Tales From the Crypt Review Pt. 1

Ahahahahahahaha! It's SHOCKtober and I've decided to review some very scary GOREies from my favorite television shows. So I'm going to review some Tales From the Crypt episodes. Basically, these are the best episodes broken down into different categories, like best stories, best death scenes, etc. For now, here are my favorite male performances from the series.

Best Male Performance - Runner-up
Joe Pesci - "Split Personality"

Pesci's performance in "Split Personality" makes the episode what it is. The premise is unremarkable: a con-man's car breaks down outside a mansion and when he goes inside to use the phone, he finds twin girls who are lonely and filthy rich. There is one really nice element to the story, which is that Pesci's character is obsessed with the number two, and things that come in twos. The script includes several very clever instances of this, but also uses the theme of twos to explain why Pesci can't stand to just have one twin -- he is determined to get them both. And that's how he comes up with the idea to invent a twin brother who works in Africa. When his fictional brother is in town, he's away, and when he's away, his new (and ridiculous) alter-ego is present. As disgusting as our anti-hero is, the sisters both fall in love and soon get married, alternately having the time of their life with their husband and longingly awaiting the return of Pesci's other identity. Yes, get out your suspension of disbelief hats, you will need them.

It's actually a very good episode with excellent writing and Pesci's performance is awesome. You love him and you hate him. There's nothing terribly surprising about the story and there's this unusual element about the twin's father that doesn't make a lot of sense if you think too hard about it. But the point here isn't to think, because this story is extremely simple and fun and stupid and, well, you should totally watch this.

Part 1 of "Split Personality"



Part 2:



Part 3: