The Simpson Halloween specials / Treehouses of Horror usually function as spoofs on different types of horror movies / TV programs. The opening features Marge and Homer hosting a children's' Halloween party where the main attraction is... you guessed it, three scary stories (short of the Halloween party atmosphere, this is the standard set-up for anthologies). Homer actually begins the proceedings with a spoof on the introductions to Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes.
Lisa spins the first yarn, where it's Bart's Birthday and Homer has forgotten to get him a present. So he drives off to the local Shop of Evil to pick out something Bart will love, when he encounters a decrepit old geezer with a raspy voice selling cursed items (Hellraiser, 1987), with long white hair and beard, dressed in traditional Chinatown-merchant garb and smoking a long wooden pipe (Gremlins, 1984). The geezer sells him a most likely used but very in-demand child's doll that Bart loves, but Homer discovers is actually alive and wants to kill (Child's Play, 1988) him a lot. The Krusty the Clown doll attacks him on the couch, in the bathtub (A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984), and by hopping on his shoulders, wrapping his arms around him, and insulting him (Beetlejuice, 1988 - I'm telling you, compare frames and this looks like a direct influence). But Homer thinks he has the solution, which involves chaining him up in a crate (Creepshow, 1982) and burying him alive. This turns out to be easier said than done.
Abraham 'Grandpa' Simpson is next on the floor, and recalls some of the horrors of old black & white shock cinema. Some enterprising showbiz tycoons (Mr. Burns and Smithers) sail a ship to Ape Island in search of tourist attractions they can exploit and take along an attractive "bathing beauty" (Marge) (Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954) as bait so they can capture the island's star monster, King Homer (King Kong, 1933). They are able to subdue the beast and bring him back to tinsel town to rake in cash as The Eighth Wonder of the World, chained onstage for the amusement of gawkers and press alike. However, Homer is less than cooperative, breaks free, and goes on an eating spree, culminating with climbing Marge's hotel wall and snatching her.
Well, Bart has tired of all the "not scary" stuff and it's his turn. His story involves... himself, and his sister Lisa. Bart is looking for a book for his school book report and decides on a cursed book of incantations to raise the dead (The Evil Dead, 1981) and tests it on resurrecting Lisa's dearly departed cat (Pet Sematary, 1989). However, things go wrong when they accidentally bring human corpses back to life (Night of the Living Dead, 1968) who scream for "brains!!" (Return of the Living Dead, 1985) They must now make their way to the library and find a book that will reverse their spell. Meanwhile, a zombie attacks Krusty on a TV station (Nightmare City, 1980), Martin is lured to an attack by a persuasive (Shivers/They Came From Within, 1975) zombie, and the local radio station we hear in the car has been taken over (Gremlins, 1984) by zombies.
This is truly one of the very best Simpsons Halloween Specials / Treehouses of Horror, with a decided edge over part II. Every tale is side-splittingly funny at one moment or another. In fact, this is most likely the funniest of the Treehouses of Horror. In the Clown tale (Ahead lies a SPOILER for Child's Play), the doll says "I'm Krusty the Clown and I don't like you, I'm Krusty the Clown and I'm going to kill you," to which Homer laughs and says, "I didn't even pull the string that time." The doll's head then spins around and looks him right in the eye and says, "I'm going to kill YOU, Homer Simpson," to which Homer laughs again and just says, "with what?" I don't know about you but that moment when it happened in Child's Play gave me quite the chill (though of course, Chucky just says, "Hi, I'm Chucky! Wanna play?").
In the second tale, we hear island natives speaking in their foreign language. Marge asks what they said. Mr. Burns replies, "they said- We wouldn't dream of sacrificing the Blue Haired Woman." (which we all know is the opposite of what he said) And Marge responds with a genuine, "isn't that nice?" But the third tale is the best overall and has the funniest lines. While Homer walks down the library halls, he guns down a variety of famous historical figures - "Eat lead, Einstein! Show's over, Shakespeare!" If you have the chance to see two or three Treehouses of Horror by choice, make this one of them. I highly recommend it.
