Tales from the Crypt (TV Series) Carrion Death (1991) User Reviews

The Vulture

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 4 March 2018]

After robbing a bank, the criminal Earl Raymond Digs heads to Mexico driving though the desert. Out of the blue, he notes that a policeman riding a motorcycle is chasing him. Earl shots the officer and his motorcycle hits his car, blowing up both vehicles. Earl decides to walk through the desert to reach Mexico, but the policeman has not died and arrests him. Earl is handcuffed to the officer, but he surprises and kills him. However Earl does not find the key to release the handcuff from his wrist. He decides to cross the desert dragging the corpse. Meanwhile a vulture follows him.

"Carrion Death" is one of the creepiest episodes of "Tales from the Crypt". The story is simple but gruesome. The makeup is impressive in the final scenes. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Morte Imunda" (Filthy Death")

The season delivers it's first classic

[SleepTight666 · 8/10 · 23 July 2009]

After a terrible start to Season 3, the season delivers it's first classic.

It stars Kyle, who is an excellent actor and a dimwitted criminal. The cop following him ends up handcuffing himself after getting shot.

The episode is purely entertaining, fun and gory. It had one of the best endings, with Kyle getting eaten alive. It was hilarious and icky at the same time.

One thing that I cannot understand is why the hell Earl didn't decapitate the cop's hand. Would have been a lot smarter than to carry him for 6 miles. But nobody's perfect.

Criminal dinner! A buzzard feast!

[blanbrn · 8/10 · 2 April 2007]

This episode "Carrion Death" has to rank as one of the best from season 3 of the crypt. The story starts off with a bang from the beginning and the action continues till the end. Kyle MacLachlan stars as an escaped prisoner who while starting his new adventure robs a bank, only to head across the Arizona desert and with the hope of getting across the border to Mexico to avoid prosecution. Never worry the cop spots him and while pursuing him both crash, then the chase into the desert begins! So typical you have your cop and criminal chase just like the old west days. And the cop who's played eagerly and aggressive by George Deloy does his best to track him down across the desert and the action and drama between the two is fun and entertaining. Only a little buddy I say a bird buddy joins them and watches the path! The criminal appears to take the upper hand, but the civil servant makes a smart move by swallowing a handcuff key before he departs. Still it's a race to the border, but remember just when you think your safe a bird buddy returns. This episode ends very gruesome and gory, as it turns out to be criminal lunch and a buzzard feast! Overall a pretty good crypt episode with action and a good chase topped off by a gory ending.

Weight of Sin

[hellraiser7 · 10/10 · 3 November 2016]

This is one of my favorite tales from the show. It's just great it's such a simple premise but it works because of that. In a twisted sense this story is sort of similar to the Greek Myth about a man in Hell condemned for all eternity to roll a rock up to hill.

I really like that they make this sort of a modern day western, from the use of the desert location, to the premise of the man on the lame and the cop on his tale. I really like Kyle Mclaklan's performance as Diggs he is just blackly funny as a sadistic creep you love to dislike. He's got some really funny lines and moments, like how he plays off with that mysterious looming vulture.

The vulture in the story is a creepy presence as it constantly is fascinated with Diggs. Death and doom are kinda the theme in this episode as that vulture is obviously a representation of the constant looming presence of death. And of course the antagonists name Diggs, which of course implants irony.

The suspense is interesting as it's somewhat double layered much like where on one hand you don't want Diggs to get away and you know he's going to get it but you don't know how or when but your glad your not him. And on another hand there is that little part of you that kinda want him to get away because of how close he is to salvation if it wasn't for that one huge problem.

I like the use of atmosphere which really creates an isolating and uncomfortable sense of doom. You literally feel the heat, dirt and even feel the weight of the body Diggs literally has to carry and drag throughout his journey which of course is a metaphor for the weight of his own sins. From what he has to go though you have a feeling in your mind that Diggs won't make it, either the desert will kill him or something else somehow will.

I won't say anything more than that but if you remember the Greek myth and of course the title itself is a big clue, then you know what to expect. As an old saying goes, "Let the punishment fit the crime." Rating: 4 stars

Kyle MacLachlan's Most Demanding Role?

[AllNewSux · 10/10 · 10 November 2016]

Simply an amazing episode from a nearly flawless series. I don't know if this one "stands out" per se because it is one of many perfect episodes from the first 3 or 4 seasons of Tales From The Crypt. It also seems a bit familiar, but that's in part because of the story it's based off of, in Shock SuspenStories was a real classic. Kyle MacLachlan basically does a solo performance and boy is he PERFECT for the role! He realizes he's in horror comic book come to life so he brilliantly delivers his lines almost like a super villain. This also has to be his most physically demanding role as he's really carrying around another actor for half the episode. The ending plays out like an Italian horror flick and that's great news for anyone who truly knows horror. Overall an atmospheric tale of fate and revenge that I can't recommend highly enough.

