Michael Gornick (the director of photography of such 70s horror classics as "Dawn of the Dead", "Martin", and 80s films like "Creepshow" and "Knightriders") got an opportunity to direct an episode of Tales from the Darkside with a Romero teleplay about a circus that travels to villages and small towns, avoiding big cities, soon to be intruded upon by a cynical, irascible, antagonistic news reporter seemingly "exposing charlatans" as a hobby to settle his nerves from all the rottenness of the world he often is paid to write about. The showman of the circus, Dr. Nis (William Hickey), offers the reporter, Bragg (Kevin O'Connor), a free private show of his performers to this miser..who is always purposely seeking to destroy reputations and obliterate establishments wanting to offer the public customers a service of entertainment they might not usually get at arcades or the mall. What the reporter doesn't anticipate is that the performers for Nis' circus are all too *real*.
You get a vampire (some great makeup work), reanimated corpse akin to Frankenstein's Monster (the poor shambling wreck's head falls off accidentally!), a corpse barely able to move quite similar to a bandaged mummy, and a filthy, animalistic man Nis claims to be a werewolf. Sadly, while the first three monsters get some close-ups, the werewolf is only shown at a distance. However, Hickey is so much fun to watch as the showman that this can be forgiven. The script gives Bragg's reporter a writer's vocabulary, but he likes to openly consider himself a weapon who uses his newspaper to harm, while Hickey has that knowing smile that hides a possible sinister intent. I think what the direction of this tale does is imply that all will not end well for Bragg. He's an incorrigible sort that doesn't exactly ingratiate himself with the viewer, and Hickey's showman gladly offers his vampire on display to encourage his disdain (the children! What about the children???), and the scary guard dogs (one of which eats a rodent!) certainly shake the reporter a bit. The twist with the Frankenstein Monster's "replacement head" is fitting. Good start to the third season. Hickey fans shouldn't be disappointed. The lamb feeding for the vampire which disgusts Bragg is a highlight. Hickey's way of disavowing Bragg's concern about the public being threatened by his monsters is cleverly written, acted, and presented. There's always a nice effort to give Hickey an enigmatic mystery about him. Is he a danger or just a showman to those who visit his circus? For horror/makeup artist buffs, Ed French was involved in the makeup work and played the vampire!
You get a vampire (some great makeup work), reanimated corpse akin to Frankenstein's Monster (the poor shambling wreck's head falls off accidentally!), a corpse barely able to move quite similar to a bandaged mummy, and a filthy, animalistic man Nis claims to be a werewolf. Sadly, while the first three monsters get some close-ups, the werewolf is only shown at a distance. However, Hickey is so much fun to watch as the showman that this can be forgiven. The script gives Bragg's reporter a writer's vocabulary, but he likes to openly consider himself a weapon who uses his newspaper to harm, while Hickey has that knowing smile that hides a possible sinister intent. I think what the direction of this tale does is imply that all will not end well for Bragg. He's an incorrigible sort that doesn't exactly ingratiate himself with the viewer, and Hickey's showman gladly offers his vampire on display to encourage his disdain (the children! What about the children???), and the scary guard dogs (one of which eats a rodent!) certainly shake the reporter a bit. The twist with the Frankenstein Monster's "replacement head" is fitting. Good start to the third season. Hickey fans shouldn't be disappointed. The lamb feeding for the vampire which disgusts Bragg is a highlight. Hickey's way of disavowing Bragg's concern about the public being threatened by his monsters is cleverly written, acted, and presented. There's always a nice effort to give Hickey an enigmatic mystery about him. Is he a danger or just a showman to those who visit his circus? For horror/makeup artist buffs, Ed French was involved in the makeup work and played the vampire!
