In some ways, when I watched Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps, it reminded me of last week’s Remedial Chaos Theory. Once again, we see seven different mini stories, each Halloween-ish fantasy told through the eyes of the narrator.
This week, the group gathers for a pre-party before the Greendale Halloween dance organized by Britta. She’s gotten the results back of a psychology test she had the group take and as it turns out, one of the seven is a borderline homicidal maniac.
Britta acts quickly, by trying to expose the soon-to-be killer by getting everyone to tell a Halloween story. Enter the seven stories.
Britta’s story, well, Britta’d it (what a great new verb). Abed’s story tries to be unpredictable, but robotic. Annie’s really does sound like a homicidal manic, with all the frills of a vampire and werewolf. Troy’s is wacky and Abed-centric. Pierce’s is, unsurprisingly, needlessly erotic. And, Shirley’s is a bible sermon.
Who is the serial killer among the bunch? We’re not entirely sure as the lights go out. When they come back on, the group as turned on itself, until Jeff’s final story reveals the murderer to be the misunderstood Chang.
As it turns out, Britta Britta’d another thing, scoring the personality tests incorrectly. Everyone is insane but one person.
A couple of random thoughts from the episode:
- Raise your hand if you thought Abed was the sane one? Yeah, I didn’t raise my hand, either. Hilarious, and really fitting.
- We didn’t see Dean Pelton or Chang at all last week, and they were used sparingly this week. Not that the episodes haven’t been funny, but I would like to see more of the two of them.
- Jeff took one step away from being a villain with his last sappy scene. The group hated it, but at least we still know that Jeff can act for the good of the group sometimes.
- In the midst of the seven different stories, Remedial Chaos Theory also explored the complex relationships between the group. Horror Fiction In Seven Spooky Steps lacks the deep exploration that warrants rewatching it. I’m not saying that every week needs that kind of reflection, but it’s also curious why Dan Harmon and company would air to somewhat similar gimmick premises back to back.
Apologies for my review being in bullet form this week. I hope I didn’t Britta this whole thing. (Did I mention how much I loved the new verb?)