I think it goes without saying at this point that the Simpsons has been trapped in purgatory for 10-20 years now, having all but run dry of ideas and with most of the crew members either getting old or seemingly going through the motions. While I find it exceedingly difficult to hate in that it's not doing any harm, it's difficult for me to be engaged by most of their outings, probably because it's easy to get the feeling that the people working on it aren't invested themselves. But every once in a while, you get some good episodes - and which ones they are largely depend on who you talk to. But one such episode from the HD era that seems to have gotten near-unanimous praise is season 27's "Halloween of Horror", where they decided to have a standard, fully canon episode centered around Halloween in addition to the yearly Treehouse of Horror.
That idea alone may've well been what caused there to be more passion to shine through. While the writing does occasionally reek of that '2010s Simpsons' feel where they make the jokes overly wordy or far-fetched, especially around the beginning, it's quite surprising how many of them genuinely and unironically land. Modern Simpsons is usually able to at least crack a smile out of me, and while I can't say the humor here truly holds up to the classic era of the show, there's definitely a number of great lines and witty subversion. And what makes it work even better is that many of them are actively used to service the story, like Homer misunderstanding the thugs' request to not snitch them to "Old Man Squishie", which gets them kicked out of the job thus setting up the central conflict, or the Señor Skeletinos that are bought in that same scene coming back in the climax to blow his and Lisa's hiding place.
Speaking of the story, this is one of the most passionately-executed ones I've seen from the show in a long time. In most instances, they either crowd their episodes with too many subplots or nonsensical twists and turns, or just fill most of the running time with little more than talking heads. Here, while the narrative isn't quite packed with action, it is very constantly on the move and each point logically transitions from one to another, with the subplots being greatly interconnected. And unlike other episodes, the cast is used entirely to the episode's advantage, as it's very much a personal story tapping into both childhood and real-life frights. The preachy, too-good-for-this-world Lisa Simpson is nowhere to be found, and her fears are completely believable given her age and the relentless sights she encounters at Krustyland. It helps that they play it completely straight for drama with Yeardley Smith making the emotions all the more relatable. Her constant weeping noises make it near impossible for me not to feel bad for the poor girl.
And the art direction manages to only make the episode even more captivating. Modern Simpsons' visuals are usually somewhat static, albeit with some shining moments in the character animation every now and then, but this one in particular is incredibly well-directed, presenting an atmosphere that just *screams* Halloween (no pun intended). The shadows, the setpieces, the camera work... I'm not even joking when I say it's probably one of the series' all-time prettiest episodes. This atmosphere is only further conveyed with Alf Clausen's orchestration; for a series that by this point didn't rely on a score all that much, they remarkably filled this one with chilling and legitimately suspenseful tracks, and it's incredibly effective.
I can not say for sure what made the planets align so well here, but whatever it was, I'm glad they did because - as refreshing as it is to see fully entertaining material come out of modern Simpsons - it's even more so when it turns out this great in nearly every facet. Treehouse of Horrors may make for more memorable and certainly funnier experiences at the best of times, but few of them capture the spirit of the holiday this well. Highly recommended for any Halloween season.
The first few minutes aren't especially noteworthy in terms of visual quality, but they do get a lot of nice autumn colors in, plus that light gray sky that serves as a forerunner for what's to come.
The Krustyland scene is where the visual quality really takes off. Look at how the dark grays make this area look so gloomy, along with the details like that freaky animatronic scrolling by in the background and all those graves to the left.
The part of Lisa first getting scared has a lot of engaging cinematography and camera work, with a couple shadows even passing Lisa's face for good measure.
Even the security room manages to look a little sinister thanks to the shadows dominating their profiles.
Another scene with really clever lighting. The shafts of light shining on Lisa contrasted with the dark locker is good enough, but when Marge comes in the screen becomes near-pitch black before she opens the locker, revealing more light. So moving.
Dang, just look at this low-angle shot. You just *feel* from that alone how utterly destroyed Lisa is by this point.
This is where things truly start to get unsettling. Homer saw the thugs at the door a minute ago, but is greeted with this once they ring the bell again. The feeling of ominous emptiness is so strong here.
The B-plot does a pretty good, if somewhat forgettable, job at alleviating the drama of the A-plot while still keeping the Halloween motif completely intact. This shot in particular stands out as really well laid-out.
This kicks off act 3, and... man, the angle and shadows here are unbelievably good, and it's quite a clever way to immediately get the audience back into the episode.
There's not that much standout character animation here, but this bit in particular stands out where we follow Homer's POV for a few shots as he enters the house, scans around for a bit, only to find Lisa happily holding Tailey on the stairs. This works here because it makes what would've otherwise been a rather mundane action much more exciting.
A few noteworthy shots from the musical number of adults becoming more kinky with their Halloween after children's bedtimes. It's not a particularly funny scene, but the design department clearly had a lot of fun, and this is a good way to get more characters in the episode without forcing them in elsewhere.
The score takes a break for the scenes of Homer and Lisa hiding in the attic. In any other episode, this would've been another dull talk-heavy scene, but here it works because it greatly contrasts with the thrilling orchestration that persisted for most of act 2 - making the lack of it here all the more unnerving.
One of the best gags is definitely Homer repeatedly trying and failing to light the fireworks signal with a match thanks to the heavy winds. Clever subversion that works with the context, extra well-timed, and refreshingly to-the-point.
Plus it makes for a particularly earned resolution of Lisa scarifying Tailie to light the fire, symbolizing how she is getting over her fears by facing them rather than hiding from them.
And the only thing more satisfying than that is Lisa giving Marge a little scare upon discovering Everscream Terrors is back up. Cool design on her costume, too.
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