It'd be cool if people could give thought to other opinions long enough to even consider they are able to exist.
Rate & Review: Halloween Of Horror
- Thread starter OldSchoolerSimpsons
- Start date
It'd be cool if people could give thought to other opinions long enough to even consider they are able to exist.
Traviud
No, money down!
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2006
- Messages
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Catching up on some of the highlights from the past decade or so (and lowlights, basically all the episodes that stand out one way or the other) and I started with this one because you guys seemed so thrilled with it. I haven't watched a new episode since...The Falcon and the D'ohman? God, it's been a while.
This episode was very, very strong. It felt borderline classic era. Lisa's characterization was vulnerable, Marge showed warmth and care for her children, Homer set himself aside for Lisa. Yes, this right here is the family I know and love. The laughs were there too, albeit mostly smiles. It wasn't the funniest episode I've ever seen, but they put a lot of care into the freeze frame gags. My favorite aspect was the direction; I loved the time lapse in Lisa's locker, as well as some of the scenes inside of the house towards the end.
Less good: the drug jokes, which weren't actively bad but so silly and impossible that they didn't seem like a well to keep returning to. The voice acting was also pretty bad, but I guess that's just part and parcel for the era.
Not quite funny enough to get full marks, but the plot was great and the animation was greater. A well earned 4/5.
This episode was very, very strong. It felt borderline classic era. Lisa's characterization was vulnerable, Marge showed warmth and care for her children, Homer set himself aside for Lisa. Yes, this right here is the family I know and love. The laughs were there too, albeit mostly smiles. It wasn't the funniest episode I've ever seen, but they put a lot of care into the freeze frame gags. My favorite aspect was the direction; I loved the time lapse in Lisa's locker, as well as some of the scenes inside of the house towards the end.
Less good: the drug jokes, which weren't actively bad but so silly and impossible that they didn't seem like a well to keep returning to. The voice acting was also pretty bad, but I guess that's just part and parcel for the era.
Not quite funny enough to get full marks, but the plot was great and the animation was greater. A well earned 4/5.
I know this is old but I have given this episode a closer thought on why it stands out.
This episode is not very humorous but it does look like a lot of attention to detail was put into it.
-When Homer is chasing Lisa back into the house. It goes from third person view to first person shaky camera with screeching violins in the background.
-Then when Homer enters the house the camera pans from one spot to another in search of Lisa, the music jumps around too.
-Earlier in the episode where Lisa is walking around the school and Marge picks her up, again the music there was spot on with some interesting camera angles and jump-cuts.
-The animation of Lisa shivering on the couch looked really detailed and organic.
-The colours are muted and muddy but it does fit with the mood compared to recent episodes which is overall very bright and colourful.
-There is a subtle depth of field effect on some scenes
-Very creative use of shadows and lighting, for example in the scene where Lisa hides in the school locker, only some parts of Lisa's face is visible from the small vent of the locker door, it does make the audience feel small and claustrophobic. They just seem to use shadows a lot in this episode.
-The whole section of Homer wandering around house alone with Lisa uses a lot of interesting camera shots and tense music.
-Background such as the sky, clouds, buildings, house, trashcans, cars etc has a lot of details (lines, colours and lighting) than most episodes, they really wanted this episode to look high budget. It almost look as good as the movie.
-Many, many more details to list out, just cannot think of more out of my mind at the moment.
I believe it was Mike B. Anderson who directed all of this and I am not surprised since his other episodes looked great aesthetically.
I really love the cinematography of this episode, I would advice everyone to rewatch this episode and pay close attention to the camera shots, music and effects. It really reminds of that classic Treehouse of Horror V where they parody The Shinning.
This episode is not very humorous but it does look like a lot of attention to detail was put into it.
-When Homer is chasing Lisa back into the house. It goes from third person view to first person shaky camera with screeching violins in the background.
-Then when Homer enters the house the camera pans from one spot to another in search of Lisa, the music jumps around too.
-Earlier in the episode where Lisa is walking around the school and Marge picks her up, again the music there was spot on with some interesting camera angles and jump-cuts.
-The animation of Lisa shivering on the couch looked really detailed and organic.
-The colours are muted and muddy but it does fit with the mood compared to recent episodes which is overall very bright and colourful.
-There is a subtle depth of field effect on some scenes
-Very creative use of shadows and lighting, for example in the scene where Lisa hides in the school locker, only some parts of Lisa's face is visible from the small vent of the locker door, it does make the audience feel small and claustrophobic. They just seem to use shadows a lot in this episode.
-The whole section of Homer wandering around house alone with Lisa uses a lot of interesting camera shots and tense music.
-Background such as the sky, clouds, buildings, house, trashcans, cars etc has a lot of details (lines, colours and lighting) than most episodes, they really wanted this episode to look high budget. It almost look as good as the movie.
-Many, many more details to list out, just cannot think of more out of my mind at the moment.
I believe it was Mike B. Anderson who directed all of this and I am not surprised since his other episodes looked great aesthetically.
I really love the cinematography of this episode, I would advice everyone to rewatch this episode and pay close attention to the camera shots, music and effects. It really reminds of that classic Treehouse of Horror V where they parody The Shinning.
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Martin_PrinceBR
Pin Pal
Definitely 5/5. Best episode of the season.
Carolyn Omine did a good job.
Carolyn Omine did a good job.
I really liked this episode. I thought it hit almost all the right notes as the 90s Simpsons - which is something I've really missed about the show. I often find the best episodes to be the ones where the plot is firmly rooted in reality and the jokes are actually just a physical exaggeration or witty remarks that flows with the story itself.
I genuinely felt sorry for Lisa in this and we got to see the return of the Homer I really like. In the past, writers have written Homer into the ground as a complete and utter idiot that offers little more then poor comic relief. The writers seem to have forgotten that although Homer isn't that smart, he isn't a complete idiot or a constant clown always needing to make us laugh.
Lisa was in a horrible place and Homer did everything he could to protect her. My one and only real gripe is with the writing when Homer is talking to Lisa in the attic. I really felt they should have had Homer have a heart to heart with Lisa and explained that everyone gets scared including adults and it's fine. What's important is to not let that fear control you in life.
I think, that would have been perfect and better than the quick unfunny joke about "you're smarter than me" we got.
I genuinely felt sorry for Lisa in this and we got to see the return of the Homer I really like. In the past, writers have written Homer into the ground as a complete and utter idiot that offers little more then poor comic relief. The writers seem to have forgotten that although Homer isn't that smart, he isn't a complete idiot or a constant clown always needing to make us laugh.
Lisa was in a horrible place and Homer did everything he could to protect her. My one and only real gripe is with the writing when Homer is talking to Lisa in the attic. I really felt they should have had Homer have a heart to heart with Lisa and explained that everyone gets scared including adults and it's fine. What's important is to not let that fear control you in life.
I think, that would have been perfect and better than the quick unfunny joke about "you're smarter than me" we got.
FormulaMoss
Well what can I say...
This was the best episode from HD era Imo, really loved this episode so cool
tyler
A Burden on Online Simpsons Fandom Since '13
HALLOWEEN OF HORROR
written by: carolyn omine
directed by: mike b. anderson
NOTES:
- first of all, let it be known that i have actually previously seen this one. indeed in that fit of excitement the rare simpsons episode receives these days as being CLASSIC levels i decided to give it a shot. now if i revealed those old opinions here now i feel like that would dilute the entire purpose of working through these episodes piece-by-piece and feel a bit anticlimactic. it doesn't really matter what i thought then, opinions change even if just slightly. so i intend to take part in this like i am every other episode this season, with a clean slate that could be filled with anything. so without further adieu, let's get into it!
- the simpson family home and yard is finely decorated with many little traditional doodads and characters, it's a pretty grand presentation with giant spiders on the walls right down to an axe in the mailbox, it's interesting to see the simpsons do a big display like folks usually would for christmas, but maybe i myself have just never seen a grandiose halloween setup, but the big stand out is the sign labeled EVERSCREAM TERRORS. that's just the sort of schlocky pun that recalls bad horror and even recalls some of the more gleefully cheesy halloween names the show has used over the years. i'm a fan.
