Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Creepshow: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 29, 2022

There have been several shows that have tried to recreate the peculiar genius of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, including, well, The Twilight Zone, The Twilight Zone and, yes, The Twilight Zone. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but considering the less than completely successful responses these reboots engendered, maybe sometimes it's best not to be flattered. While certain elements of the series currently under review might in fact come a bit closer to The Outer Limits than to the original Twilight Zone, I'd argue that this Greg Nicotero production actually can at least occasionally brush up against the greatness that was often the Serling enterprise. As with the original Serling run of the series, Creepshow often deals in what might be called karmic comeuppance, and it also has a rather sly sense of humor that can recall some of the best episodes of Serling's show.

While this is an anthology series, and there is therefore no narrative arc to have to follow, my reviews of the two previous seasons of Creepshow can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Creepshow: Season 1 Blu-ray review

Creepshow: Season 2 Blu-ray review

The Outer Limits aspect is probably best defined as a certain "monster of the week" conceit that Creepshow can utilize, and if there's one niggling qualm horror fans in particular may have with this season, it's that various creatures that pop up to bother folks tend to have some design similarities. There are some exceptions, as in the completely daffy Queen Bee, which features an absolutely lunatic creature design that puts The Wasp Woman to shame, but some other episodes feature demonic beasts that might at least be cousins. That element aside, a lot of the stories this season once again do feature karmic comeuppance for various bad 'uns, but there are also some kind of creepy moments where apparent innocents, as in the drunken fool who, well, foolishly goes to a psychic in Familiar, may not seem to actually deserve what they get despite any character flaws. (Familiar is one of the episodes with a demonic beast lurking in the background, until it isn't anymore, so to speak.)

Kind of interestingly, at least given the Rod Serling reference above, the series' use of artwork may remind some of Serling's other major anthology series, Night Gallery, and there's even one episode, The Last Tsurubaya, that actually kind of cheekily (and briefly) offers the Creep a Serling-esque moment standing next to several framed works of art. (At the risk of repeating myself, this episode kind of ironically has a "familiar" looking beastie.)

The series' rather sly sense of humor continues to also be one of its better elements. There are obviously self referential jokes abounding in an episode like Skeletons in the Closet, which features a horror movie prop collector, which gives the episode several opportunities to offer vignettes alluding to various classics. But other jokes are kind of throwaways, as in a state prison named Fiorina in one episode, which, if it's a political statement, strikes me as a bit opaque, if still kind of hilarious.

What also tends to elevate the show above some of its wannabe Twilight Zone kin is a definite sense of heart that can suffuse even silly episodes. The show can also offer some interesting presentational styles, and this season's kind of "Covid Apocalypse" episode Meter Reader, which sees various people succumbing to a horrifying disease with a kind of immune vigilante on a motorcycle coming to the rescue, has some of this season's most interesting visuals. Aside from an appropriately black and white homage to Psycho (are you listening to me, Gus Van Sant?), there's also another episode completely in black and white, as well as a completely animated episode, all of which helps to give this season some presentational variety.

Creepshow: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Creepshow: Season 3 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shudder and RLJ Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is another fine looking set of transfers that preserves this series' often whimsical if perhaps occasionally slightly gory presentational proclivities. The palette is once again nicely suffused almost all of the time, and the monochrome segments benefit from both solid contrast and appealingly deep blacks. A wide variety of contexts in various episodes allows for a veritable glut of stylistic flourishes, which can also extend to things like production design, and fine detail levels are typically excellent on the wide variety of props and costumes utilized. Some of the practical creature effects are kind of hilarious, whether intentionally or not, and the CGI tends to be effective. Many episodes either have completely animated interstitials or actually kind of "lapse" into quasi-animated moments at least (see screenshot 6), and things like line detail tend to be sharp and well delineated.

Creepshow: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Creepshow: Season 3 continues this series' appealing tradition of rather well designed surround activity delivered via a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Everything from the Creep sloshing around to the pitter pat of little demonic feet frolicking in the living room offer great use of things like panning effects, and any number of episodes offer effects sequences (sometimes animated) where engagement of the side and rear channels is nearly nonstop. Dialogue, effects and score are all delivered without any issues. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Creepshow: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Amazon's Comic-Con @Home 2022 Panel Interview is hosted by Clark Collins, and includes Greg Nicotero, Mattie Do, Rusty Cundieff, Michael Rooker and James Remar.

Disc Two

• Behind the Scenes Raw Footage (HD; 38:12) has some fun candid stuff.


• Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery (HD)

Additionally, there's a mini comic book included which reproduces panels from the interstitials of the episodes as well as offering brief summaries. Packaging features a slipcover.

Creepshow: Season 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Creepshow probably undeniably has more of a "camp factor" than The Twilight Zone ever did, but it's often incredibly smart and it can be a field day for cult movie and/or tv lovers out to spot all the "easter eggs" Nicotero and his team plant for the well prepared. Not every episode in this season is a home run, but a lot of them are. I personally wouldn't mind if Nicotero and his cohort might give The Creep a bit more to do, as with the first season of the series, but that's an intermittent qualm. This release boasts some appealing supplements and technical merits are solid. Recommended.