Every Haunting Hour Ever #43: The Cast

Season: 3
Episode: 3
Original Airdate: October 20, 2012 
Director: Ken Friss 

So do you guys remember back in my review of the season two episode Sick where I talked about a film called The Electric Piper? Well apparently, the internet pulled a Cry Baby Lane on us and uploaded yet another previously lost Nickelodeon film to the internet. If any of you are interested in seeing it, here's the link to the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlcxrS5Gljc 

Lex Johnson (Robert Capron) is out with two punk brothers named Dexter and Sterling Scott (who he's trying to impress) and joins them into throwing eggs at the crazy cat lady Ms. Hibou's house. When Ms. Hibou (Christina Jastrzembska) comes out to scold the boys and they start to run, Lex trips upon being startled by one of Ms. Hibou's cats and breaks his arm. He tells the police that the Scott Brothers threw the eggs and he was trying to stop them and is praised as a hero. After a visit to the doctor, his cast starts to itch and move like there's something alive in there. The doctor doesn't see anything when this is brought up to him. Ms. Hibou's cats soon take an interest in Lex's cast.

One of the things I enjoyed about this episode was the build up. Much like in The Return of Lilly D episode, it starts out with something rather simple such as a group kids causing trouble in their neighborhood but when one kid goes to far with it (i.e Lex eggs one of the neighbor's houses after he was told not to do so by the other group members), the plot slowly becomes more tense and eventually builds up to a shocking and action packed climax. The way it builds up throughout the episode is great! It's fairly balanced in the way it divides the bits and pieces of build up throughout the course of the episode. 

Another thing I like about the episode is the ending. Now if I were to spoil what happens at the end, I think it would be a great injustice to the ending itself because let me tell you something. Given what happens in this episode, it ends on a perfect note. It's intense, it's unexpected, and makes you wonder what's going on, even when the credits roll. I honestly think that this one of the best endings out of all the Haunting Hour episodes I've reviewed thus far. Heck, I'd say that it's up there with The Perfect Brother in just how great the ending is. 

One other thing I like about the episode is that this episode takes a plot we've seen before and adds a twist to it. Now a story where someone does something bad, blames someone else for the misdeed, and ends up being hailed as hero for it is normally played for laughs. However, this episode plays this for scares by showing just how much the guilt takes a toll on Lex. He constantly tries to brush it off but eventually he becomes so anxious that he starts experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations of rats and his neighbor Ms. Hibou, who's house got egged by him. I imagine that writing a comedic plot as a horror story isn't an easy task but for the most part, I think they did a pretty good job here. While Lex isn't portrayed as a saint, he's still likeable enough for the audience to sympathize with him as they watch his anxiety build throughout the episode. 

Now the one downside of this episode is the performance from the Scott brothers. I mean their performances aren't awful but they aren't great either and I honestly think they could've been a lot better. 

Overall, The Cast, much like Sick, is a great psychological horror and one of my favorite episodes out of the series. If you're a really big fan of psychological horror, I suggest checking this episode out. 

Overall Grade: A