- flander's line, "halloween at the simpsons, what a classic tradition" is a fine line that tiptoes around the show's already established familiarity with the holiday in a new context, but the following bit about "crawling up to the treehouse to tell three horrifying tales" is too on-the-nose, perhaps too insistent to exclaim THIS IS DIFFERENT! also homer then say "we're doing it next week.". like i get it, please stop. again, meta stuff to this degree never makes sense on this show.
- this being said homer's fakeout story details are pretty good. i actually wanna see psycho with skinner and agnes. also for all my gripes about the meta stuff, i like homer's dismissive "eh, people love it" response when flanders sounds excited about the tales. i'm not sure why, and i'm not even sure what context this is meant to make sense in within the series. if i overthink it my head my spin so i'm gonna move on.
- i like the notion that this has been an ongoing tradition at the simpsons household, which definitely makes sense given - again - the preoccupation with halloween in the series over many, many years. the simpsons being staunchly dedicated Halloweeners makes sense, as does their dedication building near fanatical levels where they shun those who decide to skip out.
- good line from homer about halloween, "how can you reject a holiday where you can serve candy from a salad bowl?". indeed.
- bart drags out a congealed group of old skeleton props that have been melted by the furnace. do the simpsons have a furnace, have we seen this furnace? i'm actually asking. also being the nitpicker and firm believer in this show's laziness that i am i did in fact return to the opening overheard shot of the house to make sure, and yes, they actually did omit skeletons. giving praise to the show for doing its job seems a bit sad but here's a single clap. *clap*.
- another good bit with marge deciding to buy a costume for SLH, smushing up his face and going, "who wants to be a yoda? you want to be a yoda!", as he looks on with worry. marge would be the type to get too excited and dress the dog. don't do this folks.
- homer sees a place called halloween headquarters, then OFFICIAL halloween headquarters. i don't think i get this joke but there aren't many legitimate halloween stores here so it's possible i'm missing something about the way these places conduct themselves. no idea. i do know this joke is contrived as shit tho, homer turns around for basically no reason, the other store could have had like some way to call attention to him, some noise or something. he just...turns around. as much as it's obviously set up to make the joke play out i could see a halloween store across from a halloween store though.
- wow a plot device rather organically placed into the world with the krustyland billboard above them on the way to the other store. they didn't just STUMBLE onto this by happenstance, it was more a reminder or something our characters already knew and is informing us in a way that generally earns it. these small details used to make all the difference with this series, it is downright Shocking to see them being applied so appropriately these days. another small clap. *clap*.
- lisa...being a kid! clearly this is out-of-character, why isn't she being an obnoxious mouthpiece for the values of the writers who behaves as though she's y'know not a fucking eight year old! no stars!
- SERIOUSLY tho, here's another nice bit of story building that infers more history behind the simpsons halloweens of the past. lisa is finally old enough to go to krustyland, to which bart of course has been and gives his praises (though it's krusty related so of course he would). she imagines the next day when she would Coolly dismiss the event to her friends before getting giddy again. this is about as close to lisa actually being lisa i've seen in ages. it's downright refreshing.
- BULK SKULLS is my favorite sign type gag in awhile, it makes me laugh and i have no idea why. it's just a really good combination of words. the halloween store has quite a few neat little doodads besides BULK SKULLS tho, like the leaping gravestone, big and tall giant costume and soiled ghost. i just appreciated every visual joke onscreen in this s27 episode, this is scary let me be cynical about something!!
- A-BOO is another good cheesy halloween pun thing and perhaps a nod to the halloween names again. i wish they didn't call such heavy attention to it and do the weird marge joke where she claims to like that better. i dunno if that's racist, i think an argument could be made but who would make that argument. the only person who would is me and i'm gonna not so...
- some more good halloween doodads, LAWN SKULL, TALKING PILE OF CUTS, and my favorite that i genuinely never saw until now, the ridiculous SHARK GLOVES. also we are introduced to a-boo's three slovenly workers. they're high on glo-stick juice and silly string. this is a bit more in the vein of the dumb/corny/childish jean era humor, this is what i want less of. jeaner, take note.
- ahaha WEBS, COB. fuck, that's good, why is that so good.
- this whole store is full of the sorts of details you just don't see these days. they aren't all jokes, alot of them just non-detailed generics of familiar costumes and masks and such, but it makes this feel like a real place. this stuff is important, once upon a time the show consistently knew that. i'll take what i can get though.
- see this is the sort of specificity i enjoy from selman's episodes: the notion of Pop Up Workers who act as temporary workers during the holidays and then drift away to another town for the next event. it takes the notion of them just being random dirtbags and gives them some character and context. heck in most episodes this probably woulda just been jimbo and the fellow bullies, something lazy and recycled like that.
- good generic Striped Hamburger Thief and Restaurant Meat Clown costumes, love to have a giggle at the copyright-safe names of halloween costumes in the store. always so clumsy and empty.
- homer gets bamboozled by one of the workers who agrees to let them steal some Mariachi Skeletons under the guise of a deal. homer, being a fucking dipshit, reveals this to a-boo and he consequently kicks them out on their asses. there's then a quick zoom in on a-boo so that the simpsons crew can quickly place some duffelbag props next to him for the next bit. so i guess i'm just supposed to accept that these things materialized outta nowhere, am i meant to accept a lack of logic simply on the grounds that its a Joke? i don't.
- decent back-and-forth between homer and the pop up people with them threatening that he's "gonna be sorry", for homer to not get the threat and claim "he's sorry now". it goes on a bit long and ends with homer's weird line, "you guys don't know me at all", but it was fine.
- we cut to bart and lisa rushing into krustyland with homer not far behind. lisa, comforted that the notion this place would be too scary, eagerly races into the park to have some fun, only to be immediately confronted by a zombie that tears it's face off. gotta say though that's pretty light for me, the inside-out itchy and scratchy in the background is genuinely disturbing, especially the gradually pooling blood around them.
- some good animation in this sequence by the way, like camera wrapping around to behind lisa and raising up after she bumps into the zombie. i don't feel like for ME it's a scary enough reveal but for an eight-year-old yeah. i do like lisa still being lisa though, where her attempt to obscure her fear comes out as a declaration of there being "alot of anatomy there" re: the zombie.
- one really great small touch is when a Chainsaw Man encounters lisa and a bit of blood drips off the chainsaw into her hair. like fuck man, when you're that young and this stuff is already guaranteed traumatizing you, if you thought this was real, then that blood just coming in contact with you...jeez.
- bart claims the current world is too sophisticated so they have to ramp up the gore. this statement is fair and true reflecting upon how horror needs to keep pushing the envelope to be legitimate, but it barely reflects upon the pretty bare-bones traditional goings-on that are taking place at this park. still, this is what makes the most sense for lisa to encounter, a boilerplate Scary experience, so it's a minor issue.
- really great scream from yeardley. about her best voice work in ages by the way, alot of good nuanced giddiness and terror alike, as well as her fittingly childlike whimper when she retreats to homer's arms begging to leave.
- fuckin great (i keep using great and that's insane but it is!) moment where homer is giving a speech to lisa and fucking Cthulu just wanders by. they don't call much attention to it, lisa gives a quick suitable gasp and the speech continues.
- homer's speech itself is pretty good too, he's trying to be a supportive father and make lisa conquer her fears to enjoy this event she was so eager for, all the while tossing in a little aside about the tickets being expensive. it feels like homer, the real homer, a smidge of selfish but ultimately a genuinely good father beneath those tendencies. it does get a little guilt-trippy by the end tho. eh, close enough.
- i appreciate that lisa knows this isn't real but some part of her just can't make peace with that or it somehow isn't enough. the scene of her repeating "this isn't real" as she wanders through a hoard of zombies is quite good visually as this barrage of spooky creatures surrounds her and she tries to find a happy place. oh and then at the end of it she's holding a zombie's hand, which makes no sense. in case you forget this was still the simpsons season 27!
