| "Parent Deathtrap" | |
|---|---|
| Series Creepshow Season 4, Episode 3/1 | |
| |
| Air date | October 13th, 2023 |
| Writers | Erik Sandoval; Michael Rousselet |
| Director | P.J. Pesce |
| Producers | Julia Hobgood; Anthony Fankhauser; Marc Mostman; Geoff Silverman; Robert Dudelson; James Dudelson; Jordan Kizwani; Eric Woods; Jeff Holland; Russell Binder; Stan Spry; Jim Reeve; Brian Witten; Greg Nicotero; Laurel Murphy; John Esposito |
| Starring | Dylan Sloane; Loretta Walsh; Shaughnessy Redden; Chloe Babcock; Andrea Drepaul; Ed Chow; Julie Howgate; Tariq Leslie; Talia Mathers; Cooper Bibaud |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous "Grieving Process" |
Next "To Grandmother's House We Go" |
"Parent Deathtrap" is the first segment in the third episode from season four of the Creepshow streaming anthology series. It was directed by P.J. Pesce with a script written by Erik Sandoval and Michael Rousselet. All episodes from season four premiered on Shudder on Friday, October 13th, 2023.
Synopsis[]
Lyle VelJohnson doesn't have a happy life.
Lyle VelJohnson is a high school senior and the son of the extremely wealthy VelJohnson family, who prize image and social standing above all other things. Lyle has plans to attend his high school prom with a girl named Violet Meyers, but parents Archibald and Gloria don't think he is good enough for her. As they have done the entirety of their son's life, they bully, criticize and emotionally abuse him at every turn. Even the family cat church hates Lyle, and shows his displeasure by giving the boy a nasty scratch across his face. Lyle takes care of the pest however... permanently.
When Violet Meyers stands Lyle up, his parents launch into another tirade of abuse, belittling him. Lyle can stand it no more. The boy snaps and pulls a sword from a family crest above the mantle and cuts off his father's head. It takes several slices however, as Lyle has neglected to sharpen the blade as he had been instructed. When his mother enters the room, he stabs at her through the abdomen, eviscerating her.
Four years pass, but things are not quite as cheery for the now parentless Lyle VelJohnson as one might expect. Having found a way to explain off his parents' absence, Lyle has retained living in the family mansion. As it turns however, Lyle is haunted by the ghosts of his parents, who continue to squawk and berate him.
While shopping for groceries, Lyle reunites with Violet Meyers. Violet apologizes for standing him up four years earlier. A romance sparks between the two, which quickly escalates into a love affair that results in them getting married.
Lyle's parents are pretty awful.
After the wedding, the two sit down for dinner. Lyle begins feeling light-headed and uneasy. Violet reveals her true nature at this point. She confesses to having poisoned his drink. The Meyers fortune was seized following a Ponzi scheme scandal conducted by her father. With nothing to live on but a measly life insurance policy, Violet orchestrated her own parents' murder and dumped the bodies in the lake that separates the families' respective homes. The money from the insurance policy is rapidly dwindling however, and so she admits to marrying Lyle in order to inherit the VelJohnson fortune.
The ghosts of Violet's parents, Chester and Viviane Meyers appear in the room during her confession. The dying Lyle begins laughing and confesses to murdering his parents. Further, the VelJohnsons are in debt to the IRS, and as such, Lyle was never named heir. The ghosts of Lyle's parents materialize, but when they see that Violet has poisoned their son, they emit a horrendous ghostly howl that frightens Violet to death.
Federal agents and paramedics arrive at the house to recover Violet as well as the bodies of her parents and Lyle's parents. As Lyle is being wheeled out of the house on a gurney, he is still in an intoxicated state from the seemingly slow-acting poison, and absentmindedly admits to the Special Agent Ella that he killed his parents.
Cast[]
Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Dylan Sloane | Lyle VelJohnson |
| Loretta Walsh | Gloria VelJohnson |
| Shaughnessy Redden | Archibald VelJohnson |
Guest Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Chloe Babcock | Violet Meyers |
| Andrea Drepaul | Special Agent Ella |
| Ed Chow | Special Agent Mann |
| Julie Howgate | Viviane Myers |
| Tariq Leslie | Chester Meyers |
Co-Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Talia Mathers | Woman |
| Cooper Bibaud | Police officer #1 |
Notes & Trivia[]
- The Creepshow franchise was created by filmmaker George A. Romero and novelist Stephen King. Inspired by classic horror comic strips published by the likes of EC Comics, it was brought to the big screen as an anthology film in 1982. It produced two sequels, Creepshow 2 in 1987 and Creepshow 3 in 2006. Creepshow: The Series was developed by Greg Nicotero and produced by Cartel Pictures, Striker Entertainment, Monster Agency Productions and the Taurus Entertainment Company. It began streaming on Shudder on September 26th, 2019.
- This series contains strong language and scenes of graphic violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
- "Parent Deathtrap", "Parent Death Trap", and "Creepshow: Parent Death Trap" all redirect to this page.
- This episode is production code number S04E03.
- This episode has an actual running time of 29 minutes.
- This is the 20th episode of the series (not including specials). It is the 19th episode of the series to feature two vignettes per episode. It is the 38th vignette in the series in total.
- The end-title sequence identifies the name of this episode as "Parent Death Trap" as opposed to combined "Parent Deathtrap".
- Executive producer James Glenn Dudelson is credited as James Dudelson in this episode.
- Executive producer Robert Franklin Dudelson is credited as Robert Dudelson in this episode.
- Executive producer Eric Scott Woods is credited as Eric Woods in this episode.
- This segment is paired with "To Grandmother's House We Go" to comprise episode 4x03.
- There is a four-year span of time between Lyle's prom and when he reunites with Violet Meyers. Assuming that the main events of this episode take place in the year in which the episode was released, this would place the beginning of the episode in the year 2019.
Allusions[]
- The title of this episode is taken from The Parent Trap, which was a novel written by Erich Kästner in 1949. It was adapted into a feature film in 1961 starring Hayley Mills, and then remade in 1998 starring Lindsay Lohan.
- Gloria VelJohnson makes reference to late actor Patrick Swayze while performing ghostly activity. Specifically, she is referring to a scene from the 1990 Swayze vehicle Ghost, in which his character (who is a ghost) learns how to physically interact with material objects.
- The name of the VelJohnson's cat is "Churchill". This is the same name of the cat owned by Ellie Creed in the novel Pet Sematary, though he was often referred to by the shortened nickname of "Church". The cats in both projects die and come back from the dead by way of supernatural means. Churchill comes back as a ghost cat, while Church comes back as an undead zombie cat. They are also both dicks.
See also[]
External Links[]
- "Parent Deathtrap" at IMDB
- "Parent Deathtrap" at Trakt TV
- "Parent Deathtrap" at the TV Database
- "Parent Deathtrap" at Themoviedb.org
Keywords[]
Boat | Cats | Claws | Dead animals | Decapitation | Evisceration | Federal Bureau of Investigation | Ghosts | Guitar | Matricide | Patricide | Poisons | Police car | Severed head | Smoking | Sword
 This article pertains to an episode from season four of the Creepshow streaming series on Shudder. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Creepshow/Season 4 episodes category. |