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'Supernatural' Cadavers in party hats!
Tonight's Supernatural return was the best of reality television mixed with the best of Blair Witch style mockumentary. Which sounds like it should be just this side of awful. But oddly enough, it wasn't. Talk about Supernatural!
The episode centers around some urban geek-hipsters who are filming their own paranormal investigation show called - I kid thee not - Ghostface. They are going to investigate the Morton House, long rumored to have never had anyone stay in it overnight. Little do they know that it's not a just an urban legend, but Dean and Sam show up announcing themselves as police, to inform them the rumors are completely true with a list of missing persons to back them up. Unfortunately, the Winchester's are recognized by a few of the Ghostfacers, who were formerly known as Hellhounds when they ran afoul of each other.
There is a brief moment where the TV nerds try to battle the boys for supremacy in the Morton House, especially when they catch death echo on video tape. A full body apparition re-enacting it's own death by shooting would be a pretty amazing thing to get on tape. It's less amazing when Corbett, a member of their paranormal team, screams and when they try to find him the come up empty. When Sam proves they are all stuck in the house by breaking a chair against a door, it's clear it's the Winchesters who are the experts. But even experts are at a loss when they see a second death echo of a man being hit by a train. Having already studied the history of the house, Sam knows that no one was known to have been shot there...and certainly no one was hit by a train in the living room. We have a mystery, ladies and gentlemen!
Since they can't get out, they start searching through the things left in the house. It seems the owner was formerly a janitor at the local hospital. He apparently had some out their hobbies, including reading up on what to do in case of a nuclear holocaust and taxidermy. Oh, and there is the matter of the toe tags, marked to have belonged to a man who was shot and another who was hit by a train among others. Seems our homeowner took work home with him on occasion. As the Ghostfacers said..."ewwwww, that's nasty dude".
It's not long after these discoveries that the paranormal equipment goes nuts and suddenly Sam is no longer there. Just his flashlight. Were it my brother I think all bets would have been off, but we know Dean to be a cool cucumber in a crisis. The whole group heads through the house, yelling Sam's name, but our host isn't about to make him an easy find. He also doesn't like crowds apparently, because Dean and a cameraman named Spruce get through a doorway only to have it slam shut behind them, leaving Ed, Harry and Maggie (the remaining Ghostfacers who uncover a sticky love interest situation between Ed's sister and Harry) on the other side.
Meanwhile, we get to see where Sam and Corbett are. Tied to chairs around a festive, if dusty, birthday party table, surrounded by stuffed cadavers in party hats. In the background, there is a continuous (and irritating) loop of "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to". It's the creepiest emo party ever! And it goes from bad to worse when our homeowner gets corporeal and stabs poor Corbett through the throat. Making him a Ghostface Killah (you had to have seen that coming)! The house hears his scream and through the door Dean tells the others to go into his bag, make a salt circle and stand in the middle of it, while he and Spruce go to find Sam and whatever is left of Corbett as well as Sam.
Dean and the cameraman continue down into the basement and soon hear the "party" music, which means they just need to find the entrance to the dead janitor's bomb shelter. Actually, Dean needs to find it, the camera man is just going to keep filming it. Well, filming it and trying to get Dean to confessional, a 'la The Real World to his camera. Which is so not happening. But Dean does find the doorway and get inside to rescue Sam, who reveals to them that the creepy emo janitor was lonely. Bates style. And looking for people to stay with him forever.
Upstairs, it it revealed Corbett has been added to that menagerie, as his death echo appears to the Ghostfacers. They decide to try and pull him out of the loop and free him from an eternity of reliving his death, which means Ed has to leave the circle and approach the apparition of Corbett. I cringe, expecting something bad to happen to Ed (would Harry and Maggie bring their forbidden love to new heights over morning her brother's untimely demise?) but instead he is given some vital information that somehow gives him the courage to face fear and help his friend. Corbett had feelings for him.