- another bad joke where homer is now holding the hand of moleman and just literally pays so little attention that he calls her lisa while trying to choose from a list of Almost Jokes pretzel toppings. i guess the episode felt that i was praising it too much and wanted to establish some equillibrium.
- lisa being lost due to such a hyperbolic moment of idiocy and neglect on homer's part is a pretty clumsy plot point and definitely docks more points than anything else in the episode so far. still, lisa's plot remains genuine and interesting and this does provide a way for her to tackle her fears.
- lisa tries to find a grownup, only to be Faked out by another prop of the park of a lady with a stroller that reveals a Spooky Demon Baby With A Chainsaw. not a bad cheat. EVEN BETTER though is the ridiculous scene where she runs to park security and begins rambling in terror only for the security guard's chest to burst open and reveal a danged ass Xenomorph. this is quite cruel but the continued fakeouts work in establishing just how difficult it is for lisa to find escape from this seemingly endless nightmare. also the security one is genuinely surprising, at least to me.
- lisa is surrounded by zombies (who need to tone it down jesus), and collapses into hysterics and gibberish. i wonder how this was written on the script? probably [HYSTERICS AND GIBBERISH].
- this scene where they scan lisa for fear and then smack a CRYBABY button that shuts down the whole park is sort of thing i'm genuinely not sure i like or not. i feel like this probably wouldn't be that out of place in a wackier mirkin episode, but i'm not sure. it maybe feels a bit too tied to the main story's progression to be acceptable for how silly it is.
- LOL WHEN THE LIGHTS COME ON THE ZOMBIES ALL BEGIN USING THEIR PHONES MILLENNIALS RIGHT? i probably wont get another shot in this episode so let's get this one out: fuck this show.
- so homer then goes for lisa but was holding moleman's hand the whole time? maybe this was a better place for "fuck this show". even when it's good it can't help but be a little bad.
- nice juxtaposition of bart's costume being a generic pirate getup and lisa's prospective costume being that of frida khalo. the mustache bit is a bit mean tho!
- i like the bit with skinner aiming for overt damage control and safety when fixing bart's costume, but two things: 1. a kid (i wanna say database) walked by in a minecraft costume with a sword and he just let him by! and 2. i wish they could have come up with a funnier joke sash than just PRETEND. surely there's something better than that.
- lisa, naturally traumatized after the events of yesterday, struggles even enduring a walk through the comparatively cutesy decorations of the school hallways, with adorable blue and pink bats with big grins on their faces and black cats that look disney creatures. of course the goofy decorations still remind her of the much worse things she saw by association so their harmlessness doesn't really matter, though the fluffiness of it all is very good. i sure do remember my elementary schools and their G-rated Scares, taking the edge out of everything. it's true to life.
- really good sequence where lisa retreats into a locker and is revealed to have hidden there hyperventilating until marge comes and finds her. i suppose the inference is that nobody knew where she was so they had marge come up there. i like that this episode doesn't feel the need to just TELL me everything and lets me put some pieces together. rare these days.
- good homer line, "i'm the mozart of halloween decorations and tonight is the super bowl!"
- homer being gifted at creating halloween decorations definitely seems a bit random tho, watching him carefully eyeing a glass eye as he paints it strikes me as odd, but i'm not necessarily against it either. i just wonder which part of his personality really reflects that this would be the case. i can believe his dedication and appreciation for halloween but homer working and putting effort in? i'm dubious. still, at least homer is doing something for the sake of the whole family's enjoyment and something that could be deemed believable and not some wackidy schmackidy job of the week.
- some really good shadow work as homer and marge climb the stairs looking for lisa, they grow and congeal together and split away as the move away from the stairs. has alot of character and gives the scene some nice dimension and shade to fit the dramatic moment.
- i could see tailee being considered a strange plot element but the simpsons has always, even in its good days had weird things like this to drive episodes, to be representative of the character arc, to be emotional metaphor objects. it makes sense that lisa would use tailee as an object of comfort due to it deriving from her youthhood (well her Even Youthierhood) and reminding her of those comforting times. it could also operate as a vessel through which one's compulsive emotion can be drained, like a stress ball. it's not really unbelievable that lisa would have an old stuffed animal tail for times when she's frightened with seemingly no answer or outside comfort. i guess some folks think it was a bit abrupt because we never knew of it before and i think the only reason i sorta see that is because this is the sorta thing the show would do ages ago and it is jarring to see it now, i tend to think of the simpsons continuity selectively because something things are just too stupid or inconsistent to accept. welcoming new elements into my HEADCANON is not frequent and comes with consideration. i don't feel like i have a good argument supporting it against those who think it specifically is a strange device because of it's rather abrupt appearance but in my view it does work. not like they could have just acknowledged tailee apropos of nothing. some may say now is too late to do this sorta thing, i say better late than never.
- marge to homer, "breaks my heart that lisa can't deal with her emotions without a crutch". yeah see, i GOT that. you didn't need to explain it. do more not telling everything, you were doing that well. are they afraid that this abruptly introduced object would be off-putting? it was to some anyway so, let those people be confused i say. their loss.
- ah right it was just a setup for a joke about homer's drinking. i guess that could have been a good joke but the delivery was kinda sloppy.
- really nauseating marge line, "lisa has a tummy ache in her courage". like agh tone it back, i can usually still find marge to be written better than most but sometimes they really need to dial it back with the Motherly phrases because it gets really corny.
- big fan of bart being swayed by marge's block party suggestion by an e.t. that he could make swear, typically juvenile. also a fan of marge's highlight of a "dad who's a dj".
- nice scene between homer and lisa. lisa is genuinely sorry she ruined the holiday for them, and homer tries to comfort her and brings out a cutesy kitten puzzle. not entirely sure why lisa is scared of trick-or-treaters, i guess it's a general trigger of the halloween themed trauma, but trick-or-treaters are hardly the spooky Monsters she was freaked out by (though some of them could be dressed as such so it does vary).
- it's the pop up people! they disappeared so long i forgot about them, but not in a way that feels like the episode itself forget them but rather just held them back until the appropriate moment. good use of "scuzzos" by homer. i don't know what "scuzzos" are, but it's a good word.
- lisa is cowering in the kitchen. it's uncertain if she knew who was at the door, i assume she just didn't wanna take the risk of seeing them or them seeing her at all.
- i'm a fan the pop up people singin' CREEPY NURSERY RHYME, LIKE IN EVERY MOVIE. god that trope is so ridiculous and tiring, and it really is in seemingly every bad horror movie. who started that shit, let's harm them!
- by the way clausen is kicking ass this episode, alot of spooky deliberate chimes and eerie string work, simultaneously thunderous and screeching, with some great quick stabs for accentuation.
- PINE [C]HILLS is another good cheesy halloween pun. i guess purposefully bad jokes aren't hard when you write the simpsons in its third decade but hey they work here so
- so marge can't get into the block party but they still have to go through it to turn around, bart witnessing all that coulda been. some weird bits here, like...kangaroo rides? what? but of course we do get e.t. saying Hello, Scrotum, to bart's frustration.
- THIS IS A VERY SMALL THING I NOTICED but when bart is lamenting missing halloween, marge's eyes in the rearview mirror are actually reacting to this with a look of sadness. again, i dont wanna credit this show for doing what its SUPPOSED to do but i swear the characters so often only act when they're obligated or even just when they're the one talking, like their hitting cues, so these little touches are nice to see. it's the little things that made this show. well the little things and the big things. it was all the things, but the little things were bigger than people may give them credit.
- another bad expositional line though by homer, "i can't let lisa know we're being stalked by vengeful, seasonal thugs!". tho "seasonal thugs" is pre good.
- homer decides to whistle a happy tune while locking all the windows and the door, that tune of course being the halloween theme, pre inspired. nice touch with clausen letting some subtle bassy string bubble beneath to simulate the actual halloween theme. also notice how dan just..cannot hit one of those notes clearly. it's hollow every time. he tried!
