‘Tales from the Darkside’ Retro Recap: ‘Effect and Cause’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Susan Strasberg and Ben Marley as Kate and David in Episode 210 of ‘Tales from the Darkside’ – ‘Effect and Cause’. (Photo Courtesy of Laurel Entertainment.)

One particular aspect regarding the iconic horror anthology series, Tales from the Darkside, that is genuinely fascinating… is how the series often enjoyed… hyper fixating on particular concepts. For every single season of the show features a run of episodes that more or less ponder upon ideas that clearly captivated the writer’s room. Which brought about a bevy of fascinating explorations, the kind that examine the concept in question from multiple angles and well, that’s top of mind today, simply because the next episode in this storied saga… features the ‘next chapter’ in a particular run of those types of episodes. 
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For our prior Retro Recap of the show, pointed out that ‘Ursa Minor’ was all about pondering upon the horrors of the unknown and how that can scare the living hell out of us and that’s precisely where the next episode decided to go as well. For ‘Effect and Cause’ was a story devoid of observations about our world and ponderings about the human condition. It just wanted to introduce raw terror and explore the unknown from beginning to end and ‘Effect and Cause’ accomplished such a feat by introducing us to a woman named Kate, who came into the possession of some strange art through her friend David. Who thought she could repurpose them with a little paint job of her own.

A move that Kate wasn’t good with in the slightest since they were finished and disturbing pieces, so she left them to be, and just like that… the unknown came into play. Because suddenly, strange occurrences were happening in her home, the kind where the end result of an action was made apparent before she learned of the cause. Which led to the strange reveal of an injury and the belief… that this was nothing short of a gift. Because the future was now in front of her and she could deconstruct a moment in a predictive manner and use that to her advantage, and at first, only benefits came from this surprise. But in the world of the Darkside, nothing stays joyous forever and soon… the unpredictable nature of the future led to pure terror and disaster for a woman… who had not a clue what really brought this darkness into her life.

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Susan Strasberg as Kate in Episode 210 of ‘Tales from the Darkside’ – ‘Effect and Cause’. (Photo Courtesy of Laurel Entertainment.)

Which is… what truly allows for this episode to shine. Because there are only implications in this story as to what creates this breach in the fabric of space and time in her home. It could be related to the paintings and her thoughts on potentially covering them up and reusing them. Since that would imply the presence of something sinister with that art, something awakened over being disrespected. But there’s never a straight answer there. Nor is there really implication that she’s done anything to truly deserve a karma fueled hell in this episode, and well… that confusion and lack of a straight answer, really does draw you into the story and leaves you guessing and of course, helps for impactful scares.
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Of which there are plenty. Courtesy of the weird flip in reality that happens within Kate’s world. Because now we must watch the horror of the moment unfold in reverse, with the knowledge that Kate is only going to suffer further and that leads to some ugly moments for certain. The kind that really do unsettle and even the implications that there might be something spiritual here leads to creepy moments as well. Since they bring about more questions, more worry that something else is going to show up and well… all of this… is a perfect expression of the unknown, a perfect expression of ‘what if?’ and there is in fact… never an answer as to what went on here. Which is brilliant.

Because it is simply an experience. One that is creepy, scary, and uncomfortable from beginning to end. But most important of all, it’s just raw horror through and through. An experience in terror if you will, one that doesn’t let up, one that doesn’t shy away from also picking upon some of our own primal fears. The kind that we harbor regarding our own home and our own lives, and well… that makes for one entertaining tale. One that grabs hold and never let’s go and reminds us of the wonder of this series. Because it speaks to how versatile this show could be and how willing it was to experiment with the scares, because this one… is just a raw slice of terror from which there is no escape, and you simply cannot go wrong with that. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.

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