Tales from the Crypt is one of those iconic shows that everyone has heard of even if they haven’t seen it. The Crypt Keeper is both loved and feared thanks to his less than pleasing looks combined with his corny jokes. The show spawned multiple movies along with a cartoon for younger viewers and ran on HBO for 7 seasons. Now there is a possibility that the iconic show may be rebooted by TNT and M. Night Shyamalan, but it is not that clear cut.
Up until a few days ago, hopeful fans thought that the project was dead until a new video surfaced on YouTube with a few promo clips along with M. Night explaining what drew him to the project. According to a few sources, the project has been halted for over a year due to rights issues, which TNT says they have been trying to work out. This new promo may be their way of trying to reinvigorate fans or putting pressure on the company(s) which they are hashing out the rights deals with. Still, one question remains; is it even worth it?
Is the world past Tales from the Crypt? Or, is a Crypt remake just what the doctor ordered in 2017? I think that there are a lot of factors that these questions depend on. We know that TV viewers are not afraid of a little gore on their televisions nowadays; but how much is too much?
The Walking Dead proved that you can go too far with the average TV viewer in their season 7 premiere. At the same time, American Horror Story continues to be a popular show despite occasionally skimping on story in lieu of shock factor. Even FOX has proven that horror is more mainstream than ever with two seasons of Scream Queens. All of this points to the fact that Tales from the Crypt can work as long as they appeal to the right audience.
Another factor that really weighs on the potential success of this reboot is how Shyamalan-y this thing will get. Sure, the twist at the end is a staple in many movies, not just his, but even a twist at the end will get boring if you come to expect it every week. It could also lead to weak storytelling if the twist at the end becomes more important than the story itself.
Only time will tell if we even get the reboot that we have been promised twice now. I, for one, am hoping that it eventually hits the screen as I am a fan of the original and the short story format in general. If I had to venture a guess I would think that we will see something in the next one to two years, but it may not be what fans want or expect. Given the rights issues, these stories may even be recycled into an entirely new show under a different name with the same loose premise.
The biggest twist will be if M. Night Shyamalan can suck it up and let Cryptie pun it up.
[…] series, but I think that is what we will call it until proven otherwise. All I know is that the Tales from the Crypt reboot better come fast because it is looking at some major competition with a show like […]