Creepshow is proof that streaming shows can do more with less

The Week

Greg Nicotero's Shudder anthology series based on George A. Romero and Stephen King's 1982 film is what CBS All Access'Twilight Zone reboot should've been -- if it weren't so bloated. "While 45 minutes long, the first episode of Creepshow consists of not one but two stories, meaning each goes by in a flash at just over 20 minutes. Hallelujah," says Brendan Morrow, adding: "It takes literally two minutes for the mystery to present itself, and the episode glides through the rest of the story at a brisk pace before concluding long before we've had enough. There's a sense of urgency here often missing in streaming shows, including the new Twilight Zone, which in its punishingly-long pilot was just getting around to the opening title sequence by the halfway point of Creepshow's first story." As Morrow points out, many of the all-time classic anthology series were similarly minimalist. "The freedom that comes with existing on a streaming service often brings bloat, since there's no need to adhere to strict time blocks on a network's schedule," he says. "Yet Creepshow's breezy first episode proves that, for pacing purposes, those limitations are often a good thing, and it's great to see a series willingly pare itself down to the bare essentials. It very much was an intentional choice, as executive producer Greg Nicotero explained to Slashfilm, 'there's a lot to be said in this day and age for bite-sized meals.'"

ALSO:

• Horror aficionados will find a lot to like in Creepshow, but casual horror fans may not get the appeal
• Creepshow starts unevenly, and it's ultimately too hamstrung by the series’ budgetary and time constraints
• With Creepshow, legendary makeup and effects master Tom Savini went from Nicotero's mentor to his student
• Creepshow is a very personal project for Greg Nicotero: "When I was 16 years old, when I first met George Romero, he was nice enough to invite me down to his office," he says. "George, his crew was always like a family. So when they were filming Creepshow, I was invited to the set and visited as a horror fan only. I had no idea that my career was going to divert from my then current path as a doctor into the path that I’m on now."