creepshow 2 - into all of the stories are home runs, some are hampered by budget constraints, bit each one is at least interesting of not exactly perfection. My top three for this season are the Lovecraftian Stephen King adaptation "Grey Matter", werewolves versus Nazis in "Bad Wolf Down" and the squirmy body-horror of "Skincrawlers", but I think this first season was pretty terrific on the whole.

Audio/Video: Creepshow: Season 1 (2019) arrives on 2-disc region-free Blu-ray from Acorn Media International in 1080p HD widescreen (1.78:1), shot digitally there are no issues with source related blemish and the series translates to treasonably sharp HD with bold colors, particularly during the animated comic panels and garish lighting which harkens back to the style of the original Creepshow film. Black levels are solid but the more dimly lit scenes struggles a bit with shadow detail, but still solid. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles, it's strong track with some nice use of the surrounds.

Extras feature Audio Commentaries with the Cast and Crew on all twelve episodes, but notably this release does not include the the 62-minutes of making of featurettes found on the U.S. Blu-ray from RLG. The 2-disc release arrives in an oversized UK style keepcase with a flipper tray housing the two disc, the single-sided wrap features the same key artwork as the U.S. release.

Special Features:

Disc 1:

- Episode 1:

- Audio Commentary with Greg Nicotero and co-writer Philip de Blasi for Gray Matter

- Audio Commentary with Director John Harrison and Michael Felsher for The House of the Head

Episode 2:

- Audio Commentary with Michael Felsher, Director Rob Schrab for Bad Wolf Down

- Audio Commentary with Director Greg Nicotero and writer David J. Schow

Episode 3:

- Audio Commentary with Michael Felsher and Director John Harrison for All Hallow's Eve

- Audio Commentary with Michael Felsher and Director David Bruckner for The Man in the Suitcase

Disc Two