In Sickness and in Health

I saw the first 4 parts of "Fear itself" and to me its some really weak stuff there. The visuals are nice, the acting is good but the stories are most of the time pretty much ridiculous. "In sickness and health" was one of the weakest ... its about a woman who gets rushed into marriage with a guy she met not too long ago and her friends wondering if she makes the right decision. On her wedding day she receives a note from a strange lady informing her that she es about to marry a serial killer. From here on the thing is well filmed but mainly just a bore and when the final twist comes in you wonder why anyone gets money to make a movie out of such an idea... it just makes no sense at all. This movie is a giant plot-hole with a twist that turns it all upside down trying to be smart but making no sense with what characters did throughout the movie. You can think about the end in any way you like but everything in the script just sucks for laying out stupid red herrings all the way and letting characters do things that don't make sense in the end. Unless everybody in this movie was supposed to be a serial killer its just bad...this one was even way worse than the episode with the voodoo guy in the cell. Cheap suspense leading absolutely nowhere but to real stupid script ideas.

Sam (Maggie Lawson) and Carlos (James Roday) are at the church, ready to be married after a very short engagement. But moments before the ceremony is scheduled to begin, a woman in a red scarf drops off a note that gets passed on to Sam: "The person you are marrying is a serial killer." She freaks out, and although she's ready to go through with the wedding, the mood was changed and the night is about to become stressful for everyone involved.

I seem to be in the minority on this episode. Michael Gingold of Fangoria didn't really care for it. But it seems every episode I liked, he didn't and every one he didn't, I did. So, Michael, I think you're a great reporter but I don't think I trust your taste in movies anymore. Further, most people seem to disapprove of it, calling it "boring" or "slow" or "confusing". I can understand it being confusing -- especially after a few plot twists and some characters are introduced who don't have very well-defined backgrounds. I didn't find it boring or slow at all, though. (I think this may be in part because I get copies of the show without the commercials... sorry, NBC.) My good friend Hannah liked it, but not as much as she liked "Family Man". I think that's a fair call and I'm not far removed from her. I think I liked "In Sickness and in Health" slightly better, but it's hard to say. They seem to be the best episodes so far (thank you, Ronny Yu and John Landis). With "Innocent Blood" still fresh in my mind, it's not surprising this one left a good taste in my mouth. I'm still holding out for next week's Stuart Gordon episode ("Eater") to be the best, but the plot doesn't impress me. And Gingold likes it, so it's bound to be horrible.

There isn't much to analyze in this week's installment, simply because most of it is suspense and very little plot. I think they succeeded on the suspense. And the traps for the audience were set up well, even if it doesn't all make sense in the end. I don't know. I liked it. Maybe Hannah is right, maybe "Family Man" is better. I'll have to wait until my second viewing when these come out on DVD. But I can say after the slow start of the series, this was a welcome addition.

This episode falls apart in nearly every way possible. The characters overreact to everything. The final revelation is anything but surprising, and yet, once we know it, nothing we've seen before makes any sense. Some mysterious characters' motivations are never explained. In short, the entire script plays out like a poorly conceived "gotcha" that strains credulity at every turn. You persevere to the end hoping that at least the explanation will offer something of a payoff, but everything just crumbles like dry mud.

Nor does the direction help in the least. The characters are either annoying or unlikable. Humorous moments are thrown in with no rhyme or reason. We cut to commercial seemingly every three minutes. And worst of all, THERE'S NO FEAR! There have been some entertaining entries in the series, but this is not one of them. It feels like a student film based on a high-schooler's screenplay. Skip it.

1st of all, this series is a weak substitution for Masters of Horror. I believe you can make a great short horror film without graphic violence and cursing, but the episodes so far has been bad. I'll admit there are some laugh out loud moments in this episode, which I expect from Landis. The random close ups on the religious icons are funny & there are a few character flaws that are great. However, (within the 1st 5 mins.) I made what I thought was the worst guess about the ending & was correct. The lead up to the twist doesn't work, because it tries too hard to force you down the wrong path. It ended up being a cheesy, '80's-like bit of entertainment.

It's bizarre how the last 5 minutes or so completely ruined any potential this episode could have achieved.. Not only were there many plot holes, but the twist completely ruins any credibility to any of the story up until that point. It feels like the writer was hoping no one would remember anything they saw for the first 40 minutes.

I never write reviews for TV shows or movies, but this show left me completely frustrated and irritated when it ended. Everything that had happened either was left unanswered, or made no sense. I wont put any spoilers here, in case someone is reading reviews before seeing the episode.

Honestly, I did like the acting, and felt enveloped in the story. The ending was just far too forced, and seemed tacked on, and didn't belong there.