‘Creepshow’ Rewatch: The Power of Death

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

How ‘Night of the Paw’ and ‘Times Is Tough in Muskey Holler’ Explore How Death Can Impact Us Negatively

‘I wished my Marjorie back from the dead.’
- Avery ‘Whitey’ Whitlock

Bruce Davison in 'Night of the Paw'

Despite our modern world being quite open to discussing a bevy of topics and concepts and issues, there are still some parts of everyday life that we would prefer to keep shrouded in darkness. Because these are topics that engender fear in our hearts and one big one that we avoid discussing and examining as often as possible; is death. For the end of our lives and the lives of our loved ones is a terrifying prospect. Because it truly signals a finality that we are unable to comprehend at times and when it does arrive it brings about great strife, since it puts us at an all-time low. For we are fully aware of the fact that our loved ones, our ourselves for that matter, are never coming back when the end arrives. 
 
But while we keep this topic out of our everyday discussions because of where it sends our minds, television shows and books and film are quick to explore this topic as often as possible. Because print and the silver and small screen offer up a safe place to dive into our fears and truly put them on display and one particular genre that excels at this exploration is horror. Because the awful creatures that populate this world can serve as an allegory for our fears and help us to potentially face them and process them and it just so happens that that next episode of Creepshow took the opportunity to explore some interesting aspects in regard to death and the negative impact it can have upon us. Which quite frankly made for some fascinating tales for certain, because once again, this show buried its message and underlying commentary beneath a seemingly different tale.
 
Take ‘Night of the Paw’ for instance. Which initially seemed as though it was just going to be a modern retelling of ‘The Monkey’s Paw’. But as Angela and Whitey begin to discuss their experiences with death, it becomes clear that both of them are experiencing deep denial in regard to this natural act, to the point where they cross some serious lines in order to keep their loved ones on this earth. Which makes for some horrifying moments for certain, the kind that reflect the fact that these poor souls firmly believe their lives are nothing without their significant others and that’s some heavy commentary to inject into this particular tale. For in essence, this vignette speaks to how death can outright destroy our minds and our souls if we let the pain consume us. But it also surprisingly takes the time to remind us to cherish every moment with those we love and make as many memories as possible, so we don’t find ourselves lamenting their loss day in and day out.  

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David Arquette in 'Times Is Tough in Musky Holler'

​As for ‘Times Is Tough in Musky Holler’ well that particular tale focused heavily on the anger that comes with death and how that anger can motivate us to do some ugly things, such as exact revenge upon those who stole life from someone that we care about. Something that the good people of this town handle by making the Mayor of this tiny little berg face the very punishment he enacted to instill law and order, which involves having his face eaten off by the living dead, and that’s quite the way to show just how far death can motivate us to do something dark. Because everyone that takes revenge upon the mayor here, does so without giving it a second thought. As though his decision to harm people makes it okay to play a little game of ‘face for a face’ and that’s quite the ugly place to go storytelling wise, but it is something that we have seen on display in real life, often.
 
Yet while this puts some ugly nature on display and reminds us that death can genuinely rattle our souls in ways, we never thought imaginable, we would be remiss to not take a moment and discuss the wonder of the fact that this entire exploration, is made possible by zombies. Which in a way is grand homage to the films of George A. Romero. For his motion pictures were heavy on commentary in regard to the human condition and it was quite nice to see Greg Nicotero offer up a little love letter to the Godfather of the Dead in epic fashion, since these zombies were unique and gory, just the way that Romero liked it and hopefully this series will find a way to bring forth more zombie related stories down the line, just to see what the series can really do with walking corpses.
 
But in the meantime, it’s best we simply celebrate another genius set of tales from this magnificent series. Because the acting and misdirection in these two vignettes was simply top notch. For you truly thought these stories were taking you someplace else before surprising you, especially when it comes to ‘Musky Holler’ since it definitely leaves the audience uncomfortable with its back and forth game regarding revenge. If anything, the only downside when it comes to this particular tale, is that it signals the beginning of the end in a way. For there is only one episode left in season one and this saga is so delightful and unique that it leaves you hungry for more. Which will make next week’s finale, quite the gory feast indeed. Until next time.

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