Every Haunting Hour Ever #13: Black Mask

Season: 1

Episode: 13
Original Airdate: March 12, 2011
Director: Neill Fearnley

     

     Yeah I know it's been awhile since my last review and for that I apologize. Anyway, just like with Goosebumps, The Haunting Hour also has an episode that revolves around a mask and is it any good? Well, let's check out the story.

     

     A mask tells of a very bad past, so Julie (Madison Pettis) and Bill (Ricardo Hoyos), set off to change the past of the kids who they believe died. In the end, the kids seen through the mask were actually Julie and Bill themselves. The man they believed would kill them was just the handyman (Nicholas W. von Zill) who was trying to fix the furnace. The mask enables their friend Robbie to save the handyman when an explosion in the furnace causes the beam they thought would crush them to fall on him. Robbie shoves both himself and the handyman out of the way. They realize that the mask shows the future instead of the past.

     

     I think one of the most interesting parts about the episode is the plot structure. Rather than dump as many details on the audience as possible in the beginning, it's kept quite vague with the only known details being the character's names and the setting. However, as the episode progresses, more details slowly start to piece together and by the end, it all comes full circle. I gotta be honest, I don't think I've seen a Haunting Hour episode attempt something like this before and for a first try, it's not bad. OK there's some spoonfeeding here and there but it doesn't detract too much from the overall structure.

     

     If I'm being honest here, I also think the actors did a decent job playing their roles. They do a good job of portraying a wide range of emotions that make you feel bad when something horrible happens to them and makes you feel happy when they come out on top.

     

     Overall, Black Mask may not stand out as much as other episodes in the series, but it's still an interesting episode to check out. I'm sorry I didn't really have as much to say as I did in the last review but this is about as much as I could muster up.

     

     Overall Grade: B