HMTL Recap and Review -Swamp Thing: S1E4 – “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
It’s been a few weeks since the last recap, but the show has marched on. I am going to continue to recap the series, but the revelation of cancellation just strips out a real sense of urgency. We have some other things in development here at Haunted MTL as well that have served to… distract. So, let me apologize about the lateness of this recap/review. We’re going to continue the project. The show is still great, which makes writing this series of posts kind of tough.
The Story So Far
This was a fairly low-key episode with a relatively undercooked bit of swamp evil and a plot of place-setting. That being said, the show is still fantastic.
Abby and Alec Working Together
The major narrative of the episode revolves around establishing the nature of Abby and Alec’s relationship given his new form. Abby is very much interested in doing everything she can to aid Alec in understanding his swampy fate. Alec, localized in the swamp, pursues the mysteries of the waters around Marais. The two essentially represent two different worlds and must work across their respective regions to solve the problems that bleed between them.
Unfortunately, this week, the threat feels a little underdeveloped.
Two men enter the swamp to cut down some trees that haven’t been picked over by local logging companies. The trees, enhanced by the pollutants, fight back, dropping a mummified corpse that was lost in the swamp on the men, scratching one of them.
The scratch causes hallucinations of one’s deepest nightmares, driving one of the men, a dishwasher at Delroy’s to kill himself when he hallucinates his arm under attack by a snake. He ends up stabbing himself in the arm repeatedly, and then for good measure jams his arm into the garbage disposal. During the struggle, Delroy, the owner of the bar gets scratched. Thus begins a low-key infection plot culminating with Abby herself getting infected.
Later, an infected and hallucinating Abby finds herself in Alec’s arms as he draws the evil from her and puts in back in the mummy. The mummy being the remains of a person who was infected by this evil and fled to the swamp to make sure it could harm no others. It wasn’t until Alec Holland arrived in the swamp when that could finally, truly happen.
The plot was fairly predictable, but it did a great deal of work to establish the what should be the standard, working relationship of Abby and Alec; a relationship that should be effective and entertaining.
Sunderland’s Schemes
It is not surprising that Avery Sunderland has a dark and tragic past. The episode opens with him destroying the remains of poor old Gordon and remembering an incident in his past where his most-likely abusive father berated him for being unable to kill a gator. The scene doesn’t really tell us anything we couldn’t have already assumed about Avery, but it should, hopefully, lay groundwork for a more significant revelation in the future.
The major thrust of the Sunderland subplot revolves around Avery’s manipulative nature; both toward the town and Maria as well. Avery still needs the dose of funding to keep Woodrue on the case regarding the biological properties of the swamp. While inviting survivors of “the green flu” to a crawfish boil, he spies Maria’s attention toward the young Susie.
Throughout the episode we see Avery manipulate everyone around him to try to get the young Susie into a position where he can bring her into the Sunderland home, to give Maria a new child to care for. Not necessarily out of the goodness of his own heart, however. After all, “the green flu” may be gone, but who knows what after effects might pop up. If only there was funding to keep Woodrue on the job…
Of course, he doesn’t know about the ghost of Shawna lurking around Maria… might there be a possession in the future?
Daniel and Xanadu and the Incoming Darkness
The cryptic teasing of Daniel Cassidy’s history and reason for being stuck in Marais moves at a snail’s pace this week. All we really learn is that he made a deal that forced him to stay in town. For comic fans already familiar with Cassidy, the implication is pretty clear, but for the average viewer, it is just more cryptic teasing. We do get a moment of heroism from Daniel when he helps disarm sheriff Cable that belies the nature of his potential future, however.
Meanwhile, Madame Xanadu is concerned her powers may be waning. She has hinted at the spreading darkness from the swamp, just as Alec has begun to sense if through the plant life in the area. Perhaps a trip to the source of the darkness on Xanadu’s part is what will bring these character together.
What Stood Out?
The scene with the stabbing of the arm and the garbage disposal was fantastic and keeps up that body-horror component of the show that has worked out so well so far. It’s been great that every episode has at least one incredibly gory or gross-out moment.