Decent tale from the crypt.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 18 March 2007]

Tales from the Crypt: Carrion Death starts as convicted serial killer & death row escapee Earl Raymond Diggs (Kyle McLachlan) robs a bank on his way across the Arizonan outback, wanted by every cop in the state he is trying to drive to Mexico when he is spotted by a motorbike cop (George DelHoyo). After trying to outrun the cop Earl decides to run him down but only ends up wrecking his own car the cop's motorcycle, thinking the cop is dead Earl takes his money & sets off on foot across the inhospitable Arizona desert in hope of reaching the relative safety of the Mexican border. However the cop isn't dead & goes in pursuit of Earl, as things go from bad to worse for Earl the cop isn't the only thing he needs to worry about...

This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 3 from season 3, written & directed by Steven E. de Souza I quite liked Carrion Death although not for the usual reasons I enjoy Tales from the Crypt stories. The script was based on a story from the 'Shock SuspenStories' comic book & like the seasons opener The Trap there really isn't any horror here except for the vulture who seems to influence the events which go on so he can get his meal & there isn't really much of a twist either although I did like the ending all the same, this is more of an action thriller than twisted bizarre horror. I thought Carrion Death was a good story all the same, it moves along at a nice pace, it has a good central premise that has a satisfying ending, it has a decent central character & there's enough going on to maintain ones interest over it's 25 odd minute duration.

This one is set & filmed entirely within the desert so it looks the part & there's a good car crash at the start. There's some gore at the end when someones hand is severed & a vulture pecks someones eyes out. There are only two people in this episode & the acting is pretty good from both.

Carrion Death isn't really what I would call a typical Tales from the Crypt episode but what the hell I liked it anyway & to see the Crypt Keeper (John Kassir) dressed as a biker cop is worth a watch on it's own.

Carrion Death

[a_baron · 9/10 · 6 December 2014]

A serial killer escapes from gaol on the eve of his execution, then carries out a desperate but audacious armed robbery - this is where we come in. He drives off into the Arizona Desert heading for the Mexican border, but just when he thinks he is in the clear he finds a highway patrolman on his tail, a man who has more courage than common sense. In a freakish duel, both the protagonists' vehicles are destroyed, and thinking his nemesis is dead, the bad guy abandons the road to strike out on foot towards freedom.

Alas, he soon realises he is not alone, his mortal enemy may be injured, but he still has his gun. That is as far as we need go here, suffice it to say that although neither man survives, only the good guy has a relatively painless death in this imaginative but gory miniature.

Crime doesn't pay, Kyle...

[Coventry · 20 February 2006]

This is a rather mediocre and forgettable "Tales From the Crypt" episode with only a couple of inventive ideas. Kyle MacLachlan severely overacts as the fugitive murderer/bank robber on his way to Mexico after yet another bloody heist. After a macho showdown with an overly ambitious copper (George DelHoyo), Kyle has to walk the last miles through the heated desert and carry an unforeseen burden. This episode feels more like a short action movie and lacks the morbid twists and humor of usual "Tales from the Crypt" stories. The only genuine horror element is presented in the shape of a vulture who patiently waits until MacLachan's character goes completely crazy. It's understandable that the emphasis lies more on action and macho behavior in this tale, as it was scripted and directed by Steven E. De Souza, who wrote some of Hollywood's most legendary action blockbusters ("Die Hard", "48 Hours", "Commando").

There's lots you can do with a corpse

[adamkraemerla · 6/10 · 23 October 2023]

Seems to me that this is not an overwhelming predicament. Not at first, anyway.

A dying cop swallows a key to a pair of handcuffs? What's to stop a psychopathic killer from reaching down his throat? Or tearing open his throat? Is he squeamish all of a sudden?

And let's say you can't retrieve the key for some reason; why would you feel beholden to remain attached to the policeman's entire body for that long? Eventually, he gets the idea of chopping the cop's wrist off, but why do it only after carrying his dead body 6 miles across a desert? Seems worth making the attempt immediately, I would think.

And by leaving the body behind, you'd also get rid of the vulture, one assumes.

Just a few thoughts on the gaping plot holes.

Quite haunting and predictable, but still packs a punch!

[bellino-angelo2014 · 8/10 · 18 June 2021]

The episode begins with a shot of a bank and we heard some gunshots. Soon we see Earl Raymond Diggs (Kyle MacLachlan) run to his car and escaping with all the money stolen. However his victory won't last as there is a motorcycle cop that chases him and even shoots at him. Diggs manages to shoot the cop, but the motorcycle goes at full speed towards his car and explodes. Now in the desert, Diggs escapes from the cop and when he finds a sign he thinks that there is still the bar. When he arrives, unfortunately, he finds it nearly torn down and with lot of abandoned stuff; soon as he has to leave, the cop arrives and manages to handcuff him. Diggs shoots deadly at him, but before dying the cop swallows the key and Diggs is forced to drag him all across the desert while a vulture stalks them both (and he'll have the last laugh).

Although the ending has a very gross scene when MacLachlan loses his hand before the fall, it's a very good episode that surely keeps entertained, and you really root for the unlucky lead. MacLachlan was very good in this role very unusual for those who saw him only in the David Lynch films, but he handles it well. A must see episode.

