Reviews
[Review] “Creepshow” Season 3 Tackles Mythological and Modern Horrors in This Week’s Episode
Remnants of Greek mythology and zombie-like demons occupy this week’s installment of Creepshow.
Axelle Carolyn and Jordana Arkin get things started with “Stranger Sings”, a comical segment about a meet-cute gone terribly wrong. When Sara (Suehyla El-Attar) has her hands full at the store, a doctor named Barry (Chris Mayers) steps in to help. Barry at first hesitates to reach out; a recent and bad breakup has left him feeling uncertain. Sara instead welcomes Barry’s assistance and even lets him accompany her home. Barry later declines Sara’s offer to come inside for a drink, but he eventually changes his tune — or rather, he changes his mind when he hears an enchanting tune. The afternoon soon takes a turn once Barry steps inside Sara’s house.
“Stranger Sings” is a classic example of subverting expectations. Sara is approached by the random man whose ‘nice guy’ behavior might normally raise a few red flags, but she finds him more charming than creepy. Their early banter is friendly, if not awkward for both the parties involved and the viewers. Where things change is Sara’s sudden invitation. Seasoned watchers of horror are naturally distrustful of any and all unusual situations, and in this case, their suspicions are founded.
Carolyn and Arkin’s segment is surprising once all the cards are on the table, but it also does not leave much of an impression after the fact. As per usual, the creature involved is a delight to look at and helps connect the episode to the show’s overall theme. Yet that is something Creepshow is becoming too known for; featuring a standout practical effect or design but delivering a flat story.
The episode completely shifts moods with Joe Lynch and John Esposito’s “Meter Reader”. Set in a grave new world where waste collection is for severed heads rather than garbage, people are shut off from society as a mysterious scourge continues to sweep the planet. The segment centers on one particular family whose patriarch (Johnathon Schaech) has left to serve a higher calling of sorts. Meanwhile, his wife and kids anxiously await his return.
This is a dismal and unrelenting story inspired by the times we are living in. In place of an enduring virus is a demonic threat that forces people to quarantine and evokes arguments. There is no end in sight for the world here. The characters possess two attitudes toward the situation; the optimist who thinks things will turn out for the better, and the realist who no one wants to listen to. The plot is entirely topical, so anyone looking for escapism may not find it in “Meter Reader”. On the other hand, it is a potent time capsule for this era of humanity. Lynch and Esposito do a good job of funneling real-life anxieties into their story.
This episode is made up of two disparate tales; one lighthearted and one serious. The distinct differences between them create a tonal whiplash, but Creepshow fans appreciate the variety.
New episodes of Creepshow Season 3 are released every Thursday on Shudder.
Movies
‘Recluse’ Review – Harrowing Haunted House Horror With Lots Of Skeletons In Its Closet [Tribeca 2026]
A haunted house story is tense, terrifying storytelling when it’s properly executed. There’s been a growing tendency in horror to blend together harrowing haunted house stories with traumatic homecomings. A family member’s illness or death triggers a return to something dark that was intentionally left behind. Recluse hits all the tropes that one expects to find in this type of horror film, yet it manages to push this story in a daring, disturbing new direction that uses sound as a superpower.
It’s a unique lens to experience a familiar story about family secrets, generational trauma, unresolved grief, and the importance of not just legacy, but preservation. It’s a hell of a directorial debut from Henry Chaisson that’s guaranteed to get under the audience’s skin as they’re dragged through this painful, toxic tale.
Recluse is a gothic haunted house story where an isolated audio engineer, Joan (Sasha Frolova), returns to her family’s estate to check in on her father after he suffers a terrible accident. Joan suddenly discovers something much more sinister that paints her family’s tragedies in a very different light. Chaisson’s debut functions as a fascinating companion piece to this year’s undertone, which does a lot of the same things.
