It's not a very suspenseful story, but it's not meant to be. What "Jordy Verrill" does is take a potentially serious, frightening experience and make it hilarious. King seems to be a natural at redneck characters, and he brings Jordy Verrill to life. I love the comic book feel in this one, especially the dusky, lonesome night on the farm and the lush greenery of the fake weeds. "Jordy Verrill" captures the attention like "Father's Day" couldn't.
"Something to Tide You Over" - This psychotic short stars Ted Danson as Harry Wentworth, a man who is harrassed by a messed-up guy named Richard (Leslie Nielsen). He kidnaps Harry's girl (Gaylen Ross) and then persuades Harry to come to the beach to find her, where Richard proceeds to bury Harry in the sand up to his head while the tide comes in. As Harry dies, he promises to get back at Richard, and sure enough, he and his girl come back from the dead to exact revenge.
"...Tide You Over" is much creepier than the last two shorts, and also much darker and less comedic. Nielsen's over-the-top character presents the audience with a great acting session, as Richard broods in the mentally-insane-who-laughs-crazily bunch of kooks. I like the atmosphere that this segment presented, as seeing Danson and Ross struggle against the water that's rushing up to their face gives a frightful claustrophobic feeling. Later on, after all the harrowing events have ended and Richard is faced with the two lover zombies, the tension kind of turns on its side and dissipates. For the most part, though, this story really captures the serious horror that the film is both depicting and mocking. The only thing I could have used was some more introduction to the characters, since the reasons for Richard's dementia and his torturous desires are a bit elusive.
"The Crate" - Moving on, we've got a story about a giant killer ape. A janitor and professor find a giant locked crate underneath some university stairs, and when they go to open it, a gigantic, razor-toothed beast unleashes fury on any unsuspecting victims. Professors gossip, you know, and the professor runs and tells his friend Henry, played by Hal Holbrook, who decides to clean up the bloody mess and lure his abusive wife (Adrienne Barbeau) to the fray. It seems to all work out - or does it?
"The Crate" is one of my favorites in this film, since it's a bloody, comedic mess. There are a bunch of creepy moments, because the audience's expectations are toyed with whenever someone gets close to the box. I love the red lighting every time violence happens, even if it has no meaning. The only thing that I really didn't like about this tale is the fact that the beginning meanders far too long. Granted, it gives exposition on the abusive wife, but we can see this throughout the whole film, especially with the extensive murderous dream sequences, and so it feels like the beginning is just too stretched out.
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