Wow!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 29 March 2024]

"Good evening, felons. Time to assume the position, if you know what I mean, and prepare for another assault and battery on your senses. Tonight's seamy saga is about a nice young man with a very bad attitude. In fact, it's positively criminal. I call this little game of chops and clobbers "Carrion Death.""

Directed and written by Steven E. De Souza (Street Fighter, Die Hard, Commando), this episode has crazed killer Earl Raymond Diggs (Kyle MacLachlan) escaping jail and running through the desert, tracked by a motorcycle cop (George DelHoyo) who has already crashed his bike into the criminal's getaway car. As they end up in an empty bar, Diggs kills the man with his own gun, but then realizes that he's been handcuffed to the body of the cop, who has swallowed the key before dying.

By the end of the story, he's dragging a body through the blazing desert and trying to hack off the man's hand, all while that vulture keeps coming. Well, that vulture is patient and don't worry. It gets what it wants.

This is based on "Carrion Death" from Shock SuspenStories #9. It was written by William Gaines and Al Feldstein and drawn by Reed Crandall.

Enjoyable episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 14 March 2011]

Vicious robber and killer Earl Raymond Diggs (ably played with lip-smacking sadistic glee by Kyle MacLachlan) gets chased into the desert by a determined motorcycle cop (a solid and credible performance by George DelHoyo). Diggs manages to bump off the policeman, but not before the cop handcuffs himself to Diggs and swallows the key. Writer/director Steven E. de Souza, who penned the scripts for such 80's action faves as "48 Hrs.," "Commando," and "Die Hard," relates the absorbing story at a constant quick pace, offers a strong and convincing depiction of the unsparingly hot and severe desert location, stages one whopper of an exciting and impressive vehicular action set piece with genuine skill and verve, further spices things up with an amusing sense of spot-on sick dark humor, and concludes this tale on a pleasingly gruesome note (a pesky and patient vulture rips out both of Earl's eyeballs). Robert Draper's sun-burnt cinematography astutely presents a palpable feeling of punishing and sweltering extreme heat. Bruce Broughton's spare'n'shivery piano score likewise does the trick. A fun show.

Junk.

[sogoodlooking · 1/10 · 14 January 2022]

Hopelessly overwrought acting, abysmal, rushed stunt work, ludicrous makeup, and no plot to speak of make this another Tales From the Crypt loser. Enough!

"You ain't getting me bird!"

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 10/10 · 28 January 2014]

I just love that buzzard, he was such a crafty one, always staying on Diggs' tail. It was almost like he knew how it was all gonna turn out... For a bird it was actually a pretty good actor! This is one of my absolute alltime favourite episodes, because in its own way it was a distinctive and different kind of story for the series, and an excellent episode for several reasons. Anyone who truly loves this episode and considers it one of the best will know just what I mean when I say it's amazing! There's something about the subtly grim tone and atmosphere of the desert backdrop, something about the vulture, the eerily playful score, the spare but horrifically icky gore that is used - something about the whole tale is to me just so sweet! And unlike some of the others that are just a mite less fun when you watch them again as an adult, Carrion Death was always a smooth ride all the way. It's simple, but highly effective. To me, apart from the more obvious macabre elements such as someone having the literally dead weight of a corpse handcuffed to their wrist, the real horror of this episode is the desert, slowly wearing him down with the heat and the dehydration causing him to lose his sense and make the fatal mistake with the makeshift axe. The atmosphere is wonderfully immersive. Kyle Maclachlan was great, thanks to what is heard on the radio at the opening we know he's a very bad dangerous guy, but I couldn't hate him or like him, but I still feel that at the end that he deserves everything he gets, but it's still a hell of a nasty and twisted way to go! What he inadvertently does to his hand, and then of course what the vulture gleefully does is a very intense and crazy closing sequence, which is disgusting, horrific and extremely awesome all at the same time! The eyeball tearing looks fantastic, but I don't like the way the body moves for a moment as the vulture pecks at it, it makes it glaringly obvious what it really is, and that mars the effect of the scene for me a little, I bet that someone was mighty p****d about how it turned out as it looked to me like the kind of shot that they could have only gotten once. I Love this episode quite dearly though, it's one of the best, and it makes me wanna get on a bike and head on out for Death Valley! It's exemplary. So check it out me fellow fright fans, check it out.

Definitely one of the best.

[shellytwade · 10/10 · 5 April 2022]

This is another phenomenal episode that may very well be the best they ever made. It's a simple premise but at the same time it feels like they manage to stick in a whole movie's worth of thrills into 30 minutes. Definitely recommended. It seems to get better every time you watch it.

Not for the faint of heart

[ohiob-00421 · 8/10 · 5 October 2021]

The story is good and the gore is pretty extreme, would not recommend for the squeamish.

Carrion Death

[Ludovico237 · 5/10 · 24 October 2020]

The atmosphere is efficient and well brought (from the moment of the chase to the very end).

Although we can get bored a few times, there are little phrases / punchlines that make us smile and make come back to the episode.