Tales from the Crypt (TV Series) Deadline (1991) User Reviews

Alcoholics

[SleepTight666 · 5/10 · 11 June 2010]

An okay episode of Tales from the Crypt.

While I appreciated the more... realistic angle of the episode, and the decent performances. as far as these type of episodes go, it could have been better and less predictable.

The episode was predictable from start to finish, and the plot was minimal.

The episode shows a side of humanity that most people carry, jealousy, addiction and the will to do whatever is best for your own good.

The lead character was pretty unlikeable, but the actor portraying him was one of the better actors in a while.

Forgettable Tales from the Crypt episode.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 20 May 2008]

Tales from the Crypt: Deadline starts as washed up alcoholic has been news reporter Charles McKenzie (Richard Jordon) meets up with the seductive Vicki (Marg Helgenberger) in his favourite bar, Charles chats her up & they end up sleeping together. Inspired by her Charles decides to give up drinking, straighten up his life & get his old job back at The Globe, Charles has everything planned but he just can't find a big enough story at least until he next meets Vicki anyway...

This Tales from the Crypt was episode 12 from season 3, co-written & directed by one of the show's regular producers Walter Hill this one didn't really do much for me at all. The script by Hill & Mae Woods was based on a story appearing in the 'Shock SuspenStories' comic book & is a rather dull & forgettable affair. The opening sequence foretells how Deadline will end, the story is pretty slow going, there's nothing overtly horror themed here & Deadline feels more like a thriller with a twist ending rather than a macabre horror. At thirty odd minutes in length it feels longer, the character's & events are clichéd with some loser reporter having to find a big story so he ends up creating one himself, yawn. One of the poorer episodes from the third series & one that probably won't get much use if you have the season box set.

This episode is totally gore free, there's a bit of bad language & Marg Helgenberger gets her breasts out for about two seconds but that's as graphic & memorable as Deadline gets. There's nothing even scary in Deadline, there's no horror content so to speak & the best parts are the opening & closing Cryptkeeper sequences where he is a bartender. The acting is fine.

Deadline is one of the poorer episodes from the third season, it's not a complete waste of time as it might surprise a few out there but anyone familiar with the horror anthology genre or short tales with a twist will be able to second guess Deadline pretty easily.

Below average episode

[bellino-angelo2014 · 5/10 · 19 June 2021]

The episode begins with Charles McKenzie that is in an asylum on a straight jacket and tells his story in flashbacks. He was a journalist that had alcohol problems and nearly risked his career, and from time to time he sweared to give up drinking. One day he met a young woman named Vicki and they had a relationship; with her help he has his job back but at the condition that he has to bring a good murder story. When he hears of a diner's owner that murdered his wife in his kitchen, he goes there to discuss with the owner and thinks to have the perfect scoop, only to find out the truth about the wife.

I hoped to give this low rated episode a chance, but I ended up agreeing with all the other reviews. Towards the end I even didn't cared at what happened, and this certainly says a lot!

The Crypt goes psychological!

[Coventry · 11 March 2006]

Surprisingly gore-free episode of "Tales from the Crypt" but, instead, the story is very compelling and well-written. The subject matter isn't very groundbreaking and features clichés as well as stereotype characters, and yet there's an effectively tense atmosphere to this story that I really liked. Richard Jordon – who died only a year later – plays an alcoholic ex-reporter looking for a scoop story that'll give him his old job back. When he meets a gorgeous younger woman and starts a sexual relationship with her, Charlie has even more courage to bring his life back on track. But a scoop is nowhere to be found and the desperation drives Charlie to committing crime himself. Like I said; no gore but quite a lot of atmosphere thanks to the depressing set pieces and the ominous narrative style. Marg Helgenberger ("Species", "After Midnight") never looked so sexy as she does right here and there's a cool small role for Jon Polito. Walter Hill is one this great show's regular producers but he primarily remains a solid director.

How did we end up here?

[dptcarl · 6/10 · 22 November 2018]

I enjoyed this episode save for the ending. I saw that many found the plot to be predictable, but I felt like the conclusion of the story didn't align with its progression. I didn't know if the main character's end sequence was the result of a string of murders he committed after getting away with the strangulation or if the he was actually the deceased husband in an M Knight Shymalanian twist. This was one of the weaker episodes of season 3.

"I could really do with a drink!"

