‘Creepshow’ Season 3 Episode 5 Review: ‘Time Out’ and ‘The Things in Oakwood’s Past’
Creepshow Season 3 continues to provide the campy chills most people are looking for in October. This week audiences saw segments titled ‘Time Out’ and ‘The Things in Oakwood’s Past.’ The latter of the two was an animated special, which isn’t the first time Creepshow dipped its toe into the world of animation. Here’s what we thought about the latest episode of Shudder’s horror series.
‘Time Out’ showcases that nothing comes without a cost
The first segment in Creepshow is directed by Jeffrey F. January and written by Barrington Smith and Paul Seetachit. It stars Matthew Barnes, Devon Hales, Jibre Hordges, Lauren Richards, Jabari Marshall, Grant Feely, Shannon Eubanks, Kamran Shaikh, Emerson Bennett, Jody Whitehurst, David Alexander Kaplan, Garrett Zehner.
The official summary from Shudder reads, “Tim finds the answer to always wishing there were more hours in the day, but the success he can now achieve might not be worth the cost.”
The phrase “not enough hours in the day” takes on a whole different meaning in this story. Tim, our main character, has achievable ambitions, but he just needs a little more time to get everything done. He finds an answer to his problem, but there’s a catch, just like with anything in this world.
The first segment in this episode of Creepshow aims for spooky, but in the end, it doesn’t hit its mark. We’re used to the characters in the series getting their just desserts. Still, this one felt particularly hopeless, which is unusual for the show.
The acting is steady, and the lead gives a believable performance. However, we would’ve preferred more fears than tears in this segment.
‘The Things in Oakwood’s Past’ is the first animated segment in ‘Creepshow’ Season 3
The second segment in this week’s episode takes advantage of the voice talent of three major stars. Greg Nicotero occupies two roles behind the scenes as one of the directors and a writer for the segment. Dave Newberg assists the special effects guru in the directing department, while Daniel Kraus is in the other writing slot.
Mark Hamill, who has worked with Nicotero several times before, along with certified scream queen Danielle Harris, and Ron Livingston, provide the voices for this segment. The summary from Shudder reads, “The town of Oakwood has a storied past, and the opening of a time capsule is an exciting moment of remembrance. But can a local librarian keep a darker part of the town’s history from repeating itself?”
Creepshow has done animated specials before, and the series always does them well. The animation is never typical, and this one’s style is reminiscent of old Scooby-Doo episodes. Harris, who’s familiar with voice acting from all of her time spent on Nickelodeon’s The Wild Thornberries, brings her own splash of flavor to the role of Marnie, the librarian. Livingston’s voice was immediately recognizable as the local news reporter, and his and Harris’ chemistry worked well together. Hamill had a smaller role in the segment but was great nonetheless.
Where you can watch ‘Creepshow’ Season 3
The anthology series streams exclusively on Shudder with new episodes every Thursday. Throughout 3 seasons, Creepshow has perfectly straddled the line between horror and camp. This opens up opportunities for those who want more horror-lite than the blood and gore of other Halloween offerings.
