Episode 4: The Companion / Lydia Layne’s Better Half
Directors: Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner
Writers: Joe R. Lansdale,Kasey Lansdale
Stars: Logan Allen, Dylan Gage, Voltaire Colin Council
Run Time: 43 Minutes
The Creep, reads a comic book and laughs. Credits roll.
Synopsis: The Companion
Harold’s older brother beat him up. He’s hanging out fishing at the river alone, recuperating from his ordeal. Billy approaches to beat on him some more. Billy chases Harold into the woods. It gets dark, and the chase continues, through an old cemetery and past the creepiest scarecrow ever.
The scarecrow has a long, wooden stick sticking out of it, which Harold pulls out to use as a weapon. Harold takes shelter in an old house, but now he seems to be pursued by the scarecrow, which has come alive after having the stick that had impaled him removed.
Harold finds a body in the cellar along with a note explaining how the farmer lost his wife and then decided to create his own companion. It came to life, but it terrified the farmer after it started eating Girl Scouts. He ended up stabbing it in the heart with his cane. The farmer then killed himself.
Harold uses the cane to “tame” the creature. Harold then goes home and gives Billy what’s coming to him.
Commentary
The creature effects here are really good, although the story is fairly predictable. It’s not clear why Billy and Harold are fighting, but it seems obvious that Billy may be overreacting.
Synopsis: Lydia Layne’s better Half
Lydia promotes Tom to the new CFO of the company. Lydia’s girlfriend Celia is angry because she wanted the position and trusted that Lydia would give it to her. Lydia just the wants the two of them to be together forever. The two fight, and Celia ends up dead in an accident.
Lydia wheels the body to an elevator, but an earthquake strikes as the elevator descends. Soon, she’s stuck in the elevator with Celia’s corpse. She falls while trying to get out and knocks herself unconscious.
When she wake up at 3 a.m., nothing has changed. Lydia hears a fireman on the emergency box, but Celia’s body keeps moving on its own. At 8:30 p.m., she’s still in the elevator, and the fireman calls again; they’re getting to her.
She starts getting freaked out by the body and then tries to climb out of the elevator. That doesn’t work out so well for her.
Commentary
If it sounds like I’m repeating myself, it’s because I am. These little episodes all look good and move quickly, but there’s just nothing much to them, story-wise. You just cannot tell an engrossing story in 21 minutes.