- the pop up folks' reflections appearing in the last window homer locks as some very metallic noise (what is that, it's cool!) rings out is some good direction. it's creepy and naturally paced and seamlessly works the scene from inside to outside.
- even better than homer whistling the halloween theme is cutting to lisa mimicking, seemingly unaware of its origins and only associating it with homer using it as a happy tune. very cute.
- the reveal of WE'RE IN THE HOUSE STUPID isn't a great joke but dan's horrified muffled scream is really good, viscerally frightened and a bit screechy. even the acting is better in this one, it's crazy.
- some more good heavy shading and wailing strings in the kitchen scene with homer looking for his cellphone. the whole crew really pulled out all the stops here, they musta known they had somethin'.
- joke i don't get when homer is pushing lisa to flanders' house "i wanna finally find out which one is rod and which one is max". is the joke just that he doesn't know todd's name? it's a bit of a limp joke.
- some nice first person visuals as homer chases after lisa. i guess there's a reason mike b. anderson runs this stuff visually these days after all! props to him for this, as well as the litany of animation stooges he commands to do the actual work :^)
- i could watch those visuals of homer and lisa freaking out after the intruders reveal themselves over and over again. some great rabid movement, lisa climbing all over homer and homer pancking too, at one quick visual lisa even holding up homer. see this is absurd but its quick and not really intrinsically story related so thats a good throwaway visual.
- good call placing this within the household. first of all it's quite rare the show's third act isn't somewhere ridiculous that has to do with the characters randomly getting to like..go to the olympics or some shit. they've done that right? i think they have. point is this is like actually about something and not some insane wish fulfillment exercise where a modest family is plunged into inexplicable situations for seemingly no reason than to see homer do something stupid in that new situation.
- ALSO it's a great creepy claustrophobic locale and adds the home invader trope that works very well with taking the place of solace lisa has and removing even that so that she has to inevitably finally face her fears.
- good moment of lisa still trying to assert that this, much like her other traumatic moments, isn't real, only for homer to in fact confirm, with his own firm sense of fear, that this is real.
- daww maggie dressed a money bag. that's cute.
- OH man i forgot about the song! it's definitely crass to say the least, hearing the word "orgy" in the simpsons is quite jarring but i wont pretend this isn't true to life. halloween sure is the excuse for adults to exercise their most irresponsible tendencies and wear absurd sexy costumes and drink like there's no tomorrow, all before returning to inevitable mundanity. drunken hobbits hitting on slutty crayons is like not even that far off! the song itself is fulla energy, a bit energetic honky-tonk piano stomper. also omg is that kent brockman as ziggy stardust. nice. im gonna fap to this scene then get back to you.
- wait.
- waaaaait.
- ......
- OKAY so the intruders are trashing homer and marge's bedroom. the leader declares that eventually they'll have to buy Thanksgiving Decoration, saying they'll be waiting by the Indian Corn. man for a country of excess we sure do very little for Thanksgiving don't we.
- geniunely great sequence where lisa in frustration exclaims that she hates being afraid, leading homer to admit that he's also afraid in this situation, and encourages her not to let fear shut down her brain because, and i love this line, "between the two of us, we've only got one good one". that is such an endearing and self-aware homer line that it doesn't even slightly make sense it was written in s27. still, it very much was, and it's great and very sweet.
- also something worth noting to combat assertions that lisa is ooc, lisa being a child makes her innate fear of general scary images believeable and fear breeds associative anxiety so her reaction has been totally believable. what makes lisa lisa in the end though is that awareness, that intelligent conscious frustration of feeling like this. she isn't just a typical kid who would cower and nothing more. eventually the real lisa emerges from a sea of anxiety, coming up for air just long enough to declare how much she hates the way this makes her feel, hating how fear is crippling her in this moment and knowing she wants it to end. that's a mature way to view fear, fear isn't easy to handle and like homer says it sure can shut down your brain, but knowing you don't wanna feel this way forever is the first step to making change and conquering that which is pushing you down, the first step to pushing back. lisa is totally in-character in this episode, both as the kid she is and the brain beneath.
- wow a seinfeld reference with the decoration box labeled festivus. what would be in that box though! the pole?
- oh hey they actually use the mariachi skeletons as a plot device as they knock them over and they make ffffffuckin Mariachi noises which are the worst thing ever btw and it calls attention to them in the attic. pre good use of them, it's rare these little things make a difference anymore. i didn't even remember it.
- homer trying to light a match and them continuously blowing out, followed by appropriate "d'oh!"s just..man it really does feel like im watchin the simpsons. it's eerie.
- lisa gives tailee to homer to light up. see i assume some people think we're supposed to care about tailee specifically, but it's a good metaphor for lisa abandoning that object of comfort and making conscious moves towards ridding their home of what she fears instead of simply trying to find a happy place, with seemingly no options left of course. it's the end of an era that the show implies instead of needing to show every facet of it. if you like your storytelling spoonfed then watch virtually any other episode of this series from the last 15 or so years. me? i'm gonna take this while i can.
- dahaha chalmers as zardoz. i have nothing else to say but that's just..that's very good.
- homer's plan to wake the town with fireworks to get help seems a bit questionable to me, but i've slept through at lot of fireworks : . just seems like maybe not a guaranteed solution, it's a total gamble that works because the show says go. they probably could have worked this part out better, but hey it brought me chalmers zardoz so fuck it.
- ********************************** "i saw an areola". egg this is like one of the crummiest jokes in the episode fuck u.
- ends with a nice reunion of everyone back at everscream terrors, now reconstructed, lisa in her frida khalo costume, with what i think is the monster mash playing. a nice hug between marge, homer and bart and a quick lenny and carl joke where they're dressed and kang and kodos, which is a good loophole to use them in the episode.
- oh and this weird sequence with maggie finding tailie and caressing it as the halloween theme plays. i'm not sure why this is meant to be Scary but the slow zoom into her pupil is pretty good, until the screen is completely black... and SCENE!
fuck man...what is there to say? this was...*grits teeth, struggles and fidgets*....this was great. this episode is honestly maybe one of the best in a decade of episodes. not everything worked but a remarkable amount did and i wouldn't even say this is Good For HD Era. i don't rate on curves. i don't say good unless i mean it, and i definitely don't say great unless i mean it. i've said all i can say without feeling like i'm gonna begin gushing and rambling forever so i'm just gonna do it. this was, and is - without qualification - a great episode of the simpsons. here's hoping for another one within the next decade.
i give this episode a B+. seeya on TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XXVI!
written by: carolyn omine
directed by: mike b. anderson
NOTES:
- first of all, let it be known that i have actually previously seen this one. indeed in that fit of excitement the rare simpsons episode receives these days as being CLASSIC levels i decided to give it a shot. now if i revealed those old opinions here now i feel like that would dilute the entire purpose of working through these episodes piece-by-piece and feel a bit anticlimactic. it doesn't really matter what i thought then, opinions change even if just slightly. so i intend to take part in this like i am every other episode this season, with a clean slate that could be filled with anything. so without further adieu, let's get into it!
- the simpson family home and yard is finely decorated with many little traditional doodads and characters, it's a pretty grand presentation with giant spiders on the walls right down to an axe in the mailbox, it's interesting to see the simpsons do a big display like folks usually would for christmas, but maybe i myself have just never seen a grandiose halloween setup, but the big stand out is the sign labeled EVERSCREAM TERRORS. that's just the sort of schlocky pun that recalls bad horror and even recalls some of the more gleefully cheesy halloween names the show has used over the years. i'm a fan.
- flander's line, "halloween at the simpsons, what a classic tradition" is a fine line that tiptoes around the show's already established familiarity with the holiday in a new context, but the following bit about "crawling up to the treehouse to tell three horrifying tales" is too on-the-nose, perhaps too insistent to exclaim THIS IS DIFFERENT! also homer then say "we're doing it next week.". like i get it, please stop. again, meta stuff to this degree never makes sense on this show.
