‘Creepshow’ Rewatch: Instant Karma

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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How ‘All Hallows Eve’ and ‘The Man in the Suitcase’ Explore the Power of Karma

‘Oh, no, please don’t. You naughty children.’
- The Genie

​When we are young, our parents take the time to teach us to treat others with kindness and understanding, simply because such acts make the world a better place. For kindness can provide a person in a tough place with a little taste of hope when they might need it the most and understanding helps folks believe that they belong. But while these concepts are widely accepted and practiced, for the most part, what truly makes these teachings so fascinating is that some people practice kindness and understanding for vastly different reasons. For these are the folks who firmly believe that what we put into the world energy wise, is what we get out. Which is, in essence, the definition of karma. A concept that people have debated for ages in regard to whether or not it actually exists.
 
But regardless of your stance, it is safe to say that all of us have seen or experienced moments where it certainly seems as though this concept exists. Because sometimes we find ourselves basking in joyous moments after doing something kind for someone else, or we seemingly find ourselves punished when we went above and beyond to enact a little petty revenge. But while the debate on this matter will indeed rage on, there is one place where karma will always exist and function in flawless fashion and that’s fiction. Because anything goes in storytelling and it just so happens that last night’s episode of Creepshow explored the notion of karma in fascinating fashion. For both of its tales saw people suffer a taste of it for their sour actions, as is often the case in horror. But what allowed for these tales to stand out is how the individuals in these tales came across their proverbial just desserts.
 
Take ‘All Hallows Eve’ for instance, a story that saw the ghosts of five kids enact their own brand of spiritual karma upon the kids that accidentally burned them ages ago, and the word accident is the key to this analysis. Because the whole idea was to scare the dearly departed, not harm them and really their return from the grave on Halloween, year after year to claim the souls of those that hurt them, speaks volumes to the notion that karma expects better of us. For if we take a moment to think before we act, it won’t have to step in and punish us and as an added bonus, the slow burn approach these kids take to enacting it, also serves to remind us that if we do make poor choices, one way or another, karma will eventually find us.
 
If anything, that was a delightfully subtle way to explore the power of karma, one that was nicely counterbalanced by the next vignette of the night, ‘The Man in the Suitcase’. Because this one actually took the time to examine both sides of this fascinating notion, since it actually saw one character be rewarded with positive karma for doing the right thing. Granted, he came out a little worse for the wear by standing up to his cruel friends. But doing a solid for a powerful genie can go a long way and waking up in the hospital is far better a fate than where his friends are headed. And it was quite nice to see this story try and balance out the darkness and the cruelty present in this tale with a happy-ish ending, since usually people that perform awful deeds in horror, in any capacity, never find redemption.
 
Plus, this is another episode that takes the time to offer up some classic and unique horror elements. Since the townspeople in ‘All Hallows Eve’ actually bother to accept the fact that spirits walk about in their town, something you don’t see present in the genre all that often. Plus, ‘The Man in the Suitcase’ goes all out in its finale, giving us that vintage monster feel, and its fantastical style of storytelling harkens back to the comics that inspired the Creepshow franchise. In the end, this is just another magnificent entry in this incredible series. One that does a fine job of adding some fresh twists to a concept that some might see as cliché and it should be interesting to see what topic awaits us next week when the Creep opens up another terrifying issue of this living comic. Until next time, kiddies.

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