‘Creepshow’ Recap: ‘Mums’ / ‘Queen Bee’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘Mums’

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season three premiere of ‘Creepshow’.

The Shudder series, Creepshow, has done a phenomenal job of exploring the darkest corners of the human condition. For each and every episode has featured some kind of fascinating, humanity related theme. The kind that truly dig deep into the worst parts of our psyche and the evils that men do and that in turn, has brought forth some powerful episodes… the kind that teach us that man is the worst monster of all in the grossest and most uncomfortable ways imaginable. Since the special effects have also been top notch. But what’s genuinely fascinating about this magnificent series, is that showrunner Greg Nicotero clearly wants it to grow and explore just about every aspect and corner of the horror genre and for proof that this is the case, then look no further than the show’s season three premiere. 
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For the two tales of terror present in said premiere, examine something quite unique. Specifically, they play upon our fears of the unknown and ponder upon the horrors of the natural world, the things we simply cannot control… or can, if one were to harness the evil of the Earth, as evidenced by the first vignette in our journey today. For ‘Mums’, a story based upon Joe Hill’s story of the same name… is all about that harnessing and how it can benefit those who are helpless. Because this particular tale features a young man named Jack who quite frankly, can do little in life. For he lives in a survivalist community with his abusive father, Hank, who is eager to exert control over his son and wife… to the point where loved ones will die if by chance, he doesn’t get his way. A sad reality that is revealed when Jack’s mother dies at Hank’s hands. But once Hank buries her in the garden and lies to his son about her coming home on her own at a later date, to keep his crime a secret, the power of the natural world comes into play.

For Jack plants some strange seeds that mother had in her belongings to surprise her when she returns home, and they in turn… bring to life something quite powerful. In that, they resurrect his mother’s corpse and transform it and the plant life that grows from those seeds into a meat-eating monstrosity. One that Jack can now use to punish those who hurt his mother and boy does he ever, in the goriest and freakiest of fashion. If anything, this subtle vignette reminds us that the planet has plenty of powerful tools to put us down, the kind that people can harness, if they so choose. But that simple lesson aside, there is some satisfaction to be found in this tale, by way of how Jack teaches his trash bag of a dad a lesson and you gotta love that shoutout to Creepshow 2 by way of the plants as well. But what matters most, is that this vignette really does play nicely into our fears of the unknown and of nature.

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‘Queen Bee’

As for the second vignette, ‘Queen Bee’, well that one truly explored how helpless we are when nature decides to do its thing and it showed us that reality in the most unique way imaginable, by introducing us to a group of teenagers named Debra, Trenice, and Carlos, and when we catch up with them here, they are beyond excited. Because their all-time favorite singer, Regina, just checked into the hospital where Debra’s mom works to have her baby and well… what better way to celebrate such a big moment, than by violating the privacy of your hero? Which is why the trio swing by the hospital to see this incredible moment take place and well, it doesn’t take long for regret to settle in on their part. Because there is something quite odd about this birth. For there are no family or friends present, just dead bodies and doctors and nurses whose eyes glow bright green and well… once they come face to face with their hero, do they come to understand they’re in the midst of something quite awful.
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In that, Regina is not who she appears to be. In fact, she is nothing more than an undiscovered species of insect, a queen no less. One that has disguised itself as a human, and she is preparing to give birth to her brood and now these poor teenagers will be hunted by her human drones so they can provide her babies with food and well, this is just brilliant. Because it really does hammer home the fact, that if mother nature evolved a species to the point where it could overtake us… there is little we could do to stop its ascension, much like we cannot stop tornadoes and pandemics and anything that the planet decides to cook up and that made for a supremely eerie tale. One that honestly hits home with the pandemic still raging and as an added bonus… it also has some fine commentary to offer up regarding the dangers of obsession and in the end, both of these vignettes were just an absolute treat to watch. 

Since they both did a wonderful job of exploring the central theme and they both offered up some genuinely powerful scares. For the voracity of those bloodthirsty mums led to some kickass kills and splatter and well… watching those poor teens be chased by green eyed human goblins through the empty halls of a hospital is just the stuff of nightmares and really in the end, it is safe to say that season three of Creepshow is off to a supremely strong start. Because you cannot go wrong with stories that offer new ideas and fresh scares and it is wonderful to see that Greg Nicotero and his team refuse to cast off the depth and commentary that has helped to establish this series as one of the finest horror shows on the market and well, now all we can do is impatiently wait for next week’s ghoulish entry and all the unknown horrors it will unleash upon us. Until next time, kiddies.  

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