TV Terrors: Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside was produced by the late great George Romero from 1984 to 1988. It's not quite as showy as the later Tales from the Crypt, and the episodes were often low budget and kind of creaky. However, Darkside still has its charms. Here are some notable episodes listed below. What are your favorites?
A Case of the Stubborns (Season 1, Episode 9)
Featuring a young Christian Slater and Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek), A Case of the Stubborns is more gross than scary. The episode tells a humorous tale of an aged family patriarch who refuses to believe that he has actually died. Slater is great here, as is comedic actor Eddie Bracken as his rapidly decomposing but remarkably still kicking grandfather. The makeup effects on this one are pretty gnarly, and I mean that in the best way possible. I have a pretty cast iron stomach when it comes to gore, but I had to turn my face away from the grody grandpa more than a few times.
Anniversary Dinner (Season 1, Episode 13)
Even though it's pretty obvious to seasoned horror fans where exactly this one is going, it's still a delight to watch how it gets there. In this episode, a kind seeming elderly couple, played by Mario Roccuzo and Alice Ghostley (dotty Esmeralda from TV's Bewitched) take in a young hiker, Sybil, after she breaks up with her boyfriend. The naive girl is honestly pretty annoying and almost willfully ignorant of the sinister plans the sweet old couple have for her, but otherwise the episode is a darkly humorous delight.
Ursa Minor (Season 2, Episode 10)
Ursa Minor's plot is fairly straightforward: a young girl is given a killer teddy bear, which proceeds to terrorize her and her family. Despite the simple premise, this is one of the spookier episodes. Even though the monster is pretty silly, the episode successfully ratchets up the tension and uses sound and shadow to great effect.
Monsters in My Room (Season 2, Episode 12)
A young Seth Green stars as a boy who's got two major problems: monsters in his closet and a hot tempered, borderline abusive new stepfather. This episode shows that humans can be the real monsters, but the tone never gets too dark. This one has been one of my favorites since I was a kid, and I've probably rewatched it the most out of all of these.
Inside the Closet (Season 1, Episode 7)
Though this episode is probably Tales from the Darkside's most famous episode, I mention it last, because I have yet to actually see it. I somehow missed this one when I was a kid, and it wasn't available with the rest of the episodes on Amazon Prime when I rewatched the series recently. I'm including the episode anyway because its reputation precedes it. I know many people who've raved about how scary it was when they saw it as children, and I will continue to search for it.
Runners up: Answer Me (Season 1, Episode 15), The Last Car (Season 2, Episode 19); The Enormous Radio (Season 3, Episode 22); The Yattering and Jack (Season 4, Episode 7)-based on a Clive Barker story; Sorry, Right Number-written by Stephen King
A Case of the Stubborns (Season 1, Episode 9)
Featuring a young Christian Slater and Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek), A Case of the Stubborns is more gross than scary. The episode tells a humorous tale of an aged family patriarch who refuses to believe that he has actually died. Slater is great here, as is comedic actor Eddie Bracken as his rapidly decomposing but remarkably still kicking grandfather. The makeup effects on this one are pretty gnarly, and I mean that in the best way possible. I have a pretty cast iron stomach when it comes to gore, but I had to turn my face away from the grody grandpa more than a few times.
Anniversary Dinner (Season 1, Episode 13)
Even though it's pretty obvious to seasoned horror fans where exactly this one is going, it's still a delight to watch how it gets there. In this episode, a kind seeming elderly couple, played by Mario Roccuzo and Alice Ghostley (dotty Esmeralda from TV's Bewitched) take in a young hiker, Sybil, after she breaks up with her boyfriend. The naive girl is honestly pretty annoying and almost willfully ignorant of the sinister plans the sweet old couple have for her, but otherwise the episode is a darkly humorous delight.Ursa Minor (Season 2, Episode 10)
Ursa Minor's plot is fairly straightforward: a young girl is given a killer teddy bear, which proceeds to terrorize her and her family. Despite the simple premise, this is one of the spookier episodes. Even though the monster is pretty silly, the episode successfully ratchets up the tension and uses sound and shadow to great effect.
Monsters in My Room (Season 2, Episode 12)A young Seth Green stars as a boy who's got two major problems: monsters in his closet and a hot tempered, borderline abusive new stepfather. This episode shows that humans can be the real monsters, but the tone never gets too dark. This one has been one of my favorites since I was a kid, and I've probably rewatched it the most out of all of these.
Inside the Closet (Season 1, Episode 7)
Though this episode is probably Tales from the Darkside's most famous episode, I mention it last, because I have yet to actually see it. I somehow missed this one when I was a kid, and it wasn't available with the rest of the episodes on Amazon Prime when I rewatched the series recently. I'm including the episode anyway because its reputation precedes it. I know many people who've raved about how scary it was when they saw it as children, and I will continue to search for it.
Runners up: Answer Me (Season 1, Episode 15), The Last Car (Season 2, Episode 19); The Enormous Radio (Season 3, Episode 22); The Yattering and Jack (Season 4, Episode 7)-based on a Clive Barker story; Sorry, Right Number-written by Stephen King
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