Ed manages to break through to Corbett's deeper self and implore him to be brave and help his friends. Meanwhile, back in the basement, the janitor is tossing Winchester's like rag dolls, despite a liberal riddling with rock-salt. He steps up to the cameraman, only to have Corbett appear behind him. The good ghost lunges at the bad ghost, there is a flash of light and they obliterate each other. It seems like a happy ending for all, especially as we see Sam handing a piece of paper with contact info on it to Ed. But let's not forget, it may be a happier ending for some then we can imagine. After all, there is still the matter of the film footage of ghostly proof of an afterlife. Or at least of paranormal activities. Talk about a show for sweeps week!
In the spirit of their new camaraderie, it seems the Ghostfacers invited the boys over to see the final cut of their episode. Which they critique by noting that Ghostface tribute to Corbett honored "his memory while grossly exploiting the manner of his death" and pointing out that it was one mighty tight rope they are walking. So, you know, general disapproval. But the Ghostfacers are unmoved, after all, it is their purpose to bring the truth to the public! Despite the fact that Dean and Sam warn them that this particular truth tends to get people in trouble, they are confident that their footage trumps all. And Sam and Dean have to give them credit for that much, as they head off.
Except...they forgot a bag behind. The nosy investigators decide to look into the less then paranormal duffel, only to be confronted with a contraption they don't quite understand. Until their computers all suddenly fizzle into blue screens of death and the boys drive away laughing about electromagnets and their near supernatural ability to destroy hard drives, tapes and any other recording devices.
The Good: Having the boys back!
The Bad: Jerky camera movement and scenes lighted by flashlight sometimes made for confusing action.
The Funny:
Ed: Hey. Chisel chest. We were here first. (To Dean)
Dean: Get the salt from my duffel bag, make a circle and get inside it.
Ed: ...*pause*...Inside the duffel bag?
Dean: IN THE SALT, YOU IDIOT!
Ed: If we don't die, it's totally OK if you do my sister. (to Harry)
Harry: You know what you gotta do. You have always been the brave one, Ed. You gotta be gay for that poor, dead intern! You gotta send him into the light!
What did you think of tonight's episode? Or did you have trouble concentrating on the action over the roar of hotness?
I managed to keep the hotness down to a dull roar, so I was able to enjoy this episode thoroughly. I'd say it's one of the best of the series. Throughout there was a perfect combination of comedy and horror.
I figured I was going to like this one when Ed and Harry introduced their show wearing tuxedos and sitting in wingback chairs. I definitely knew I was going to like it when they proceeded to run those hysterical credits for their show. Classic.
And the little skulls that were superimposed over people's mouths when they swore was a perfect detail. I'd say the writers outdid themselves with this one.
I agree that the poorly lit and chaotic scenes were hard to follow, but I think they were just right given the circumstances in the show. They added to the overall feeling of doom and danger that was only lightened by the humor.
I laughed too hard when Ed and Harry's thought Dean wanted them to get inside his bag for safety. If only.
I really liked Corbett until he went off alone and got himself caught by the vengeful ghost. I liked his honest and sweet crush on Ed who, quite frankly, didn't deserve his affection.
Did anyone else hear Ed insist upon calling his sister his "adopted" sister? What a ghostdick.
It's too bad Corbett had to die, though. His character should have gotten better treatment. The Winchesters called it perfectly at the end when they said their show exploited Corbett even as it honored his memory. It seriously needed to be erased.
I greatly enjoyed this episode. No demon war and no snarky Dean-voiced demons. Just pure Supernatural horror and comedy. Loved it.
Berlin | Apr 25, 2008 1:25:20 AM | #I loved this it was the best kind of Supernatural episode, a great mixture of the humorous and the creepy, I have to say I loved the Ghostfacers and I for one hope we may see them again down the line.
Dee | Apr 25, 2008 4:21:13 AM | #This episode really surprised me. I saw the previews for it and was convinced I would hate this episode, but it's Supernatural so I gave it a chance. I'm glad I did as this episode was amazingly good (considering what they were doing).
Did anyone else notice the writers critiquing their own work by having Dean declare the show halfway awesome? I loved that!