- this being said homer's fakeout story details are pretty good. i actually wanna see psycho with skinner and agnes. also for all my gripes about the meta stuff, i like homer's dismissive "eh, people love it" response when flanders sounds excited about the tales. i'm not sure why, and i'm not even sure what context this is meant to make sense in within the series. if i overthink it my head my spin so i'm gonna move on.
- i like the notion that this has been an ongoing tradition at the simpsons household, which definitely makes sense given - again - the preoccupation with halloween in the series over many, many years. the simpsons being staunchly dedicated Halloweeners makes sense, as does their dedication building near fanatical levels where they shun those who decide to skip out.
- good line from homer about halloween, "how can you reject a holiday where you can serve candy from a salad bowl?". indeed.
- bart drags out a congealed group of old skeleton props that have been melted by the furnace. do the simpsons have a furnace, have we seen this furnace? i'm actually asking. also being the nitpicker and firm believer in this show's laziness that i am i did in fact return to the opening overheard shot of the house to make sure, and yes, they actually did omit skeletons. giving praise to the show for doing its job seems a bit sad but here's a single clap. *clap*.
- another good bit with marge deciding to buy a costume for SLH, smushing up his face and going, "who wants to be a yoda? you want to be a yoda!", as he looks on with worry. marge would be the type to get too excited and dress the dog. don't do this folks.
- homer sees a place called halloween headquarters, then OFFICIAL halloween headquarters. i don't think i get this joke but there aren't many legitimate halloween stores here so it's possible i'm missing something about the way these places conduct themselves. no idea. i do know this joke is contrived as shit tho, homer turns around for basically no reason, the other store could have had like some way to call attention to him, some noise or something. he just...turns around. as much as it's obviously set up to make the joke play out i could see a halloween store across from a halloween store though.
- wow a plot device rather organically placed into the world with the krustyland billboard above them on the way to the other store. they didn't just STUMBLE onto this by happenstance, it was more a reminder or something our characters already knew and is informing us in a way that generally earns it. these small details used to make all the difference with this series, it is downright Shocking to see them being applied so appropriately these days. another small clap. *clap*.
- lisa...being a kid! clearly this is out-of-character, why isn't she being an obnoxious mouthpiece for the values of the writers who behaves as though she's y'know not a fucking eight year old! no stars!
- SERIOUSLY tho, here's another nice bit of story building that infers more history behind the simpsons halloweens of the past. lisa is finally old enough to go to krustyland, to which bart of course has been and gives his praises (though it's krusty related so of course he would). she imagines the next day when she would Coolly dismiss the event to her friends before getting giddy again. this is about as close to lisa actually being lisa i've seen in ages. it's downright refreshing.
- BULK SKULLS is my favorite sign type gag in awhile, it makes me laugh and i have no idea why. it's just a really good combination of words. the halloween store has quite a few neat little doodads besides BULK SKULLS tho, like the leaping gravestone, big and tall giant costume and soiled ghost. i just appreciated every visual joke onscreen in this s27 episode, this is scary let me be cynical about something!!
- A-BOO is another good cheesy halloween pun thing and perhaps a nod to the halloween names again. i wish they didn't call such heavy attention to it and do the weird marge joke where she claims to like that better. i dunno if that's racist, i think an argument could be made but who would make that argument. the only person who would is me and i'm gonna not so...
- some more good halloween doodads, LAWN SKULL, TALKING PILE OF CUTS, and my favorite that i genuinely never saw until now, the ridiculous SHARK GLOVES. also we are introduced to a-boo's three slovenly workers. they're high on glo-stick juice and silly string. this is a bit more in the vein of the dumb/corny/childish jean era humor, this is what i want less of. jeaner, take note.
- ahaha WEBS, COB. fuck, that's good, why is that so good.
- this whole store is full of the sorts of details you just don't see these days. they aren't all jokes, alot of them just non-detailed generics of familiar costumes and masks and such, but it makes this feel like a real place. this stuff is important, once upon a time the show consistently knew that. i'll take what i can get though.
- see this is the sort of specificity i enjoy from selman's episodes: the notion of Pop Up Workers who act as temporary workers during the holidays and then drift away to another town for the next event. it takes the notion of them just being random dirtbags and gives them some character and context. heck in most episodes this probably woulda just been jimbo and the fellow bullies, something lazy and recycled like that.
- good generic Striped Hamburger Thief and Restaurant Meat Clown costumes, love to have a giggle at the copyright-safe names of halloween costumes in the store. always so clumsy and empty.
- homer gets bamboozled by one of the workers who agrees to let them steal some Mariachi Skeletons under the guise of a deal. homer, being a fucking dipshit, reveals this to a-boo and he consequently kicks them out on their asses. there's then a quick zoom in on a-boo so that the simpsons crew can quickly place some duffelbag props next to him for the next bit. so i guess i'm just supposed to accept that these things materialized outta nowhere, am i meant to accept a lack of logic simply on the grounds that its a Joke? i don't.
- decent back-and-forth between homer and the pop up people with them threatening that he's "gonna be sorry", for homer to not get the threat and claim "he's sorry now". it goes on a bit long and ends with homer's weird line, "you guys don't know me at all", but it was fine.
- we cut to bart and lisa rushing into krustyland with homer not far behind. lisa, comforted that the notion this place would be too scary, eagerly races into the park to have some fun, only to be immediately confronted by a zombie that tears it's face off. gotta say though that's pretty light for me, the inside-out itchy and scratchy in the background is genuinely disturbing, especially the gradually pooling blood around them.
- some good animation in this sequence by the way, like camera wrapping around to behind lisa and raising up after she bumps into the zombie. i don't feel like for ME it's a scary enough reveal but for an eight-year-old yeah. i do like lisa still being lisa though, where her attempt to obscure her fear comes out as a declaration of there being "alot of anatomy there" re: the zombie.
- one really great small touch is when a Chainsaw Man encounters lisa and a bit of blood drips off the chainsaw into her hair. like fuck man, when you're that young and this stuff is already guaranteed traumatizing you, if you thought this was real, then that blood just coming in contact with you...jeez.
- bart claims the current world is too sophisticated so they have to ramp up the gore. this statement is fair and true reflecting upon how horror needs to keep pushing the envelope to be legitimate, but it barely reflects upon the pretty bare-bones traditional goings-on that are taking place at this park. still, this is what makes the most sense for lisa to encounter, a boilerplate Scary experience, so it's a minor issue.
- really great scream from yeardley. about her best voice work in ages by the way, alot of good nuanced giddiness and terror alike, as well as her fittingly childlike whimper when she retreats to homer's arms begging to leave.
- fuckin great (i keep using great and that's insane but it is!) moment where homer is giving a speech to lisa and fucking Cthulu just wanders by. they don't call much attention to it, lisa gives a quick suitable gasp and the speech continues.
- homer's speech itself is pretty good too, he's trying to be a supportive father and make lisa conquer her fears to enjoy this event she was so eager for, all the while tossing in a little aside about the tickets being expensive. it feels like homer, the real homer, a smidge of selfish but ultimately a genuinely good father beneath those tendencies. it does get a little guilt-trippy by the end tho. eh, close enough.
- i appreciate that lisa knows this isn't real but some part of her just can't make peace with that or it somehow isn't enough. the scene of her repeating "this isn't real" as she wanders through a hoard of zombies is quite good visually as this barrage of spooky creatures surrounds her and she tries to find a happy place. oh and then at the end of it she's holding a zombie's hand, which makes no sense. in case you forget this was still the simpsons season 27!
- another bad joke where homer is now holding the hand of moleman and just literally pays so little attention that he calls her lisa while trying to choose from a list of Almost Jokes pretzel toppings. i guess the episode felt that i was praising it too much and wanted to establish some equillibrium.
- lisa being lost due to such a hyperbolic moment of idiocy and neglect on homer's part is a pretty clumsy plot point and definitely docks more points than anything else in the episode so far. still, lisa's plot remains genuine and interesting and this does provide a way for her to tackle her fears.
