Creepshow Season 2 Review

Ahead of the highly-anticipated fourth season, Creepshow seasons 1 through 3 are now on DVD and Blu-ray, and I’m reviewing all 3 seasons.

Taking things up a notch for this second collection of stories, season 2 kicks things off with two incredibly strong episodes, both directed by showrunner Greg Nicotero, but couldn’t be more different, with the second story winning the title of best in the season. The first story, Model Kid, takes us back to the early 70s and Monster movie fan Joe Aurora (Brock Duncan), a shy 12-year-old boy coming to terms with the recent loss of his mother. While his Aunt Barb (Jana Allen) is loving and kind, his Uncle Kevin (Kevin Dillion) is an ill-tempered bully.

Taking solace in his memories of watching old horror movies with his mum, Joe receives a visit from beyond the veil that gives him the power to stand up for himself. A little love letter to Universal’s classic roster of Monsters. Next up is by far the best story in the season, Public Television Of The Dead, or as I call it, Bob Ross vs. Evil Dead. Taking us behind the scenes of a public television network, we meet a decidedly Bob Ross-styled painter taping episodes of his soothing TV show, the Love of Painting; its host, Norm Robert, even bashes the hell out of those paintbrushes just like the legendary Bob Ross did in his beloved Joy of Painting series.

Sadly for Norm, he has just been told his show is being cancelled, but he is afforded the small mercy of being able to record one final episode. Another episode of The Appraiser’s Road Trip is filming in the studio across the hall, and an exceptional guest has brought in a super rare item that’s been in the family for decades. The guest in question is Ted Raimi (playing himself), and the thing he wants to be valued is the Necronomicon, aka The Book of the Dead. Naturally, all hell breaks out in a loving mashup of PBS television and Sam Raimi’s iconic Evil Dead.

There’s another affectionate love letter to another cult classic in the season finale with Night of the Living Late Show. Justin Long stars as Simon, a year into his marriage to super-rich Renee (D’Arcy Carden), he has spent more time on his virtual reality invention than as a newlywed. However, his wild invention is a fully immersive VR experience that puts you inside your favourite TV show or movie. In Simon’s case, it’s the 1972 cult favourite Horror Express starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Now that his Immersopod works, Simon spends more and more time in the movie and less time in reality. We get plenty of spliced in Justin Long sitting opposite horror legends Lee and Cushing; the whole episode is a ruddy treat if you’re a Horror Express fan.

Featuring a sterling cast that includes Anna Camp, Adam Pally, Josh McDermitt, Keith David, Ashley Laurence, Ali Larter, Iman Benson, Ryan Kwanten, Barbara Crampton, C. Thomas Howell, Denise Crosby, Breckin Meyer, Ted Raimi, and Molly Ringwald, Creepshow delivers a bolder, cheekier, and super fun season.

Creepshow Seasons 1, 2, and 3 are available now on DVD and Blu-ray.