It's good to have Supernatural back.
Yossarian | Apr 25, 2008 6:22:18 AM | #BEST THING ABOUT THE EPISODE - NO BELA!
JAMES | Apr 25, 2008 7:33:01 AM | #Good ep, cept for the ending. Hope there's a backup. If nothing else, to prove Corbett's death was not the Ghosties' fault... per se.
Erasing sucks.
Casper | Apr 25, 2008 9:43:18 AM | #I would call the episode fairly good.
The first 15 minutes or so with no brothers turned me off a bit. I like the Ghostfacers crew, but I watch for my Winchester boys.
I have a theory that the writers, in fear of cancellation, decided to do everything "fun" they wanted to do this year in case they never got another chance. So, we got this ep, Mystery Spot and the demon war. I'm hoping they can be a little more focused on the bros next season.
Jen | Apr 25, 2008 10:00:53 AM | #since Hell House is one of my favorite episode, I was excited to see those two goofballs back and causing problems for Sam and Dean. Even happier that the show didn't kill them off which seems to be the norm lately. Killing off good characters and leaving us with bad ones like Bela.
It was a fun episode and so happy the boys are back. Only thing wrong was could have used a little more of the boys and a little less of the Ghostfacers. Otherwise it was great.
Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of Ed and Harry. These are the kind of characters that I don't mind recurring every once in a while.
SG | Apr 25, 2008 10:06:55 AM | #At least there wasn't any Bela. I like Ed and Harry. As much as I love the boys, I didn't mind Ed and Harry taking up the time in the beginning of the episode. I'm glad Ed and Harry survived the episode, not a lot of characters last more than one episode and they now have the opportunity to retun. I have been watching CSI:NY where A.J. Buckley is a recurring character and the contrast between that character and Ed is amazing. Can't wait until the next Supernatural.
Penny | Apr 25, 2008 12:14:34 PM | #This episode was terrible. It was not scary. It was not clever. It was not funny. It was just plain bad. ...hrm kinda like the blair witch project.
Duke | Apr 25, 2008 2:21:58 PM | #You got all the quotes I loved - LMAO, "You gotta be gay for that poor dead intern.." LOL. Supernatural Rules!!
SansMerci1013 | Apr 25, 2008 2:56:12 PM | #Great ep really!
Awesome how the writers come up with really creative stuff and not only the ususal (but also very entertaining) monster-of-the-week kind of thing.
The ep with McG and the boys being "TV consultants" comes to mind, the ep with Sam reliving his day groundhog style and now this.
I can say that I feel greatly entertained by this show!
I laughed when the real credits came on at the end of the episode. Very clever.
Bryan | Apr 25, 2008 8:50:42 PM | #I want to say that of all the shows that have returned post-strike this was the show that delivered the best 1st ep. I hope that they are able to keep the quality at least at this level for the rest of the season (and beyond).
Rishi | Apr 26, 2008 10:21:58 AM | #Loved the way the videotaping sucked for the Ghostfacers. Walking slowly as two cars pass them in the background really fast! Hilarious!
Jason | Apr 26, 2008 1:27:58 PM | #Who is doing the Smallville recaps?
Jason | Apr 27, 2008 12:42:10 PM | #Jessica,
I hate to say this, but you are one boring re-capper. We don't need an exact run down of a show WE JUST WATCHED. We're more looking for a fun read with insights to the show (the ghost facers in today's show were around once in season 1), and a few laughs.
If you don't want this job, fine. Your recaps always read like you are pained and annoyed to have to be writing them.
Tina | May 1, 2008 7:02:27 AM | #all you haters who said this ep was stupid can eat ur selves. this was the most rockin ep ever! I think they needed a break from the whole sad and serious "dean is screwed hell-hound food" plot line and lighten it up a bit. It was so funny throughout the ep that I didn't even have time to laugh until the commercials--except for the whole creepy janitor has a tea party with guests from the beyond part, that was scary. Very awesome completely loved it. :D
gigi | May 17, 2008 11:11:19 AM | #
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