- lisa tries to find a grownup, only to be Faked out by another prop of the park of a lady with a stroller that reveals a Spooky Demon Baby With A Chainsaw. not a bad cheat. EVEN BETTER though is the ridiculous scene where she runs to park security and begins rambling in terror only for the security guard's chest to burst open and reveal a danged ass Xenomorph. this is quite cruel but the continued fakeouts work in establishing just how difficult it is for lisa to find escape from this seemingly endless nightmare. also the security one is genuinely surprising, at least to me.
- lisa is surrounded by zombies (who need to tone it down jesus), and collapses into hysterics and gibberish. i wonder how this was written on the script? probably [HYSTERICS AND GIBBERISH].
- this scene where they scan lisa for fear and then smack a CRYBABY button that shuts down the whole park is sort of thing i'm genuinely not sure i like or not. i feel like this probably wouldn't be that out of place in a wackier mirkin episode, but i'm not sure. it maybe feels a bit too tied to the main story's progression to be acceptable for how silly it is.
- LOL WHEN THE LIGHTS COME ON THE ZOMBIES ALL BEGIN USING THEIR PHONES MILLENNIALS RIGHT? i probably wont get another shot in this episode so let's get this one out: fuck this show.
- so homer then goes for lisa but was holding moleman's hand the whole time? maybe this was a better place for "fuck this show". even when it's good it can't help but be a little bad.
- nice juxtaposition of bart's costume being a generic pirate getup and lisa's prospective costume being that of frida khalo. the mustache bit is a bit mean tho!
- i like the bit with skinner aiming for overt damage control and safety when fixing bart's costume, but two things: 1. a kid (i wanna say database) walked by in a minecraft costume with a sword and he just let him by! and 2. i wish they could have come up with a funnier joke sash than just PRETEND. surely there's something better than that.
- lisa, naturally traumatized after the events of yesterday, struggles even enduring a walk through the comparatively cutesy decorations of the school hallways, with adorable blue and pink bats with big grins on their faces and black cats that look disney creatures. of course the goofy decorations still remind her of the much worse things she saw by association so their harmlessness doesn't really matter, though the fluffiness of it all is very good. i sure do remember my elementary schools and their G-rated Scares, taking the edge out of everything. it's true to life.
- really good sequence where lisa retreats into a locker and is revealed to have hidden there hyperventilating until marge comes and finds her. i suppose the inference is that nobody knew where she was so they had marge come up there. i like that this episode doesn't feel the need to just TELL me everything and lets me put some pieces together. rare these days.
- good homer line, "i'm the mozart of halloween decorations and tonight is the super bowl!"
- homer being gifted at creating halloween decorations definitely seems a bit random tho, watching him carefully eyeing a glass eye as he paints it strikes me as odd, but i'm not necessarily against it either. i just wonder which part of his personality really reflects that this would be the case. i can believe his dedication and appreciation for halloween but homer working and putting effort in? i'm dubious. still, at least homer is doing something for the sake of the whole family's enjoyment and something that could be deemed believable and not some wackidy schmackidy job of the week.
- some really good shadow work as homer and marge climb the stairs looking for lisa, they grow and congeal together and split away as the move away from the stairs. has alot of character and gives the scene some nice dimension and shade to fit the dramatic moment.
- i could see tailee being considered a strange plot element but the simpsons has always, even in its good days had weird things like this to drive episodes, to be representative of the character arc, to be emotional metaphor objects. it makes sense that lisa would use tailee as an object of comfort due to it deriving from her youthhood (well her Even Youthierhood) and reminding her of those comforting times. it could also operate as a vessel through which one's compulsive emotion can be drained, like a stress ball. it's not really unbelievable that lisa would have an old stuffed animal tail for times when she's frightened with seemingly no answer or outside comfort. i guess some folks think it was a bit abrupt because we never knew of it before and i think the only reason i sorta see that is because this is the sorta thing the show would do ages ago and it is jarring to see it now, i tend to think of the simpsons continuity selectively because something things are just too stupid or inconsistent to accept. welcoming new elements into my HEADCANON is not frequent and comes with consideration. i don't feel like i have a good argument supporting it against those who think it specifically is a strange device because of it's rather abrupt appearance but in my view it does work. not like they could have just acknowledged tailee apropos of nothing. some may say now is too late to do this sorta thing, i say better late than never.
- marge to homer, "breaks my heart that lisa can't deal with her emotions without a crutch". yeah see, i GOT that. you didn't need to explain it. do more not telling everything, you were doing that well. are they afraid that this abruptly introduced object would be off-putting? it was to some anyway so, let those people be confused i say. their loss.
- ah right it was just a setup for a joke about homer's drinking. i guess that could have been a good joke but the delivery was kinda sloppy.
- really nauseating marge line, "lisa has a tummy ache in her courage". like agh tone it back, i can usually still find marge to be written better than most but sometimes they really need to dial it back with the Motherly phrases because it gets really corny.
- big fan of bart being swayed by marge's block party suggestion by an e.t. that he could make swear, typically juvenile. also a fan of marge's highlight of a "dad who's a dj".
- nice scene between homer and lisa. lisa is genuinely sorry she ruined the holiday for them, and homer tries to comfort her and brings out a cutesy kitten puzzle. not entirely sure why lisa is scared of trick-or-treaters, i guess it's a general trigger of the halloween themed trauma, but trick-or-treaters are hardly the spooky Monsters she was freaked out by (though some of them could be dressed as such so it does vary).
- it's the pop up people! they disappeared so long i forgot about them, but not in a way that feels like the episode itself forget them but rather just held them back until the appropriate moment. good use of "scuzzos" by homer. i don't know what "scuzzos" are, but it's a good word.
- lisa is cowering in the kitchen. it's uncertain if she knew who was at the door, i assume she just didn't wanna take the risk of seeing them or them seeing her at all.
- i'm a fan the pop up people singin' CREEPY NURSERY RHYME, LIKE IN EVERY MOVIE. god that trope is so ridiculous and tiring, and it really is in seemingly every bad horror movie. who started that shit, let's harm them!
- by the way clausen is kicking ass this episode, alot of spooky deliberate chimes and eerie string work, simultaneously thunderous and screeching, with some great quick stabs for accentuation.
- PINE [C]HILLS is another good cheesy halloween pun. i guess purposefully bad jokes aren't hard when you write the simpsons in its third decade but hey they work here so
- so marge can't get into the block party but they still have to go through it to turn around, bart witnessing all that coulda been. some weird bits here, like...kangaroo rides? what? but of course we do get e.t. saying Hello, Scrotum, to bart's frustration.
- THIS IS A VERY SMALL THING I NOTICED but when bart is lamenting missing halloween, marge's eyes in the rearview mirror are actually reacting to this with a look of sadness. again, i dont wanna credit this show for doing what its SUPPOSED to do but i swear the characters so often only act when they're obligated or even just when they're the one talking, like their hitting cues, so these little touches are nice to see. it's the little things that made this show. well the little things and the big things. it was all the things, but the little things were bigger than people may give them credit.
- another bad expositional line though by homer, "i can't let lisa know we're being stalked by vengeful, seasonal thugs!". tho "seasonal thugs" is pre good.
- homer decides to whistle a happy tune while locking all the windows and the door, that tune of course being the halloween theme, pre inspired. nice touch with clausen letting some subtle bassy string bubble beneath to simulate the actual halloween theme. also notice how dan just..cannot hit one of those notes clearly. it's hollow every time. he tried!
- the pop up folks' reflections appearing in the last window homer locks as some very metallic noise (what is that, it's cool!) rings out is some good direction. it's creepy and naturally paced and seamlessly works the scene from inside to outside.
- even better than homer whistling the halloween theme is cutting to lisa mimicking, seemingly unaware of its origins and only associating it with homer using it as a happy tune. very cute.
- the reveal of WE'RE IN THE HOUSE STUPID isn't a great joke but dan's horrified muffled scream is really good, viscerally frightened and a bit screechy. even the acting is better in this one, it's crazy.
- some more good heavy shading and wailing strings in the kitchen scene with homer looking for his cellphone. the whole crew really pulled out all the stops here, they musta known they had somethin'.
