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(Frights! Camera! Action!) Meaner, Funnier, Gorier: TALES FROM THE CRYPT Season 2 Perfects the Formula

By Davalyn Baker

 

Season 2 of TALES FROM THE CRYPT premiered on April 2, 1990, with a total of 18 episodes. This season has the most episodes, and the cast is stacked.

 

Many celebrity guests offered their talents, including but not limited to Katey Sagal, Demi Moore, Jeffrey Tambor, Carol Kane, Moses Gunn, William Hickey, Janet Hubert, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in his directorial debut, The Switch, a fun episode about an old fool trying to impress a beautiful woman (Kelly Preston) with his looks when all she really wanted was his money. Arnold also appears in a cameo in the introduction of the same episode, interacting with The Crypt Keeper in a silly but fun skit involving the Crypt Keeper and weight training. This is also the first episode of the series that is directly adapted from the actual Tales from the Crypt comic.

 

The true star of the series is naturally The Crypt Keeper, who’s given an upgrade with expressions and advanced lip-syncing. The hard-working puppeteers are the unsung heroes here. The show leans more into the nonsensical and gruesomeness this season, offering some laughs in between. This is a strong season with a great selection, so it was challenging to pick favorites!

 

Season 1 laid the groundwork for the Crypt Keeper’s blend of horror and dark comedy, but Season 2 is where the series truly embraces its comic book chaos.

 

In no order and with light spoilers, I present a small list of standouts:

 

 

For Cryin’ Out Loud - A rock promoter named Marty Slash has hatched a plan to steal donation money raised for a charity benefit called “Save the Amazon Forest.” What he thinks are hearing problems is his conscience trying to steer him in the right direction, but viewers know that Marty is going to do everything in his power to get that money, conscience or not. Comedian Sam Kinison is the voice of Marty’s conscience, while Iggy Pop appears as part of the band raising money for the rainforest. In true TALES FROM THE CRYPT fashion, you have a blast watching the protagonist’s downfall in a series of unfortunate events that could have been prevented if only he had listened. I chuckle at how easily the electric chair is an option for the criminals in this series.

 

Fitting Punishment - This episode takes on a darker tone, different from the usual hijinks and campiness. A young man named Bobby moves in with his uncle Ezra, a funeral home director who disrespects the dead and misquotes the Bible. Bobby is immediately on the receiving end of Uncle Ezra’s abuse, alongside the only other employee in the funeral home. He constantly berates and abuses Bobby, eventually crippling him and selling his Air Jordans. Any child of the 90s knows the importance and expense of Air Jordans. Bobby eventually succumbs to his injuries caused by Ezra, but when a spirit has unfinished business, they must return to finish their debts. I am being deeply nostalgic as I list this as one of my favorite episodes. I remember sneaking to watch this episode while my babysitter (my great-grandmother) fell asleep late one Saturday. I would sneak and watch the TALES episodes when they premiered in syndication on Fox. This episode terrified me, and I couldn’t sleep most of the night thinking about it. But I still had to get up in the morning and go to church. As one does.

 

 

Three’s a Crowd - A man named Richard, who suffers from intense insecurity, suspects that his wife Della is cheating on him with his best friend, Alan, a man who is wealthy and was interested in his wife despite her choosing Richard. Much like Fitting Punishment, this episode tackles darker themes, steering in a different course than the usual dark comedy. Richard spends his days insulting his wife and the marriage, constantly wondering just what she and Alan are up to. He projects his insecurities onto them, creating tension amongst the trio. He watches from the side as she speaks with Alan in hushed whispers. He gets frustrated when Della pauses a moment of intimacy to speak with Alan, who is the reason they were able to stay in the cabin to celebrate their anniversary. When his mind eventually snaps, he gets his revenge. The issue is that he couldn’t be more wrong, and it takes the term “three’s a crowd” to the next level. Most people may not like this episode because it’s a slow burn, but it pays off in the very last shot of the episode when Richard realizes just how grave his mistake is. Gavin O’Herlihy’s portrayal of Richard is underrated. His bitterness and vehemence oozes through the screen as he slinks around in a cloud of diffidence.

 

 

Korman’s Kalamity - Harry Anderson stars as Jim Korman, a cartoonist who works on Tales from the Crypt comics. His wife, Mildred, comes to his office, publicly emasculating him in front of his coworkers. We discover that she’s forcing him to take pills that will help with their issues getting pregnant. Jim publicly states to Mildred and us that the doctor told them the pregnancy problem could be either him OR her. It’s hilarious that Mildred desires motherhood so much with Jim despite her extreme dislike for her husband. However, the pills are the cause of Korman’s ‘Kalamity’. He begins drawing hideous monsters out of frustration, and his art comes to life. Blame it on the pills! Lorelei, a police officer, encounters the monster, and she and Jim soon cross paths. Lorelei sees his art, makes connections, and after questioning him about his work, the two begin to bond. But Korman’s married, and it’s a huge problem that needs to be handled. This is a entertaining, silly episode that takes a lighter path than the others in the season. I loved this episode for the practical effects, and it was a fun take on breaking the fourth wall and incorporating the comics into the series. It was also a great homage to comic artists and just artists in general.

 

 

Cutting Cards - Two idiots, Reno and Sam, played by Lance Henriksen and Kevin Tighe, are frenemies with an intense gambling addiction. After making a bet on who would need to leave town, they spend the entire episode in increasingly more gruesome games as their story progresses. This is a great episode which may have been unintentionally homoerotic, but these two dudes were definitely exercising their violence against each other because other systems were at play here. Much like Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, if they had just kissed, this would have saved them from their violent ending.

 

 

The Ventriloquist’s Dummy - A perfect representation of “never meet your heroes.” Bobcat Goldthwait portrays Billy, who is an aspiring ventriloquist. He wants to improve in his craft, and there’s a great scene where he completely bombs his set. I mean, he’s terrible at it. It’s hilarious because earlier in the episode, when he’s a young boy, his mother tells him that he’s going to be a doctor. Watching him onstage, you really wish he had taken that path. That’s how bad he is at it. Instead, he seeks out his idol, a retired ventriloquist named Mr. Ingels, played by Don Rickles. Billy begs for help and advice, and Mr. Ingels reluctantly agrees, but Billy soon discovers that Mr. Ingels has a dark secret to his success. Don Rickles is hilarious as the tired and overwrought Mr. Ingles. His sardonic humor matches Bobcat Goldthwait’s miserably pathetic Billy so well. Both men stumble together through their gloom until it catches up to them, and Billy decides to carry the torch passed on by Mr. Ingels. Literally.

 

 TALES FROM THE CRYPT finds its footing in the second season, proving that it’s bound to become a cult classic. There’s also an episode this season that shows the origin of The Crypt Keeper, and it’s just as weird as you could assume it would be. The writers and directors aren’t afraid to take risks here, and it pays off well.

 

Season 3 premieres this Friday, May 15th, on Shudder.