10 Best Tales From The Crypt Episodes

Even five seasons in, when most shows start to falter, TFTC was still producing horror gold. Here another con-artist poses as a travelling salesman and tries his scam on the wrong family.

Pennywise himself, Tim Curry is clearly having a blast playing all three members of the murderous Brackett clan who invite Ed Begley Jr's grifter, Judd, into their home. Slimy Judd realises all too late what danger he's in when he stumbles upon the corpses of fellow salesmen, incorporated into the faulty products they'd peddled. Hoping to save his own skin, and get his hands on the Brackett's hidden wealth, Judd goes to extreme lengths to gain their trust, including seducing their hideous daughter Winona.

The undisputed stars of this episode are the Bracketts themselves and the interplay between them and Judd is layered with tension and humour throughout. You never know quite how they're going to react and at times you may even find yourself rooting for him.

Like a few episodes on this list Death Of Some Salesmen plays a little differently on a repeat viewing, where subtle hints to its surprises suddenly seem glaringly obvious. As testament to how good this episode is, and Curry's performance in particular, this doesn't detract from the enjoyment and only adds an extra layer to its gruesome charm.