- joke i don't get when homer is pushing lisa to flanders' house "i wanna finally find out which one is rod and which one is max". is the joke just that he doesn't know todd's name? it's a bit of a limp joke.
- some nice first person visuals as homer chases after lisa. i guess there's a reason mike b. anderson runs this stuff visually these days after all! props to him for this, as well as the litany of animation stooges he commands to do the actual work :^)
- i could watch those visuals of homer and lisa freaking out after the intruders reveal themselves over and over again. some great rabid movement, lisa climbing all over homer and homer pancking too, at one quick visual lisa even holding up homer. see this is absurd but its quick and not really intrinsically story related so thats a good throwaway visual.
- good call placing this within the household. first of all it's quite rare the show's third act isn't somewhere ridiculous that has to do with the characters randomly getting to like..go to the olympics or some shit. they've done that right? i think they have. point is this is like actually about something and not some insane wish fulfillment exercise where a modest family is plunged into inexplicable situations for seemingly no reason than to see homer do something stupid in that new situation.
- ALSO it's a great creepy claustrophobic locale and adds the home invader trope that works very well with taking the place of solace lisa has and removing even that so that she has to inevitably finally face her fears.
- good moment of lisa still trying to assert that this, much like her other traumatic moments, isn't real, only for homer to in fact confirm, with his own firm sense of fear, that this is real.
- daww maggie dressed a money bag. that's cute.
- OH man i forgot about the song! it's definitely crass to say the least, hearing the word "orgy" in the simpsons is quite jarring but i wont pretend this isn't true to life. halloween sure is the excuse for adults to exercise their most irresponsible tendencies and wear absurd sexy costumes and drink like there's no tomorrow, all before returning to inevitable mundanity. drunken hobbits hitting on slutty crayons is like not even that far off! the song itself is fulla energy, a bit energetic honky-tonk piano stomper. also omg is that kent brockman as ziggy stardust. nice. im gonna fap to this scene then get back to you.
- wait.
- waaaaait.
- ......
- OKAY so the intruders are trashing homer and marge's bedroom. the leader declares that eventually they'll have to buy Thanksgiving Decoration, saying they'll be waiting by the Indian Corn. man for a country of excess we sure do very little for Thanksgiving don't we.
- geniunely great sequence where lisa in frustration exclaims that she hates being afraid, leading homer to admit that he's also afraid in this situation, and encourages her not to let fear shut down her brain because, and i love this line, "between the two of us, we've only got one good one". that is such an endearing and self-aware homer line that it doesn't even slightly make sense it was written in s27. still, it very much was, and it's great and very sweet.
- also something worth noting to combat assertions that lisa is ooc, lisa being a child makes her innate fear of general scary images believeable and fear breeds associative anxiety so her reaction has been totally believable. what makes lisa lisa in the end though is that awareness, that intelligent conscious frustration of feeling like this. she isn't just a typical kid who would cower and nothing more. eventually the real lisa emerges from a sea of anxiety, coming up for air just long enough to declare how much she hates the way this makes her feel, hating how fear is crippling her in this moment and knowing she wants it to end. that's a mature way to view fear, fear isn't easy to handle and like homer says it sure can shut down your brain, but knowing you don't wanna feel this way forever is the first step to making change and conquering that which is pushing you down, the first step to pushing back. lisa is totally in-character in this episode, both as the kid she is and the brain beneath.
- wow a seinfeld reference with the decoration box labeled festivus. what would be in that box though! the pole?
- oh hey they actually use the mariachi skeletons as a plot device as they knock them over and they make ffffffuckin Mariachi noises which are the worst thing ever btw and it calls attention to them in the attic. pre good use of them, it's rare these little things make a difference anymore. i didn't even remember it.
- homer trying to light a match and them continuously blowing out, followed by appropriate "d'oh!"s just..man it really does feel like im watchin the simpsons. it's eerie.
- lisa gives tailee to homer to light up. see i assume some people think we're supposed to care about tailee specifically, but it's a good metaphor for lisa abandoning that object of comfort and making conscious moves towards ridding their home of what she fears instead of simply trying to find a happy place, with seemingly no options left of course. it's the end of an era that the show implies instead of needing to show every facet of it. if you like your storytelling spoonfed then watch virtually any other episode of this series from the last 15 or so years. me? i'm gonna take this while i can.
- dahaha chalmers as zardoz. i have nothing else to say but that's just..that's very good.
- homer's plan to wake the town with fireworks to get help seems a bit questionable to me, but i've slept through at lot of fireworks : . just seems like maybe not a guaranteed solution, it's a total gamble that works because the show says go. they probably could have worked this part out better, but hey it brought me chalmers zardoz so fuck it.
- ********************************** "i saw an areola". egg this is like one of the crummiest jokes in the episode fuck u.
- ends with a nice reunion of everyone back at everscream terrors, now reconstructed, lisa in her frida khalo costume, with what i think is the monster mash playing. a nice hug between marge, homer and bart and a quick lenny and carl joke where they're dressed and kang and kodos, which is a good loophole to use them in the episode.
- oh and this weird sequence with maggie finding tailie and caressing it as the halloween theme plays. i'm not sure why this is meant to be Scary but the slow zoom into her pupil is pretty good, until the screen is completely black... and SCENE!
fuck man...what is there to say? this was...*grits teeth, struggles and fidgets*....this was great. this episode is honestly maybe one of the best in a decade of episodes. not everything worked but a remarkable amount did and i wouldn't even say this is Good For HD Era. i don't rate on curves. i don't say good unless i mean it, and i definitely don't say great unless i mean it. i've said all i can say without feeling like i'm gonna begin gushing and rambling forever so i'm just gonna do it. this was, and is - without qualification - a great episode of the simpsons. here's hoping for another one within the next decade.
i give this episode a B+. seeya on TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XXVI!
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Egg
insert usertitle here
I give this review a 10/10!
FormulaMoss
Well what can I say...
I love how you classed it all as just Notes when it's like an essay XD
orangemo
Stonecutter
This is one of the show's most wholesome and relatable episodes. It also helps that Carolyn Omine was the lead writer in this episode. It was funny, more grounded in realism, and even really sweet. I could dive more into it, but I'd have to give it another watch. 5/5
Taking all things in doubt, excluding THOH XXXI, this is the best halloween special in the HD era, and one of my 2 favorites of Season 27. It was enjoyable all the way, and for that, I give it a 5/5.
angeldeb82
Stonecutter
Why are you bumping up threads that are over many years old, especially five years old?
Speaking of that, I know it's five years late, but here's Phil's review of the episode:
I just want to give my reviews on animation episodes.
OldSchoolerSimpsons
Livin' Like Larry David
Oh for Christ's sake, who cares? Let Trab bump the review threads if he wants to, the episodes can always continue to be discussed.
Anyway, the poll incorrectly citing Halloween as being from 1979 when it's '78 is bugging me.
Anyway, the poll incorrectly citing Halloween as being from 1979 when it's '78 is bugging me.
The Abominable Dr. Lenny
Stonecutter
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2020
- Messages
- 2,140
Yeah, since when has there been a deadline for when episodes can be discussed? Also hasn't [MENTION=72717]angeldeb82[/MENTION] been bumping these threads with Phil Payton reviews from years ago? Very hypocritical if you ask me.
Sigh, I've been giving my reviews on episodes in Animated Discussion in 1 or 2 year old threads (bar a 13 year old South Park review bump) and that there are no time limits on rating a episode.
Well it took three years but I finally got around to watching this episode and I found it pretty delightful. It manages to wrangle an interesting premise out of Halloween which is not easy when you consider literally every tv show has tackled it, it has a strong story and many of the jokes land, and I like that the kids got to act like kids. The first few minutes are kinda dire joke-wise (the obligatory meta joke about Treehouse of Horror was a groaner, and the stuff about pop-up scum is just kinda…there) and I feared I'd been hoodwinked by board hype once again but from "I'm sorry now!" onward it's pretty solid. The Krustyland gags got some big laughs from me and the "NC-17 Halloween" song was enjoyable (somehow I didn't realize until luann showed up that the tapped out halloween thing from 2015 was a tie-in to this episode). The pop-up people could've had more personality but I like that their threat felt genuinely menacing.
