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Review: ‘Creepshow’ Season 2’s Dead And Breakfast/Pesticide Guaranteed To Make You Laugh and Make Your Skin Crawl

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Creepshow started off with a gory bang last week with the season 2 premiere featuring a plethora of monsters and Kandarian demons. Now we’re back with episode 2 and as the saying goes: expect the unexpected!

The first story, Dead and Breakfast concerns Pam and Sam Spinster, a sister and brother (Ali Larter,  Final Destination 1 and 2 & C. Thomas Howell, The Hitcher) as they attempt to strike ghoulish gold from the murder tourism industry. Their grandmother ran a bed and breakfast where she allegedly stalked and murdered scores of victims… though there’s no real evidence to prove it and attendance is at an all-time low. Desperate to increase their notoriety, Sam brings in a vlogger and murder site influencer named Morgue (Iman Benson, Alexa & Katie) to bring them some much needed internet publicity. But as things come to a head with their increasingly unimpressed guest, Sam and Pam may take more drastic measures to put their business on the map…

A horrifyingly hilarious satire of the murder tourism industry from Tales of Halloween and The Haunting of Bly Manor director Axelle Carolyn and written by Dude Bro Party Massacre III scribes Michael Rousselet and Erik Sandoval, this out of many Creepshow stories so far felt the most current. Tackling the cottage industry of carnage and taking some swipes at influencer culture as well. While bemoaning their financial woes, Pam Spinster even notes with envy how the domiciles of Lizzie Borden, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy do substantial business as vacation destinations.

This was a fun as hell tourist trap tale with some great performances from the main trio, particularly Larter’s increasing animosity at bed and breakfast’s skeptical vlogger guest. The set for The Spinster Murder house featured some elaborate and befitting pieces that you won’t soon forget and I like how the flashback to the alleged Spinster murders were told in part by the Creepshow comic book style panels.  I don’t want to get into it too deeply, but there were plenty of karmic twists and turns and thrills to keep you hooked and in pure Creepshow spirit.

Our next story is Pesticide, following a sleazy and arrogant exterminator named Harlan King (Played by The Walking Dead‘s Josh McDermitt). Harlan makes a killing by killing bugs, though he doesn’t do a great job and actually likes to plant insects so his customers will have to call him back, such as a psychologist Brenda played by Hellraiser‘s Ashley Laurence. But he still has aspirations for even more vermin based glory. Opportunity knocks in the form of Murdoch (Keith David, They Live) a wealthy real estate magnate who is looking to redevelop some derelict land… but first, he wants the homeless people living on it exterminated. And Harlan seems like the greedy bugkiller for the job.

Directed by showrunner Greg Nicotero and written by Frank Dietz (Monstrkyd Manor) this was an interesting Creepshow tale in that it was much more a character study and more of a psychological horror than the creepy crawly creature feature I was expecting. McDermitt does a stand-out job as the loathsome and pathetic Harlan King, the kind of guy who uses his profession to kill insects and vermin just to feel better about himself while also screwing over clientele over perceived slights and to line his wallet.

Keith David is as charismatic as ever as the enigmatic Murdoch, serving as the proverbial devil on Harlan’s shoulder. Encouraging his worst impulses and tempting him to complete his homeless human extermination for him. While not a monster mash I was expecting, Pesticide still exhibits some nightmare and arachnophobic practical FX. Without spoiling too much, you will see some big bad bugs and critters haunt Harlan as he becomes swarmed with fear.

This was another fine edition to the sophomore season of Creepshow and only makes me hungry to see what horrors will be unleashed next week!

Creepshow airs new episodes every Thursday on Shudder.

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

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Horror Movies

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks. 

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story. 

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did. 

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD. 

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind. 

The Crow
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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

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The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

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Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors. 

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie. 

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time. 

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.

Wednesday Addams Skullector doll
Wednesday Addams Skullector doll
Footwear for Wednesday Addams Skullector doll
Morticia Addams Skullector doll
Morticia Addams doll shoes
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