Also, kudos to the show for including the Swamp Thing in a daylight sequence, allowing us to see the details of the prosthetics and makeup. The work holds up incredibly well and, hopefully, means we’ll get some great, brighter lit scenes with the effects and outfit before the end of the series.
The Final Verdict on Swamp Thing
This episode is very much a place-setting episode, moving pieces around for a larger payoff. Thankfully, it was still very entertaining and keeps up the visual excellence that has been the hallmark of the show so far.
(3.5 / 5)
Deep Roots
Comic connections are initially a little sparse this week. No real new introductions to characters are made, so there is nobody new to introduce from the comics. That being said, there is an exception regarding Abby’s hallucination. We see her confronted by a faceless man who talks about her mother as he threatens and berates Abby. She’s had nightmares about this man since childhood. This man is potentially Grigori Arcane, her father, also known as the Patchwork Man. As for his being faceless? Well, we all process trauma differently… though he could also, literally have been faceless. We’ll see if we encounter Abby’s uncle Anton later.
We’ve reached the final episode of American Horror Stories, season three. After the ups and downs of the season, I didn’t know what to expect. I felt that we were due a big finish, Killer Queens. But I feared we were in for a big letdown.
As it turns out, The Thing Under The Bed was neither.
The story
We begin our story with a little girl named Mary, who is scared of something under her bed. She sneaks out of her room, only to be caught by her father and sent back to sleep. And of course, there is something horrible waiting for her under her bed.
This scene cuts away to a woman named Jillian. She has strange dreams, including one about Mary. But her husband, Mark, doesn’t want to hear about it. He’s only interested in a little lovemaking because he wants a baby. Jillian doesn’t, which makes total sense because she’s already married to one. But her irritation with her childish husband goes away when he goes away. And by goes away, I mean he’s sloppily devoured by something vicious under their bed.
What worked
In short, this episode just worked. The acting was professional and believable. The cinematography and lighting work were wonderful, adding spooky effects and startling moments without impairing visibility.
Best of all, the story was solid. There were no plotholes to be found. Our main character, Jillian, was relatable and sympathetic.
This was maybe my favorite part of the story. I thought Jillian was a remarkably sympathetic character. She was dealt a hand she never asked for, having her husband slaughtered in their bedroom. I don’t think she missed him, so much as she was afraid of the legal ramifications of being caught with literal blood on her hands.
Then, when it would have been safest for her to just lay low and save up for a good defense attorney, she instead goes into unlikely hero mode. She does her best to save people, putting herself in legal and physical danger. It’s hard not to root for her.
It’s also a little hard not to root for the antagonist, too. I don’t want to ruin the twist for you, so I’m going to tread lightly here. But it’s great when you have an antagonist who might be off their rocker, but also maybe has a point.
What didn’t work
I can only really think of one complaint with this episode. And that is how frequently one character says the word Chickadee. And if you’ve seen the episode, you know what I am talking about.
I get it, he has a pet name for his daughter. It’s adorable. It’s meant to convey that the two of them have a healthy loving relationship and I get it. We all get it. Blind monks get it. But the fact remains that no parent on Earth calls their kid by their pet name every single time they speak an individual sentence to them. It was just too damn much.
All in all, this was a good episode. It was a classic story, turned on its head, told by professionals from start to finish. And I hope that if there is another season, we see more stories like this one. But after the efforts put into this season at large, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last we see of American Horror Stories.
(4 / 5)
If you’ve watched enough short-form horror anthology shows, you’ll notice that some stories are mainstays. Each show seems to put on the same sort of episodes, with the occasional surprising storyline that we’ve never (or at least rarely) seen before.
Leprechaun was an example of a repeated story—the story of a greedy thief whose punishment far outweighs the crime.
The story
We begin our story in 1841, with a drunk man leaving the bar one late night. He’s distracted by something glowing at the end of the well. When he reaches down for the glowing thing, he falls in. Moments later, he screams.
We then cut to the modern day. The well is still there, and now it’s surrounded by a dying town. In this town lives a young man named Colin. He’s married, his wife is pregnant, and he’s out of work. Like many of his friends.
