Lower Decks

The following review contains spoilers for Supernatural through the current episode, “Monster Movie,” originally broadcast October 16th, 2008.

Oh, how I wanted to love this episode. The entire time I was watching it, I was desperately trying to like it. And while I enjoyed aspects of the episode the end result never came together for me. Airing an entire episode in black and white is a novel idea (and one that USA Network’s Monk tried in December of 2006, although it also aired the episode in color). Black and white instantly adds a certain atmosphere to a television series, a mood, an ambience. For a show like Supernatural, steeped in horror tradition, it actually makes a great deal of sense to try shooting an entire episode in black and white. It was a noble effort, but one that ultimately failed (but was nevertheless an enjoyable way to spend an hour).

The storyline in “Monster Movie” has Sam and Dean investigating the unusual death of a woman who was found drained of blood. The murder took place in a town in Pennsylvania where Oktoberfest is taking place. Happily for Dean, that means big pretzels. After meeting up with the local sheriff and seeing the dead body, they determine nothing supernatural took place. Just an unusually strange murder. Dean, who has meet a lovely bar wench, decides to enjoy Oktoberfest before leaving. That night, however, there is another murder. This one committed by a werewolf. And a security guard is murdered by a mummy.

Eventually, after Dean is attacked by Dracula, the brothers learn that a shape shifter is responsible for the murders. For some reason, it is taking on the appearance of classic movie monsters. And it has its eyes on the bar wench Dean has the hots for, Jamie, who in Dracula canon takes on the role of Mina, Dracula’s betrothed. Dean is Mr. Harker, Mina’s fiancé and Dracula’s foil. While Sam heads out to investigate a lead, Dean and Jamie talk about his job as monster killer. Lucy, one of Jamie’s fellow bar wenches and a good friend, shows up unexpectedly and is invited to share a drink.

Lucy is revealed to be the shape shifter after she drugs Dean and Jamie. Sam, meanwhile, has come across a dead end. He manages to free Dean, who has been tied up in a dungeon by Dracula, and the two go after Jamie. But Dracula quickly takes out Sam and comes close to chowing down on Dean when Jamie shoots him through the chest. In character to the end, the shape shifter quotes from King Kong and dies a theatrical death. Dean and Jamie say farewell with a few long kisses while Sam watches awkwardly. Later, the brothers discuss what their lives would be like if movies were real. Sam easily guesses Dean’s movie fantasy: Porky’s 2.

There was certainly much more to the episode, but that was the basic plot. It was fleshed out with a slew of allusions to classic films, a self-referential joke or two about the episode being in black and white, and a lot of humor from Dracula (for example, he greets a pizza delivery guy in full costume and later offers Jamie a resplendent dinner of said pizza). But while each of these elements, taken alone, worked well, combined together they formed a jumbled mess of an episode.

Perhaps the biggest problem with “Monster Movie” was the cavalier treatment of the murders carried out by the shape shifter. The episode was played for laughs but it is difficult to laugh about a string of grizzly killings. Yes, Dean did call out the shape shifter for the murders, but otherwise it was all jokes, all the time. In many ways, every episode of Supernatural attempts to walk the thin line between horror and humor. And usually, it works. But “Monster Movie,” in many ways, seemed like a farce. If, rather than brutally killing people, the shape shifter had simply, say, terrorized them in an attempt to live out his monster movie fantasies, perhaps the episode would have worked a little better.

The music, intentionally obnoxious as it was at times, was wonderful.  Having the entire episode filmed in black and white, however, didn’t. Supernatural is typically a very dark show, cinematography-wise. Shooting in black and white made this episode even darker. So dark at times it was difficult to make out the background in many scenes. Was that a thematic choice to fit in the “monster movie” mold? If so, it may not have been the best one.

Still, there was a lot that did work in this episode. The shape shifter, as Dracula, waxing nostalgic about monster movies and a desire to live elegantly in movies rather than meagerly in reality was intriguing. And Dean was in top form, from the gleeful sighting of big pretzels to his somber explanation to Sam about his re-hymanation. Jamie, although most likely nothing more than another notch on Dean’s bed post, did provide for interesting insight into Dean’s life. She calls the job he does a “terrible responsibility” and Dean explains that he once felt that way. But after his near death experience (a.k.a. his trip to hell) he was given a new mission and a realization that what he does saves people.

Coming on the heels of three successive episodes that are pointing Supernatural down a new road, “Monster Movie” felt like a detour. It was supposed to be a fun episode and in that respect, it delivered, if for no other reason than the following exchange:

Jamie: "You ever think you're lonely because you kill people?"
Dracula: "Or I kill people because I'm lonely."

Brilliant.