Tales from the Crypt: Came the Dawn

"Came the Dawn" is the tenth episode of season five of the horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt and the sixty-second episode of the series overall. It was directed by Uli Edel and written by Ron Finley. It first aired on HBO on Wednesday, November 17th, 1993. In this episode, a woman on a date in a restaurant excuses herself to use the restroom only to be brutally murdered by an axe-wielding maniac moments later. Meanwhile, a wealthy man named Roger picks up a hitchhiker and thief named Norma and brings her back to his cabin where he tries to seduce her. Things heat up when Norma learns that Roger has a mysterious, jealous girlfriend and that there is a psychotic killer in the area.

Notes & Trivia



 * The Crypt Keeper alters his voice slightly in the opening sequence of this episode. He adopts a more nasally voice while imitating the cadence of a flight attendant.


 * This is the first work in the horror genre for director Uli Ede. It is also his only work on Tales from the Crypt.


 * This is Ron Finley's fourth episode on Tales from the Crypt as a screenplay writer. He works on five episodes of the series in total.


 * The director of photography for this episode is Rick Bota. This is his fifteenth episode on the series as a cinematographer.


 * Leading actress Brooke Shields is best known as a fashion model for Calvin Klein, as well as a film actress who first rose to stardom with the 1980 romance drama, The Blue Lagoon (not to be confused with the Black Lagoon, known to be frequented by a certain scaly big-lipped creature). In the science fiction genre, Brooke is also known for playing Vanessa Foster in the "Leaping of the Shrew" episode of Quantum Leap.


 * This is the first work in the horror genre for actor Perry King.


 * Axes are a very popular weapon in Tales from the Crypt episodes. Actress Amanda Plummer was known to swing an axe in the season one episode, "Lover Come Hack to Me".


 * This episode was first broadcast on the same day that principal filming on the 1994 biopic, Ed Wood, concluded.


 * Dismemberment is the process of hacking up a body into its various pieces, removing arms and legs and so forth. The murderer in this episode hacks up two women with an axe, though this is more implied than shown.

Allusions

 * This episode is based on "Came the Dawn!", which is the second story featured in Shock SuspenStories #9, cover-dated June-July, 1953. The story was written by Al Feldstein and illustrated by Wally Wood.


 * It is revealed at the end of the episode that Roger has multiple personality disorder, which is split between his dominant male persona, and that of his girlfriend. This is similar to the condition suffered by Norman Bates in the 1959 novel Psycho, which was adapted into the Psycho feature film in 1960 by director Alfred Hitchcock. Brooke Shield's character, Norma, may have been named for Norman or Norma Bates.

Quotes

 * The Crypt Keeper: Good evening, creeps, and welcome aboard Tales from the Crypt Scarelines flight 666, offering direct service from your living room straight to Hell. As we will be experiencing some tur-boo-lence, we recommend that you keep your seat-belts fastened, and your vomit bags handy. So slip on your dead-sets and get ready for tonight's in-fright entertainment. It's a nasty tale about my favorite kind of ghoul, dread-heads. I call it, "Came the Dawn".

....
 * The Crypt Keeper: Hmm...I know they say blondes have more fun, but you gotta admit, redheads really know how to swing. So, 'til next time, kiddies, I hope you'll excuse me, but I've got a little private business to take care of. It's the only way to fry. I've always wanted to join the Mile-Die Club.