The end of October is Halloween in the United States, in this equivalent to the Chinese ghost festival day, the United States AMC television network (streaming media platform shudder) is to send a Halloween gift to the American audience, in addition to the local time on October 31, the first season of "Ghost Show" finale, while the official announcement of the renewal of the second season.
"Creepshow" is not a well-known IP in China, but in the United States, its status is similar to the "Liaozhai" TV series on the Chinese screen in the 1980s, as long as the opening song is together, many of China's post-80s "childhood shadows" will also reappear instantly.
From left to right, the 1982 version, the 1987 version of the "Ghost Show" movie poster and the 2019 version of the "Ghost Show" TV series poster are the symbols of the skull image wrapped in a headscarf
In 1982 and 1987, two of the most famous films in the "Ghost Show" series, Ghost Show and Ghost Show 2, were released in the United States, written by the famous horror writer Stephen King, and the father of modern horror movies, George W. Bush. A. Romero served as the screenwriter, and such a strong and powerful lineup established the series of films in the history of Hollywood horror movies.
The wood carvings of the old Indian chieftains (top) and the waterhole monster (bottom) in the 1987 version of Ghost Show 2 are childhood shadows for many American viewers
The Ghost Show series of films encompasses many horror elements, telling multiple creepy horror stories in a segmented form. Because of the appearance of many high-energy and exciting horror scenes, the film once became a childhood shadow for American audiences.
Because of this, since the 1980s, many film and television dramas have been named "Creepshow", in addition to video games, but most of the works that followed the film were uneven, until this year, AMC claimed to be the official reboot of the drama version of "Ghost Show".
The rebooted version of "Ghost Show" is full of nostalgic elements, following the narrative structure of the old version, and innovating on this basis, still has a chilling horror effect.
Each episode of the drama version of "Ghost Show" contains two separate stories (so although the first season finale is episode 6, it is officially marked as episode 12, and it is actually 12 ghost stories), and these horror stories are only about 20 minutes, which can be described as short and concise. Take the story of the first episode of the first season as an example, readers can more intuitively feel its similarity with the movie version.
"Ghost Show" always creates a feeling that ghosts are secretly observing, in order to set off a spooky and terrifying atmosphere. Some of the plot backgrounds are shown through comics, and this form of tandem cutting is more unique.
Stills from "Ghost Show" (2019), one of the characteristics of the IP is interspersed with comics, which tell the story of "don't give sugar, just trick-or-treat" on the eve of Halloween
The first story of "Ghost Show" is more decent, and there is nothing unexpected about it, but the thriller effect and horror atmosphere are still there.
A strong storm is about to strike, and most of the town's residents have evacuated, but the doctors and policemen who are responsible for the left-behind are still there, in addition to a few people such as the convenience store lady. Suddenly, a young man panicked and walked into a convenience store. The thrilling story unfolds. Without excessive spoilers, in short, in the end, it was found that the young man's father used alcohol to dispel his sorrow after the death of his wife, and then he gradually became addicted, even to the point of drinking every day, and lost his job. He had promised his son to abstain from alcohol, but it turned out that his son would buy a case of beer for his father every night. Then he began to sit on the couch at home, drinking and watching TV, and closed the curtains. In the end, the father's image resembles the swamp monster in DC Comics – wrapped in a sheet with an unknown liquid on his skin (which also seems to be a tribute to the movie version)...
Stills from Ghost Show (2019).
The similarity between "Ghost Show" and "Liaozhai" is that it tries to teach "fear", and this story I summarized is probably to persuade people not to drink alcohol.
Many people on the Internet like the second story, which only takes the dollhouse model of the little girl as the main scene, and can create a tense and realistic effect through the movement of several doll positions and changes in posture. The blank space at the end is just right, making the viewer wonder: Did the little girl really get rid of this nightmare? Will the spooky events of the dollhouse be staged again?
This year, most of the horror and thriller-themed film and television dramas broadcast or released in the United States have ended hastily, such as "Joker Returns 2", which ruined the reputation of the previous work. Therefore, it is very difficult for the drama version of "Ghost Show" to play the nostalgic card in front of the classic movie version, while adding some fresh points.