Desperate for cash, Colin and his friends decide to rob a bank. They put together an Equate version of Ocean’s Eleven, and break in one night. But, of course, they find that the gold is nothing more than bait. And the creature waiting for them is something they never expected.
What worked
The first thing I want to point out is how real this episode felt. At least to anyone currently living in the same small town they grew up in. These characters felt like guys I went to school with. Guys I would see at the bar.
I appreciated the real anger and frustration these characters are feeling. Especially Colin. He’s bitter, and maybe he has a right to be. He did exactly what he was supposed to do to succeed. He went to school and invested in his career, and yet now he’s out of work and struggling to support his family. I probably don’t need to tell you how that feels. Because of this, we can all kind of understand why he was tempted to rob a bank.
I also want to talk about the fact that this was, as I said, an often-explored story. That can be a bad thing, but it can also be a good thing. This story is told over and over because it’s a good story. A relatable story. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
What didn’t work
That being said, this version didn’t try to do much to break out of the mold.
Because we have seen this story so many times, most of us could tell the story themselves. I would have expected something new, or some twist. But, in the end, the story didn’t bring anything new to the discussion.
Maybe because of this, the ending left a lot to be desired. Trapped in the basement of the bank, everyone just sort of stares at everyone else, until the thieves give up. And that’s it. The ending wasn’t scary, shocking, or funny. It was just sad, on multiple levels.
Overall, this was an okay story. It was entertaining, if not surprising. I would compare this episode to homemade macaroni and cheese. Everyone’s got their own version, they’re all pretty good, and none of them are exciting.
There’s just one episode left in this season of American Horror Stories. Let’s hope they’ve saved the best for last.
(3.5 / 5)
It happened. It finally happened. We got another good episode of American Horror Stories.
The story
We begin our story late at night, with a hospital security guard named Malcolm. He is frightened one night when he sees a woman with a distorted face in the hospital parking lot.
We then joined an RN named Claire. She’s doing her best to explain to a struggling mother that the hospital will not be able to treat her son with cancer because she can’t afford the treatment.
Not like she’s happy about it.
Fortunately, Dr. Nostrum, played by the legend Henry Winkler, swoops in at the last moment to tell the mother that her son qualifies for a special place in his cancer treatment clinic.
Claire is lamenting the fact that she became an RN to help people, but it feels like she isn’t doing anything good. Then, she and her friend Lilly stumble upon the same woman who menaced Malcom the night before.
While Claire is trying to figure out what’s wrong with this woman, she brutally slaughters an orderly and vanishes into the hospital. But not before struggling to say two words to Claire. Ward X.
What worked
I want to start by praising the effects of this episode. Because they were fantastic. Aided by the black and white filming, the bloody and distorted faces of Alice and her fellow victims are nightmarish. They look like a horrific version of Lockjaw taken to a terrifying extreme.
I also want to discuss the fantastic work of Henry Winkler. He is an absolute legend and never has a bad project.
Winkler’s character in this episode was exactly what we’d expect from him. He seems genuinely warm and kind, concerned about others’ well-being. Even when he’s planning to kill Claire, he comes off as such a caring guy.
Finally, I want to talk about the historical significance of this story. Because, like I always say, the scariest stories are the ones based on truth. And I’m sorry to say, this story has a basis in truth.
Mankind has a dark and twisted history when it comes to medical advances. Most doctors and scientists are good, moral people who abide by the first line of the Hippocratic oath, to first do no harm. Some, historically, are little more than monsters in white coats. Consider the Tuskegee Experiment, Unit 731, and the horrific acts of Josef Mengele. If you’re going to look up that middle one, be warned that it is NSFL.
While this episode of American Horror Stories was a work of fiction, it wasn’t that far off. I don’t think many of us want to admit how close to real life it was. This is the gift of good horror, to force us to come face to face with the worst aspects of humanity. To acknowledge them, accept them, and change them.
All in all, this was a perfect episode. The acting, the effects and the story were all top-shelf. And it’s certainly a story that will stick with you.
There are just two episodes left in this season of American Horror Stories. Let’s hope that they reach closer to the quality of X, and away from the dull and dismal episodes that began the second half of this season.
(5 / 5)
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