'Spores' is one of the strangest episodes of The Haunting Hour that I've seen in a while; it's got everything from a park ranger who breathes out mold spores in a child's face to a whole family being turned into mulch. But the funniest thing about this episode is probably the plot itself.
So, it begins almost like a twisted scene from a Lifetime movie on child abuse; a little boy named Melvin is locked in his car while his parents pound on the windows and doors, shouting at him. Turns out that's not the case. Melvin is just a hylophobic kid who has been dragged along by his parents, brother and sister on a family camping trip and hike to Lookout Point. When Melvin is finally persuaded to leave the vehicle (along with a field guide to forest diseases and fungi), immediately things begin to go wrong for the not-so-happy campers. First off there's a creepy park ranger, whom the sister says is perfect serial killer material, skulking around the trails. He warns the family that several hikers have disappeared in the area and to be vigilant. There's the usual family feuding, if not Melvin's siblings making fun of him then it's the dad bugging the family about having a Kodak moment family vacation. When Mom goes off to use the bathroom, a strange greenish-colored haze of dust covers her... and she goes missing.
As the episode goes on, Dad disappears, too... but when Melvin, Jack and Jacquelyn find their parents, they're horrified to see that their loving mom and dad have been infested with fungal spores and turned into decaying shells of their human selves, with mushrooms and mold coating their skin and a glazed-over look in their eyes. Soon Jack and Jacquelyn succumb to the deadly spores as well, leaving poor Melvin running all the way back to the family car. And the kid would've almost made it too, but suddenly the freaky park ranger shows up and opens his mouth, breathing a disgusting cloud of green dust onto Melvin. Unfortunately all Melvin can do is scream in terror as the episode cuts to the end credits.
One odd thing I noticed about this episode was the names of all the characters. Aside from Melvin, every character had something in common with their names, check this out: Jacquelyn, Jack, Janet, ranger Jackson... was that meant to be an inside joke between the screenwriters or something? The cast itself features Juan Riedinger as ranger Jackson. Juan Riedinger was the scarecrow in the 2011 episode of The Haunting Hour called 'Scarecrow', and I think he was a character in 'Coat Rack Cowboy' as well. All the actors in this episode were very good, but what impressed me more than the acting was the disturbing mushroom effects that were CGI but incredibly detailed. Still, I didn't really find this episode scary, kind of creepy but not scary. It was certainly entertaining, The Haunting Hour always delivers, even in its final season!
So, it begins almost like a twisted scene from a Lifetime movie on child abuse; a little boy named Melvin is locked in his car while his parents pound on the windows and doors, shouting at him. Turns out that's not the case. Melvin is just a hylophobic kid who has been dragged along by his parents, brother and sister on a family camping trip and hike to Lookout Point. When Melvin is finally persuaded to leave the vehicle (along with a field guide to forest diseases and fungi), immediately things begin to go wrong for the not-so-happy campers. First off there's a creepy park ranger, whom the sister says is perfect serial killer material, skulking around the trails. He warns the family that several hikers have disappeared in the area and to be vigilant. There's the usual family feuding, if not Melvin's siblings making fun of him then it's the dad bugging the family about having a Kodak moment family vacation. When Mom goes off to use the bathroom, a strange greenish-colored haze of dust covers her... and she goes missing.
As the episode goes on, Dad disappears, too... but when Melvin, Jack and Jacquelyn find their parents, they're horrified to see that their loving mom and dad have been infested with fungal spores and turned into decaying shells of their human selves, with mushrooms and mold coating their skin and a glazed-over look in their eyes. Soon Jack and Jacquelyn succumb to the deadly spores as well, leaving poor Melvin running all the way back to the family car. And the kid would've almost made it too, but suddenly the freaky park ranger shows up and opens his mouth, breathing a disgusting cloud of green dust onto Melvin. Unfortunately all Melvin can do is scream in terror as the episode cuts to the end credits.
One odd thing I noticed about this episode was the names of all the characters. Aside from Melvin, every character had something in common with their names, check this out: Jacquelyn, Jack, Janet, ranger Jackson... was that meant to be an inside joke between the screenwriters or something? The cast itself features Juan Riedinger as ranger Jackson. Juan Riedinger was the scarecrow in the 2011 episode of The Haunting Hour called 'Scarecrow', and I think he was a character in 'Coat Rack Cowboy' as well. All the actors in this episode were very good, but what impressed me more than the acting was the disturbing mushroom effects that were CGI but incredibly detailed. Still, I didn't really find this episode scary, kind of creepy but not scary. It was certainly entertaining, The Haunting Hour always delivers, even in its final season!
