10 Best Tales From The Crypt Episodes
Gather round boils and ghouls for this creepy countdown of twisted tales.
Tales From The Crypt was a landmark TV series for any horror fan in the nineties. Based on the notorious 1950's EC comics produced by William M. Gaines, the show perfectly transported their campy melodrama, amusingly ironic twists and graphic gore to the small screen. It even gave us a new horror icon in the shape of the animatronic, pun-spouting, undead host - The Cryptkeeper, whose segments bookended each episode.
The series was produced by Robert Zemeckis, Richard Donner and Walter Hill who each helmed several episodes themselves and as a result production values were high for TV shows of the time.
Network HBO permitted nudity, profanity and buckets of gore and this freedom, combined with a love of the genre, attracted appearances from Hollywood legends such as Tom Hanks and Arnold Schwarzenegger, while showcasing early roles for future stars like Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor and Demi Moore, to name a few.
After seven seasons, three movies and even an animated spin-off for children, the show ended its amazing run with a fairly lacklustre season filmed in the UK. Recently, M. Night Shyamalan attempted to resurrect the concept with a failed reboot/relaunch, but unlike many of TFTC's characters, it looks like his version is going to stay buried.
With this being the year of the show's 30th anniversary and with Halloween just around the corner, what better time to dig up the ten best episodes of Tales From the Crypt?
10. And All Through The House [Season 1 Episode 2]
The very first season opened strong with entries from each of the series' famous producers and as proof of just how strong, all three of those episodes are included in our countdown. In this seasonal offering from Robert Zemeckis, it's Christmas eve and an unfaithful wife has just bumped off her miserable husband. Too bad for her, since she could've used his help against the axe-wielding, Santa-suited maniac outside.
Known mainly as Lethal Weapon's earnest psychiatrist and Mrs Walsh from The Goonies, Mary Ellen Trainor gives her lungs a scream queen workout while subverting her sweet, maternal image as the unfaithful wife under siege. The atmosphere is terrific as Zemeckis expertly cranks the tension before each encounter with Larry Drake's husky maniac, and in true Tales From The Crypt fashion, the ending's a cracker.