It's that time of year again as the dark nights move in and the Halloween season gets into full swing. It's been a weird year, full of highs and lows, and so I didn't fancy watching anything too scary or contemplate existentialist thoughts such as Ernest Becker's duality of the human condition; the idea that there is the external version of ourselves that we share, either by the way we speak, dress, show our affiliations, and the internal version of ourselves, which is more difficult to describe but includes our thoughts, fears, hopes and dreams. However, ultimately we all have the core anxiety which is the fear concerning our mortality and that our life is fleeting. Instead of contemplating this, I decided to watch all of Creeped Out season 2 instead.
The first series was a 13 episode series of standalone spooky tales but the second series has a shorter 10 episode run. The stories are created for an all ages bracket, so think more 'Goosebumps' or 'Are You Afraid Of The Dark' rather than 'It' or 'Saw'. The tales all start in the same way, a preamble about The Curious, a slight teen figure in a creepy mask who likes to collect tales of dread whilst whistling an unsettling melody. There are a mixture of American and British stories and as such, the cast is quite diverse and the level of acting is pretty standard, so don't go expecting any Oscars or BAFTAs grade performances. However the stories themselves are quite intriguing and do enough to keep the interest up.
The episodes are a plethora of horror tropes including creepy newborn baby, the AI taking over and magic evil maguffin and the episodes recall classic films like 'The Breakfast Club', '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Aliens'.
The stories all have a monkeys paw ending of 'be careful what you wish for' but one of most interesting thing to note is that no matter the episode the power of the storytelling and kitchen sink creepy atmosphere made them all worthwhile watching, which is particularly impressive when you consider each episode had a tiny budget of like a fiver.
The episodes include :
The Unfortunate Five- When a group of students has a Saturday detention they are introduced to a mindfulness coach who wants them to share their feelings. The problem is that she's an emotional succubus and gets joy from their misery... So how to deal with this?
Only Child- When a family gets a new baby the older sibling seems jealous but the new baby is not what it seems.
The Takedown- When a female wrestler gets a chain message to get what she wants she requests strength... but at what cost?
Help- When the voice controlled home assistant gains sentience and takes over the house the 2 spoiled kids learn a lesson.
One More Minute- When a young gamer meets an online friend who convinces him to continue playing the game, at the cost of other commitments, the ultimate costs becomes too much to bear. Tempus Fugit indeed.
Splinta Claws- When a boy loses a precious present in a department store he waits until closing time to retrieve it. The problem is an animatronic Santa is after him as he's on the naughty list.
Itchy- When there's a head lice outbreak it seems all pretty low-key. However, these are mutant love and they won't go quietly.
No Filter- After downloading a free filter, a young and vain girl realises that her prized feature is stolen to be sold to the highest bidder.
Tilly bone- A vloggers birthday party gets out of hand as a Tilly Bone (think nightmare creator) is gifted to her.
The Many Places- A group of children get lost in an alternate reality when one of them presses all the buttons in a lift.
The episodes are all pretty solid but for me the standouts are Splinta Claws and The Many Places as they are nerve-wracking, in a kid-friendly way, whilst having an intriguing story.
Creeped Out is a great series that leaves a lot up to the imagination. It's all quite lightweight but covers heavy stuff like parallel worlds, data theft, the rise of AI and errm, evil babies. It's all uniformly solid and worth a watch for tweens looking to be spooked out.
LINK- The 13 Best ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark’ Episodes
LINK- The Secret Garden (BBC 1975 Review)
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LINK- Dead of Night: Cult TV Review
LINK- The Stone Tapes: Cult TV Review