OMG Horror.com

Episode #8 of Fear Itself is entitled 'Skin and Bones,' directed by Larry Fessenden (Habit, Wendigo). In terms of setting and tone, the episode somewhat mirrors FI's inaugural entry 'Sacrifice,' but pares down all the superfluity that bogged that first storyline into utter ridicule. Here, Fessenden keeps it simple enough, the first half of his show effectively boiled down to the most basic of fears; the malicious corruption of your own family. He kicks off with a bang. Yet aside from Fessenden's inability or unwillingness to forge new ground, it's too bad the acting and plotlines become laughably far-fetched in the second portion, demoting the quality of the episode from potential greatness to slightly above average, at best.

Winter. We're deep in the snow blustered mountains, at a cattle farm. We meet two boys, Derek (Brett Dier) and his brother Tim (Cole Heppel) fixing to find some help via horseback. Derek, the elder, has reservations regarding the orders given by Rowdy, their uncle. So why are they seeking help? It's for their missing father Grady (Doug Jones), who's been lost in the stormy hills for over a week. As the two boys get set to head out, Grady mysteriously stumbles up to the farm looking torn and tattered. He's not the same man. We cut to the TITLE CARD.

Back from commercial, we meet Grady's wife Ellen (Molly Hagen), and a local doctor who exhorts that her husband is feebly malnourished, claiming he's 'hungry.' Some back and forth banter between Derek and Rowdy illustrates just how protective the boy is over his mother. This is coupled by oddly placed clues that suggest that Rowdy, not Grady, is the actual father of the two boys (I suppose a track of justification laid out to soften the climax). It isn't until we see Grady in full that the episode begins to show a bit of teeth.

Grady is tucked under his bed-covers; his face wan and eerily gaunt. He's like a skeletal cross between the Crypt Keeper and the putrescent Sloth victim from Se7en; his neck scrawny and varicose. I must say, the first few minutes we encounter Grady is pretty rattling. He's literally 'skin and bones.' When Ellen tries to feed him, he slithers out a blistered black tongue and grazes her underarm, muttering 'tastes good.' Has the sickness rendered in Grady a penchant for human flesh?

We meet Eddie Bear, a native who lives on the reservation across the way. He agrees to vet Grady's condition, confessing he has a past with such. He explicates to Ellen and Rowdy the existence of 'wendigos', evil and maddening forces that prey on the weakness of famished souls. It happened to his uncle, in the same mountains he promises. Eddie's scenes are reminiscent of the shamanistic neighbor in Poltergeist II, right down to the pony tail. It was then I realized who Grady actually resembles; the reverend Kane from that same flick. Seriously, the same decaying jaw-line, the voice, the menace; and when Grady utters an exact line that reverend Kane did ('LET-ME-IN'), it struck me as more than coincidence. This conjures a bit of nostalgic terror for me personally, that scene where Kane walks up to Carol Anne while singing in the rain is fuc*in' mesmerizing.

Grady goes ballistic, of course. He thrashes around the farm; his frost-bitten finger-tips blackened hard like crows talons. He drools in hunger, looking for all he can to eat. He kills a family member (nope, I won't say which), has Ellen chop the body up with a meat cleaver and boil it down to a stew, onions and all. We see her swipe raw meat off a cutting board into a pot of human flesh; pretty gnarly. Then he tries to force Ellen to share the meal. It's ultimately up to the remaining family, since they're so isolated, to stop the cannibalistic creature that was once their beloved patriarch. A subtler twist is employed at the end of this episode, aurally as important as visually - yet none lighter than the rest.

Check out the exclusive cast and crew interview below:

The most impressive thing about 'Skin and Bones' is the simplistic set-up and the early work of Doug Jones (Silver Surfer himself) as Grady. The make up work and low-key acting in the first half of the episode is pretty chilling, TV or no. The straight forward set-up keeps a focus on the terror, never inundating a viewer with lame expository jargon (save for Eddie Bear's monologue) or convoluted plotlines. But by the end of the episode, Grady seems to be overexposed to the point where he resembles a hammy Jim Carrey as the Grinch met with the dilapidated mien of Gollum. Really, it gets quite silly - sullying any legit fright factor that preceded it.

With a faint parallel to flicks like Ravenous or Fallen, Fessenden really goes back to the well of his 2001 film Wendigo. I guess he felt too few people saw that one, so it was good enough story to at least partially recycle. No qualms here though, especially since none of it is all that original in the first place. But I enjoyed the first half of 'Skin and Bones', unfortunately like most Fear Itself entries, the show loses steam with a rash of horror platitudes and unconvincing character motivations. That being said, 'Skin and Bones' is still probably in the upper-half of Fear Itself episodes thus far, whatever that's worth.

Terror Rating: 3 out of 5
Originality: 2 out of 5
Level of Gore: 2.5 out of 5
Overall Rating: 2.75 out of 5

Fear Itself airs Thursday @ 10:00 P.M. and can be re-watched @ nbc.com

• << prev
• next >>