A Night in Terror
Tower is the best of the first
season. Beyond that, it’s actually so good that it feels as if it
came from an entirely different show. The budget is still low, but
the discussions are amazingly frank,
and the villain truly menacing. In keeping with the requirements of
90s kids’ television
the word “death” is never uttered. But, the show has no problem
with referring to the villain as the “Lord High Executioner,” or
making reference to “execution by beheading.” It’s as if the
writers were flipping the censors the bird.
The
episode also succeeds in giving us a plot that’s unpredictable,
while still holding together fairly well. Unlike most other episodes
there’s no sense that the writers were simply treading water until
they could release their twist on you, nor that the twist is somehow
separate from the rest of the story. There is all one narrative, and
it fits together flawlessly.
Sue
(Kathryn Short) and her brother Eddie (Corey Sevier) are taking a
tour of London that’s dragging them around from museum to museum.
They’re both excited when they find out that their tour guide
(Peter Messaline) is going to “Terror Tower,” the knock-off of
the Tower of London in which the Prince and Princess of York were
once imprisoned by their usurper Uncle (an obvious reference to the
historical Princes in the Tower).
I
feel like I’ve pointed out the obvious plotholes in plenty of
previous episodes, so I can’t let my love of this one get in
the way: To see if York had
ever been independent I checked Wikipedia for “King of York,” and
it took me to a list of Kings of Northumbria, one of which was
specifically crowned King of York in 918, with their territory being
absorbed by England in 954. That said, however, why in God’s name
would the Kings of Northumbria have been locking people in a Tower
explicitly stated to be located in London! Did
they just rent space rather than have their own dungeons?
Sue
and Eddie become separated from the tour group, and find themselves
chased through the tower by a strange man (Robert Collins) who wants
to take them somewhere. Getting away from him, they’re caught by a
security guard (Robert Buck), who doesn’t
believe they’re being chased, insisting
he’s the only person on the property. Escaping him, the two take a
cab back to their hotel.
It’s
here that they find...they can’t pay the cabbie (Michael
Polley). When they make the
attempt, he tells them that
the money they have isn’t real British currency. Looking
for their mother and father, they’re told that
the conference their parents are supposed to be attending isn’t at
the hotel, and that their
room is unoccupied. Then, it
dawns on them that they have
no memory of anything that happened prior to that day up to and
including their own last names. Honestly,
more scenes like this could have made Goosebumps a
far better show. No bad effects, or poorly-designed monster. Just
two kids who are terrified, and for good reason.
At
this point a brief chase ensues, with the cabbie searching the hotel
for the kids who can’t pay him. You could complain that being
arrested by the British police would probably be the best thing that
could happen to you if you’re wandering around London with no
memory of who you are, but I honestly can chock that up to
irresponsible teenagers being idiots. In
the kitchen they’re attacked by the strange man again, and suddenly
find themselves in the Middle Ages, still
being chased by the same man.
When
Sue asks a woman to hide her in exchange for the coins she had (which
turn out to be gold sovereigns), the woman immediately turns her
over. It’s from her that we finally find out that the mysterious
man is the Lord High Executioner. I actually think I may have asked
my mother what that word meant during the commercial break.
Locked
in the Tower, the children
encounter an imprisoned sorcerer named Morgred (Diego Matamoros) who
finally explains what’s going on. The two main characters are, in
fact, the Prince and Princess of York. Morgred, a servant of their
late father, had sent them into the future with new memories to save
them from execution. He intended to give them completely new
memories, and send himself with them, but was interrupted by the
Executioner before he could complete the spell, allowing the
Executioner to come after them with
Morgred’s
three magic stones. It’s
at this point that that the spell wears off, and they suddenly find
themselves in Renfest clothes with British accents (oddly, the Prince
of York seems to be aping Cockney).
I
may make fun of the sets and
costumes, but honestly it’s a huge step up from what this show
usually produces. The music, lighting, sets, costumes, and
performances
are all cheap, but used as effectively as a gourmet
chef making a meal of cheap ingredients. You don’t need fancy
stuff to make it work.
As
it typical, the final confrontation is quick and relies on the
momentary incompetence of the villain, but there are much worse
cases. Eddie picks the Executioner’s pocket for the stones, throws
them to Morgred
who begins the spell. Sue trips some hapless guards, and the scene
fades out as the Executioner desperately charges at Morgred.
And
with that, they’re back in the present day, being berated by their
tour guide for wandering off from the group. Morgred appears,
introducing himself as their “Guardian.” They finally get the
chance to hear the end of the story, being told that the Prince and
Princess mysteriously disappeared before their executions could be
performed.
The
final twist is probably one of the best justified of the first
season. Morgred finds that one of his stones is missing, and
believes Eddie pick pocketed it. The camera scrolls over, and we see
the Executioner holding the final stone. Given that he was charging
Morgred just as they were transported to the future, and the stones
were balanced on his open palm, this makes perfect sense.
Honestly,
I recommend this episode. It’s not just better than most
Goosebumps, it’s
legitimately better than many of the movies I’ve reviewed. It’s
scary, and if you want to raise a horror-buff child it’s
the perfect introduction.
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