These two films make for a fascinating case of parallel thinking that tackles comparable subject matter through a similar lens, albeit in a bigger, less claustrophobic story in Recluse’s case. In fact, it’s the perfect horror film for anyone who was let down by undertone and didn’t feel like it brought enough to the table. It’s a considerably more conventional horror film, but this isn’t meant to denigrate its high quality. Recluse may hit some familiar notes, but it’s a scary, well-crafted haunted house horror story that goes for the jugular.
A gripping mystery that involves the tragic, unresolved circumstances that surround Joan’s mother teases a chilling connection to the recent horrors that have afflicted her father. Joan desperately tries to put these pieces together and give her family some sense of grander peace before she’s pulled under and becomes another victim of this festering curse that’s systematically worked its way through the Wyatt family. By doing so, Recluse digs into some deeper commentary on collective trauma, a very literal look at the “sins of the father” adage, and how one selfish decision can ripple through generations and fracture off into different dilemmas. By the end, Recluse has brilliantly flipped the powerful concept of legacy on its head by illustrating the horrors and sense of entitlement that can be born out of this idea.
A legacy is just another name for a curse under the right context.
”Listen” is a simple but powerful command from Joan’s father that she briefly obsesses over. In a way, it becomes Recluse’s grander mission statement, whether it’s in response to Joan listening to the people in her life, the signals that her body and mind are telling her, or the world’s greater whims. It’s important to reconnect with these grounding pillars, especially when it feels like control is slipping away.
Recluse excels with how audio and soundscapes can create entire universes that are full of rich details that transport individuals to these environments. There’s also a level of objectivity when it comes to audio recordings and the evergreen permanence that they’re able to provide. Joan’s career as an audio engineer makes sense for someone who wants to cling to hard evidence and proof of existence. It provides great insight into Joan without ever getting lost in contrived exposition.
Joan’s entire life is built around audio engineering, and so it makes sense that Recluse features excellent sound design that really goes above and beyond with its production elements. All of the sound design is expertly handled and turns the film into something special. These auditory elements intuitively keep the audience on edge so that they’re more susceptible to the actual scares that eventually strike. The smallest sound effect gets turned into a crushing, cacophonous assault. It’s a really effective way to build terror. Writer/Director Chaisson also handles the film’s music, which achieves a sublime, unnerving dissonance that further heightens the free-floating anxiety.
The story at the center of Recluse is slightly generic in some respects, but the film’s visual language and tone make it feel distinctly memorable. It also doesn’t hurt that the home that Joan returns to is basically an eerie art studio that’s full of contorted paintings. Recluse never struggles to generate mounting dread and terror that pump through every scene. Powerful, thoughtful cinematography consistently reinforces the film’s themes. Joan is constantly reflected in different surfaces or viewed through mirrors. She’s also often confined to tight, constricting framing that all speaks to her refracted identity during this moment of loss and her attempts to regain agency and control by making sense of something that’s seemingly unexplainable.
Recluse is full of truly disturbing visuals that make it seem like Joan is lost in a dream that turns out to be an extended nightmare. It’s a surreal journey reminiscent of invasive psychological horror like Silent Hill, with a touch of Sinister and Hereditary thrown in for good measure. There are so many individual frames that could endlessly fuel urban legends and creepypastas.
It does a great job with how it presents Joan’s fragile state of mind, where chilling flashes of the past sneak up on her and unresolved trauma manifests into unsettling imagery. There are endless shots that are obscured in darkness, or shadow is creeping in from the corners of frames like a suffocating force of nature. It’s very rare that a scene is fully lit. It leads to a very lonely, isolating atmosphere that’s easy to get lost in.
Chaisson’s debut stands out from the many other high-minded haunted house horror films without succumbing to the same pretensions that often drag down these stories. It’s a grief-stricken character study that’s full of upsetting visuals that scratch at something visceral and raw. The horror elements connect, and the answers to its grander mystery provide an appropriate and believable sense of closure. Those who are looking for an atmospheric horror film that isn’t afraid to be different while still channeling something real will appreciate Recluse.
Recluse made its world premiere at Tribeca; release info TBD.
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