There are some great angles and flourishes throughout the episode: the decals at school, when Homer and Marge enter Lisa's room, Marge's eyes in the rear-view mirror, the first person POV of Homer running after Lisa. Kudos to Mike B. Anderson and the animation team.
I can't say Homer being super into Halloween decorations didn't irk me a bit; I like that the show is flexible enough where characters can morph into whatever is necessary for the story (I really enjoy his casual cruelty in Lisa on Ice) but one of the first scenes of the first episode establishes how awful he is at it so it just feels just a little weird, like the garfield strip where he says he loves mondays. I guess Homer's just this goofy gen x dad who loves decorating and playing with Lego bricks now *shrugs*
I haven't watched the show regularly in a decade so I dunno if it truly deserves its status as "best of the HD era" or whatever but I definitely understand the hype. However I can't shake the feeling that if it was an episode of Bob's Burgers it would just be considered pretty good and then quickly forgotten
There are some great angles and flourishes throughout the episode: the decals at school, when Homer and Marge enter Lisa's room, Marge's eyes in the rear-view mirror, the first person POV of Homer running after Lisa. Kudos to Mike B. Anderson and the animation team.
I can't say Homer being super into Halloween decorations didn't irk me a bit; I like that the show is flexible enough where characters can morph into whatever is necessary for the story (I really enjoy his casual cruelty in Lisa on Ice) but one of the first scenes of the first episode establishes how awful he is at it so it just feels just a little weird, like the garfield strip where he says he loves mondays. I guess Homer's just this goofy gen x dad who loves decorating and playing with Lego bricks now *shrugs*
I haven't watched the show regularly in a decade so I dunno if it truly deserves its status as "best of the HD era" or whatever but I definitely understand the hype. However I can't shake the feeling that if it was an episode of Bob's Burgers it would just be considered pretty good and then quickly forgotten
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ManuelMaiden95
Pin Pal
I still don't get the hype about this episode. It's interesting and there are some good moments but I don't even think it's the best in the HD era let alone being a borderline classic as some people have said.
All the sequence when Homer is buying fireworks at the Kwik E Mart is so painfully cringy and unfunny.
I like the Krustyland part and that Lisa acts as a real kid for once.
The rest of the episode is decent but not great.
All the sequence when Homer is buying fireworks at the Kwik E Mart is so painfully cringy and unfunny.
I like the Krustyland part and that Lisa acts as a real kid for once.
The rest of the episode is decent but not great.
little_miss_springfield
Junior Camper
A good post-classic episode. Good characterization and humor and an engrossing storyline. Everyone is true to their character traits without going overboard. I find Lisa very sympathetic, she's in a hurry to grow up and prove how mature she is and gets in over her head. Very realistic for a kid her age. There's real tension when the thugs are menacing Homer and Lisa in the house. I like how Homer's a competent and caring father, admitting he's scared and comforting Lisa when they're trapped in the attic and not falling apart. I'm a sucker for Homer/Lisa bonding and I like them working together to save themselves, with Lisa staying true to character and using her brain.
There's also a good Marge/Bart moment when she supports him telling ET his name is a swear.
There's also a good Marge/Bart moment when she supports him telling ET his name is a swear.
Wonderful Duff
Junior Camper
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2021
- Messages
- 128
I think the first act is very strong, but I don't think the rest of the episode was nearly as good due to a lack of jokes.
My two biggest complaints: 1) I didn't like the "pop-up" employee characters. They just weren't funny. 2) I didn't really dig the musical number.
Here's an idea:
I know Sideshow Bob episodes have been run into the ground, but I'd rather have seen an A plot about Bob menacing Bart and Lisa and a B plot with Homer and Marge attending a sexy Halloween party. Keep the act 1 basically the same with Lisa becoming a scaredy cat. Begin act 2 with Marge and Homer leaving to attend a Halloween party. Bart torments Lisa as usual. Suddenly the phone rings - it's Bob! Sprinkle in some humorous scenes of Homer and Marge at the freaky grown-up Halloween party. Act 3 is Bart and Lisa being terrorized by Bob via telephone while the pop-up guys carry out some stereotypical Halloween pranks outside their house (ringing doorbells, egging, etc ). Bart and Lisa assume it's Bob outside their house. End the episode the same way as before - Bart and Lisa burn Tailee, set off fireworks, and draw the attention of the "sexy drunks" who come to their rescue. The pop-up bad guys get busted - but Bob can't be found. The last scene is Kelsey Grammer sitting in Moe's bar. The real Kelsey, not Bob. This was all a prank by Moe to get revenge on Bart for all of his prank calls over the years.
p.s. anybody notice Ned's costume as Jonah and the whale?
My two biggest complaints: 1) I didn't like the "pop-up" employee characters. They just weren't funny. 2) I didn't really dig the musical number.
Here's an idea:
I know Sideshow Bob episodes have been run into the ground, but I'd rather have seen an A plot about Bob menacing Bart and Lisa and a B plot with Homer and Marge attending a sexy Halloween party. Keep the act 1 basically the same with Lisa becoming a scaredy cat. Begin act 2 with Marge and Homer leaving to attend a Halloween party. Bart torments Lisa as usual. Suddenly the phone rings - it's Bob! Sprinkle in some humorous scenes of Homer and Marge at the freaky grown-up Halloween party. Act 3 is Bart and Lisa being terrorized by Bob via telephone while the pop-up guys carry out some stereotypical Halloween pranks outside their house (ringing doorbells, egging, etc ). Bart and Lisa assume it's Bob outside their house. End the episode the same way as before - Bart and Lisa burn Tailee, set off fireworks, and draw the attention of the "sexy drunks" who come to their rescue. The pop-up bad guys get busted - but Bob can't be found. The last scene is Kelsey Grammer sitting in Moe's bar. The real Kelsey, not Bob. This was all a prank by Moe to get revenge on Bart for all of his prank calls over the years.
p.s. anybody notice Ned's costume as Jonah and the whale?
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StarfishHair
Junior Camper
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2020
- Messages
- 227
In my opinion this is the best episode of the HD era and one of the very best episodes of the entire post classic era. Lisa is very well characterised and the Homer Lisa bond is sweet, the Bart Marge plot is great too. 4.5/5 rounded up to 5/5
The episode became really iconic classic, what sounds impossible for HD times.
A portrait of Lisa as "just a helpless kid" was so needed after years of "Lisa the genius" characterization. (Thanks God, in further Lisa the kid appears more often)
Carolyn Online's ability to give emotional, family story and just a masterpiece of Mike Anderson (the latest effort do far) perfectly fit each to other.
Some moments made me cry: either of empathy
or from comedy (almost every joke was a gem, to said
).
NC-17 song is hilarious, but not down-to-earth, being honest.
plot 21/25
absurdity level (the possibility of what is happening) 22/25
comedy 23/25
originality (level of references and unoriginality) 23/25
TOTAL 89/100 (5/5, up from 4.5, with rounding or A-). VERY GOOD!
A portrait of Lisa as "just a helpless kid" was so needed after years of "Lisa the genius" characterization. (Thanks God, in further Lisa the kid appears more often)
Carolyn Online's ability to give emotional, family story and just a masterpiece of Mike Anderson (the latest effort do far) perfectly fit each to other.
Some moments made me cry: either of empathy
or from comedy (almost every joke was a gem, to said).NC-17 song is hilarious, but not down-to-earth, being honest.
plot 21/25
absurdity level (the possibility of what is happening) 22/25
comedy 23/25
originality (level of references and unoriginality) 23/25
TOTAL 89/100 (5/5, up from 4.5, with rounding or A-). VERY GOOD!
Marioburgercream
French One.
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2019
- Messages
- 2,417
The Bart and Marge plot was good, especially when you know Halloween is not always for children. The other plot was curious.
