Not every episode of Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996) is going to be top-tier, regardless of whatever season you’re watching. You can’t knock ‘em out of the park all the time. Even so, that first batch of stories lacks the extreme lows found later on. After dishing out what many consider to be a series high, this iconic horror anthology still managed to end its first season on a strong note.
This closer may not be included in every fan’s top ten, but most assuredly, “Collection Completed” is a must-see episode.
Before getting into “Collection Completed”, let’s go over what all came before it. The series opener, “The Man Who was Death” (directed by Walter Hill, co-written by Hill & Robert Reneau), is a model example of poetic justice à la Crypt. It’s the one where William Sadler played the executioner-turned-vigilante who eventually ended up in the same electric chair he once oversaw. Brutal.
Following that was the aforesaid G.O.A.T. episode, “And All Through the House”; Robert Zemeckis and Fred Dekker’s collaboration continues to be a go-to whenever the hankering for holiday horror develops. Also: “Dig That Cat… He’s Real Gone” (Richard Donner, Terry Black) is worth watching for the ending; the Lea Thompson-starring “Only Sin Deep” (Howard Deutch, Fred Dekker) is like a prototype for The Substance; and “Lover Come Hack to Me” (Tom Holland, Michael McDowell) tends to be ranked lower than others, yet it is gruesome, heady, and elevated by Amanda Plummer‘s presence.
After everything shown so far in Season One, which included a killer Santa Claus, a gold-digger’s Faustian deal, and a daredevil imbued with a cat’s remaining lives (not nine, though!), “Collection Completed” would seem a bit lightweight in comparison. An elderly couple butts heads over the wife’s many animal companions? Well, not exactly. My logline undersells a pretty twisted episode that, for obvious reasons, has stayed with me and plenty of others over the years. While you are never at all surprised by where this story goes, that ending is deeply satisfying. The sort of parting imagery seen here is why we always keep coming back to the Crypt.
Based on a story found in EC Comics’ The Vault of Horror, and one told by the Old Witch character, “Collection Completed” roughly followed its source material. This isn’t one Crypt adaptation that took a lot of creative license, as often happened in the show. Even then, there are notable differences between the two takes. For starters, that original Jonas—who was called Jonah in the comic—isn’t forced to retire from his job of forty-something years. If he was, it had no bearing on the plot. Meanwhile, M. Emmet Walsh’s version of the character is extra crusty; the episode provides more motivation for this retiree’s chronic irritability. You’re never on board with Jonas stuffing his wife’s furry and feathered friends, of course, but you can see why he takes issue with them.
Another apparent change between the comic and the adaptation is the general tone. EC was known to instill its tales with an almost-trademark sense of dark humor, maybe in an effort to soften the dreadfulness. In many cases, it actually had the opposite effect. Yet, the original “Collection Completed” is not haha funny. Right from the beginning, Jonah Tillman is plain nasty to Anita, as well as her various pets (which are way fewer than in the TV show). We also only ever see Anita living in a constant state of fear, seeing as how Jonah made his sick intentions known early on. He spends much of the comic terrorizing Anita, who awaits whatever harm he has in store for her critters.
In contrast, Audra Lindley’s portrayal of Anita experiences a range of emotions, as opposed to gobs of unease, then pure anger. The character is not simply someone waiting to reach her breaking point. For a short while, you get to see this woman experience joy, all before Jonas takes it away. Lindley’s Anita also has that chance to grow into her retaliatory, final form. By that I mean, she herself goes through a slow and delicate process somewhat like that of Jonas’ “pet projects“.
In time, Anita is stripped down to her rawest parts, then put back together again. Similar to Jonas’ dubious first attempts at taxidermy, Anita doesn’t quite resemble her old self after everything is finished. Thankfully, it’s more of a glitch than a permanent transmutation; Jonas’ better half resumes her previous nature once the disruption in her life has been dealt with, not to mention given a taste of his own medicine.
Pet Sematary was released into theaters just two months before Tales from the Crypt premiered on television. So Mary Lambert’s inclinations as a horror director weren’t too formed yet. Based on her breakthrough film, though, Lambert was capable of blackly comical horror. That ability of hers, which was fine-tuned in the underrated Pet Sematary Two, translated perfectly to Crypt. However, Lambert didn’t act alone when taking the unserious approach to EC’s “Collection Completed”; her accomplices were screenwriters Battle Davis, Randolph Davis, and A. Whitney Brown. Battle was primarily an editor (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), Randolph debuted here before hanging up his pen a few years later, and Brown had been writing for Saturday Night Live since 1985. Those three, along with Lambert, ended up being so efficient at preying on human nature and making the outcome scarily funny.
“Collection Completed” would seem more at home in an anthology series like Tales from the Darkside. This assessment comes from the fact that the story is limited to one setting, and apart from Martin Garner as friend and neighbor Roy, the episode is essentially a two-hander. Mind you, it’s not as thrifty-looking as a typical Darkside entry, but like many of the actors in that show, M. Emmet Walsh and Audra Lindley give big performances in such small surroundings. Walsh was in top form as a villain with no self-awareness, and Lindley deftly captured and communicated the unmistakable sadness of her maternal-yet-childless character. The word “impressive” just doesn’t begin to describe the leads in this episode.
These days, we use the term “Tales from the Crypt energy” to describe a particular kind of story—the ones loaded with macabre excess, dark humor, and, time and again, huge comeuppances. Naturally, “TFTCE” would hail from the show that originated it, and maybe no season had the highest concentration than the very first one. After all, there were only six episodes in that introductory collection. But nevertheless, that initial run sets up the series so well. Morbid, funny, and stylish—it’s really no shocker that Tales from the Crypt went on to become one of the most beloved anthologies around.
Season One of Tales from the Crypt can be streamed on Shudder, starting on May 1.
Tales from Tales from the Crypt celebrates the show’s Shudder premiere by singling out one episode from each season. So don’t even think about changing that dial, boys and ghouls. More spot-“frights” are to come.
