“Creepshow” Season 4 Episode 4 Review – A Little Less Horror, A Little More Tragedy

Matthew Nelson-Mahood as Alex and Karis Cameron as Anna in “Meet the Belaskos” – Photo Credit: Michael Courtney/Shudder

This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

This week’s episode of Creepshow turns away from out-and-out horror, for a moment, and focuses instead on tragedy. The first story offers a Romeo and Juliet retelling with a vampiric twist while the second story uses an old video game to explore a father and son’s fractured relationship. Both stories immensely succeed at what they’re going for, marrying karmic justice with emotional truth. It’s not the scariest episode of Creepshow, not by a long shot. But it just might be one of the most emotionally satisfying ones in recent memory.

“Meet the Belaskos”

Written and directed by John Esposito, “Meet the Belaskos” delivers a revamp of Romeo and Juliet with a vampire twist. In search of new beginnings, the Belaskos move to the small town of Mapleton. The catch? They’re a family of vampires, and their next-door neighbor, Doug (Donavon Stinson), is about as vampire-hating as they come. Things only get more complicated when the Belaskos’ daughter, Anna (Karis Cameron), falls for Doug’s son, Alex (Matthew Nelson-Mahood). Can Anna and Alex’s love overcome their families’ animosity? Or is their love destined for a Romeo and Juliet-style tragedy? For a Creepshow story, “Meet the Balaskos” is surprisingly tame. It hews much closer to a romantic tragedy than an out-and-out horror story. But the results are stunning.

This is one of those stories where it’s easy to tell exactly where the plot’s going. But instead of hampering the story’s success, the predictability only adds to it. Here, Esposito repurposes the classic Romeo and Juliet story into a tale about persecution, oppression, and the power of love. And he hinges it around two immensely sweet performances from Karis Cameron and Matthew Nelson-Mahood. The pair sell Anna and Alex’s love perfectly – all of the angst and tenderness that goes with it. And their sweetness makes for a nice bright side in the middle of what’s an otherwise dark and depressing story. Stinson gives Doug a threatening bite; starkly realistic and horrifyingly common. And the gore proves quite effective, though sparingly used.

Overall, “Meet the Belascos” tells a very sweet, deeply horrific tale of doomed love. It’s the kind of Creepshow story that’s sure to stick with you long after the credits roll – even if it’s not the scariest.

“Cheat Code”

Written by Claire Carré and Charles Spano and directed by Justin Dyck, “Cheat Code” explores a fractured father/son relationship through the lens of a cursed video game. When Jeff (Lochlyn Munro) finds an old video game in his attic, he uses it to reconnect with his son, Dave (Connor Wong). But it turns out there might have been a reason why that old game was left to the sands of time. When Dave finds himself sucked into the world of the game, he must find a way to team up with his dad and defeat the unwinnable game before it’s too late. With “Cheat Code”, Carré and Spano deliver a story that’s equal parts absurd sci-fi romp and emotionally grounded character drama. Like the previous story, “Cheat Code” finds great success in mining its characters’ emotions and using that emotional drama to heighten the horror.

Everyone knows that TV episodes about video games are usually questionable at best, filled with outdated cliches and enough cheese to turn off a rat. But somehow, Carré and Spano manage to use those tropes to their advantage, luxuriating in the story’s inherent cheese but never getting swallowed by it. It certainly helps that Wong and Munro deliver the kind of performance that easily grounds such over-the-top material. Munro, especially, acts as the story’s emotional centerpiece. It’s Jeff’s loneliness that pushes Dave away; Jeff’s loneliness that makes him unearth the game in the first place. And, ultimately, it’s Jeff’s responsibility to do what’s best for his son.

While “Cheat Code” isn’t without its horrific moments, everyone’s going to be talking about its emotional core. It’s another one of those stories that’s destined to stick with you long after the credits roll, and a perfect example of how varied Creepshow‘s storytelling can be.

Final Thoughts

This week’s episode of Creepshow might just be the best of the season so far. A feat made all the more impressive given how unlike traditional Creepshow episodes it is. This week’s stories eschew out-and-out horror in favor of telling more emotionally-driven tragic tales. “Meet the Balaskos” offers a new take on a familiar story, filled with vampire gore, teenage angst, and a surprisingly tender emotional center. Meanwhile, “Cheat Code” explores a fractured father/son relationship through the lens of a cursed video game. Both stories wear their campier, more absurd tendencies on their sleeves. But neither shy away from their meatier emotional cores. Neither story seems destined to make anyone’s list of the scariest Creepshow episodes, but both easily rank among the most emotionally satisfying.

Season four of Creepshow is available now on Shudder and AMC+. New episodes air on Fridays at 10 p.m. on AMC.