Seasons of Belief

As another reviewer mentioned, the first thing that struck me was the age difference between the mother and father. That reviewer guessed 20-30 years, but the actors are almost 40 years apart! It would have made much more sense if the father...was the grandfather. Maybe they had a chance to get the great EG Marshall, so they didn't pass it up(?). That being said, the acting is a bit hokey all around (from the kids to the adults) and the script is no masterpiece. It screams 1980s...and not in a good way.

Still, it's a pretty good story and if I were 8 years old I'm sure it would stick with me.

This episode "Seasons of Belief" has to be one of the best episodes of "Tales From The Darkside", due to it's great acting and wonderful plot with a twist at the end. You have TV and movie legend the old vet himself E.G. Marshall(most memorable for his role in 1982's Creepshow)as a traditional father who along with his wife and two kids one boy and one girl who all plan on enjoying Christmas Eve together. Yet after the children open one gift each, they get bored and the E.G. character decides to tell them a story for entertainment. However this little tale is not a Christmas tale at all, but a fright story that at first the kids find funny only to later be frightened by it. The Marshall character tells of a tale of a creature thought to be a myth named Grither who once was on a corner of the North Pole, and the kids are given the terrible descriptions and told that each time the name Grither is mentioned he moves closer to their house! The pace of this episode goes so good that you think this creature is only a myth by the way it's told by the Marshall character only to feel the shock when you find out it's real and the ending is such a surprise twist that it is such a shock! This "Tales From The Darkside" episode works so well due to it's setting at the Christmas season, and a nice plot build up that is scary while leading up to surprise and a clever twist ending. And last but not least you have fine acting from a traditional one like E.G. Marshall.

When this show is bad (which is most of the time) it's bad but when it's good (like this episode) it's freakin amazing. Everything about this episode shines; the acting, the confined set, the Christmas season, even the music. If you haven't seen this one yet do yourself a favor and watch it during the Christmas season. You'll love it.

Guest stars EG Marhsall.

Here we have a really clever plot, that's really scary brought down by horrible child actors. The plot is EG Marshall (from George A. Romero's and Stephen King's Creepshow) and his wife tell their kids a scary story on Christmas Eve of the Grither, a big creature that eats little children. As the story goes on the kid's get more and more scared, and by the end, we learn that the Grither is not a myth. Violent and scary ending works really well to a poorly acted episode written wonderfully. Found on VHS volume 1.

My rating: Great. 22 mins. TV PG V