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 7/10 · 22 August 2017]

Some parts of this episode are I suppose a little weak and confusing, but it isn't the worst that season 3 had to offer, and there was far worse to come the longer the show went on.. It doesn't quite match up to the previous two episodes directed by Walter Hill, "The Man Who Was Death" and "Cutting Cards", but it's pretty enjoyable in its own right. It isn't really horror as there's no supernatural elements in the story, nor is it ever particularly horrific except for one violent scene right at the end. It's more of a thriller with some dark noirish undertones, with the 'horror' as such seeming to be that of the main character's growing desperation as he succumbs to the alcoholism that he suffers from and does something murderously drastic in order to get the big story he's been looking for... This tale has a great atmosphere about it though, it definitely has a certain old style E.C. gumshoe detective tonal thing going on, even though he's actually a reporter! I love the classy music and lighting and the moody inner monologues which are so engaging. It's a relatively uneventful story and the twist isn't really much of a twist at all as it's all very straightforward and pretty much spelled out for you. But it does trot along at a very compelling pace anyway because it feels focused and has a strong performance by Richard Jordan that alone makes it above average and worth watching for me. The ending feels very cheap and downright lazy however, with the character seemingly having gotten away with the murder yet next being seen telling his story and breaking the forth wall in an insane asylum without offering any explanation of how he ended up there, it doesn't make any sense and the episode winds up feeling rather incomplete because of it. Did the guilt drive him crazy? Did he go on to commit more murders to create more headline stories? Nothing in the story really sets him up as being all that insane.. You can't leave the audience just hanging' like that! Richard Jordan passed away about two years after being in this episode and it turned out to be one of his last roles, and for me that adds a bit of a poignant note to his part as a washed up reporter tired of life who thinks that he's found a way out of his troubles with a women he's infatuated with, but who's interested in nothing more than a good time, and he just ends up giving in to his private demons in more ways than one and losing his mind. It isn't great but it's an effective tale that's solidly written and directed and I like it's hard-edged grim atmosphere and 'charm.' It's highly intriguing and leaves you wanting more...in a good way.

Not a great one

[shellytwade · 5/10 · 11 April 2022]

I could understand why some people would love this episode, it just wasn't my cup of tea. It's a little long in the tooth with it's style. It does sort of pick up near the end but the twist seems like a hard one to believe. I don't know just something about this episode doesn't sit right.

ENDING EXPLAINED

[majames-63209 · 8/10 · 3 June 2020]

If you look at when the Crypt Keeper opens the book, the main page shows all of the crimes and murders that the main character had committed. For example, one of the pictures said that he had raped and then murdered a bunch of old women. This is because he is a serial killer. Yes, he did manage to get away with killing the lady. In the beginning of the movie he also told us that he is a murderer and a reporter. This is not just an isolated incident he did only once. This is more of a career type of thing that he has done repeatedly. He committed murders and then reported on them. But, at some point he was caught.

What I don't know but am pretty darn sure of nevertheless, is that the reason he is in a straight jacket is because he really needs a drink. At the end he states that yes I really do need a drink. He puts a very strong emphasis on 'do'. I wondered who asked him. We don't care how much you need to drink. But yet there was a strong emphasis on 'do'. I believe that he is in a straight jacket because he really needs a drink. You don't put someone in a straight jacket for being a serial killer. You put someone in a straight jacket for having mental problems and being crazy. If you're a serial killer you just lock them up and throw away the key.

Lastly, in the beginning of the show you see he has a suit on. But at the end of the show you see he still has a suit on but the straight jacket is under the collar and tie. So that is still consistent as well.

I gave it 8 stars because it really is such a fantastic show. It is so fantastic that it has aggravated tons of people not to understand the ending. Myself included. It took me a lot of reviewing that one episode to discover the answers. I would rather have them displayed the answers out for us in the show instead of leaving clues for us to pick up.

This was great!

[nko_123 · 15 October 2006]

I was watching TV in midnight here in Finland, and I decide to watch this episode of Tales from the Crypt. Before of that I hadn't seen any other episode.

So, I started watching, and after intro and those puppets, "Deadline" started. It was directed in very good way, and it was a surprise that Walter Hill was the director. Very good director indeed.

I think this show is going to be in future too only a cult classic, not "real" classic. Some peoples loves the show, some doesn't watch it because they don't know what it is. I didn't, but I did watch it, and I liked it.

8/10

Nice noirish episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 15 May 2011]

Washed up alcoholic newspaper reporter Charlie McKenzie (a fine and credible performance by Richard Jordan) vows to get both his life and career back together after he meets the lovely Vicki (superbly played to the smoldering sexy nines by the ravishing Marg Helgenberger) in a bar. But snagging that big comeback scoop proves to be easier said than done. Director Walter Hill, who also co-wrote the engrossing script with Mae Woods, handles this absorbing crime story with his usual cool and polished style. The bang-up supporting cast of top-rate character thespians in nifty secondary parts helps a whole lot: Richard Herd as busy, no-nonsense editor Phil Stone, John Capodice as friendly bartender Mike, Rutanya Alda as Charlie's fed-up sister Mildred, and, in an especially stand-out turn, Jon Polito as anguished cuckolded Greek diner owner Nikos Stano. Steve Bartek's jaunty'n'jazzy score, Rick Bota's slick'n'shadowy cinematography, and Jordan's hard-boiled narration add greatly to the overall snazzy film noir feel. The grim surprise ending packs a pleasingly ironic punch. A highly entertaining show.