Shudder's Creepshow Produces 'Horror Express' and 'Night Of The Living Dead' Combo VR Episode
Creepshow Boards The Horror Express to Night Of The Living Dead
The Creepshow series on Shudder has become one of the streaming platform’s breakout shows. Based on the vintage hit movies of the same name from a devilish Stephen King and George Romero collabo, the show playfully serves up horror, fantasy and dark science fiction in a beautifully realized production. If you’re looking for solid, stylish scares, you’ll be more than satisfied by creeping around to this neat show.
In the season finale from the program’s 2nd season, entitled, Night Of The Living Late Show, two public domain horror movies are used in a kind of virtual reality experience. Our lead is an inventor with a boring marriage - actually he’s basically a gold digger using his wealthy wife for her money - who toils away day and night constructing his dream gadget - The Immersopod. It’s sleek look is cemetery cool - a sarcophagus meets a tanning bed. Once inside, dozens of cams and lights scan you and then insert you into the action of any movie or TV show. You not only get to feel as if you’re inserted into the video itself, but characters also react to your presence as well. You’re part of it all - playing the ultimate VR simulation video game! Holodeck, anyone?
But video game binging while sucking down soft drinks and cheese drenched nachos won’t be the end all of your immersive time. This isn’t a toy. It’s not some supersized Oculus hooked up to an X-Box. This is some serious metaphysical tech. As we learn that not only can characters interact with you, but any physical damage - especially from say a villainous marauding alien - done to you during a connected session scores on your real body like a video game hit point from hell.
All Aboard For Thrills & Chills
Justin Long of Jeepers Creepers fame and those old Apple Vs Mac TV ads plays the obsessed man who milks his wife for her money to fund his immersive invention. His character’s favorite horror movie is Horror Express, a Spanish/British co-production from 1972, and one which fell into public domain. Starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, the movie is equal parts sci-fi and boasts more than a few elements reminiscent of the classic The Thing and it’s shocking 1982 remake from director John Carpenter.
Since Long’s geeky character loves Horror Express, he naturally loves Lee and Cushing. As he virtually hangs out with them, he constantly calls them by their real names and laughs over and over - fanboy thrilled and overjoyed that he’s now sharing the same cinematic space with his idols.
Later, classic zombies enter into things, but explaining more on that twist spoils the spooky surprise. Night Of The Living Dead is the other public domain shocker employed and the connection to the proceedings is a gloriously gruesome grabber.
Creepshow on Shudder keeps on scaring the living crap out of us. They are regularly gifting hardcore horror and sci-fi fans stories to thrill, share with other fans and savor as one of the best genre programs around period. More than ever today, tech surrounds us and it binds us. As we move ever closer to a real world where virtual reality tech becomes so affordable we’ll all own it and use it regularly, perhaps an authentic Immersopod will be in our dens awaiting us buying a digital ticket to ride on the Horror Express.