User Reviews

So Homer may be a secret idiot savant in the world of quantum mechanics, because after repeatedly trapping his hand in the toaster one morning he repairs the thing and accidentally invents a dang time machine! The first segment is the most lighthearted and moves a mile a minute, and what's really great about it is just how funny and creative it is with the ways in which Homer keeps screwing up the present as he goes back and forth through time - oh if he had only stayed a few seconds longer in the world where it rained doughnuts! Just like the time he was the Devil it was awesome seeing Flanders as a villain, this time as an almighty happy tyrant who hands out forced labotomies at the slightest violation of his impossible decree of constant good behaviour! "The Shinning" is really in a league of its own as far as Simpsons parodies go and it really has it all, great laughs, chills, and a fantastic parody that apes but still somehow captures a little of the spirit and atmosphere of the source material. I love how rather than there being any kind of slow breakdown, Homer is instantly insane as soon as he discovers that he has neither beer nor TV! There's such an excellent blend of scares and comedy put into it, even during the great sequence that every Simpsons fan has probably quoted at some point, when Homer goes crazy "Don't mind if I do!!!" and babbles a lot of hysterical nonsense at Marge before scaring himself into falling down the stairs, it retains the slight darker edge even in the midst of all that laughter. "Nightmare cafeteria" even more so is very funny but has some real horror elements in it that really pushed the limits of what they could do in terms of gore and I just find it the scariest Treehouse story ever. I really love Skinner in it, as he acts like his usual buttoned-down principal self but with an eerie added note of sociopathy as he and the teachers systematically harvest the kids of Springfield Elementary, it's creepy stuff! Even the loony twist ending is kind of unsettling, with everything that happened having merely been Bart's nightmare version of the school...but then there's a final great big screw you to the censors as everybody is grotesquely turned inside out by an insidious fog and sings a happy showtune! It was abrupt but I think it made for one bizarrely charming ending. I find this to be a perfectly done Treehouse of Horror and it's The Simpsons at its funniest, smartest, and of course its scariest. Happy Halloween folks! X

This is my fifth one and it is the best. The parody of the Shining is wonderful from beginning to end. Of course, the butterfly effect dominates the second. The third is a little Soylent Green. All work marvelously with a number of Simpsons frailties thrown in to make them work.

This is it--the single greatest Simpsons ever, AND since it's a Treehouse of Horror, we get 3 for the price of 1! SCORE!!!

I haven't done a full rewatch in a while, but i've seen most of them recently and this is definitely the strongest.

I can't put into words how perfect this Treehouse of Horror is. So I won't.

12/10.

There Halloween tales First tale was The Shinning The Simpsons are asked by Mr Burns to caretaker Hotel, before Mr Burns leaves Smithers kill the Cable TV and remove all the beer, two things that Homer love. It dose take long for Homer to go insane and Marge lock him up in freezer, when homer start to eat then number of horror Ioons such as Freddy, Jason, Pinhead and Mummy who drag me out which I did find really great.

Tale 2 Homer keeps getting hand stuck in toaster so he tires to fix but then keeps goes back time, he kills a fly and when comes back the world as changed but then he tries to fix but then he can't get is normal time.

It was odd story story they did have some good jokes but I wish Homer had happy ending, i wish ending staying in the Rich house, we would have love raining Dounts.

The next story Nigthmare cafeteria Kids are going missing school and school are serving some nice food for change named after some of the kids have gone missing, Lisa and Bart both run to Marge who know help at all. As they got back school they face it, will they make it out live.

I find this much more funny then Halloween 4, it some great funny jokes in this episode.

8 out of 10

Although it's a few months early for Halloween yet I wanted to give review of this Treehouse of Horror special. Opening of Marge on stage warning about terrifying show is totally unnecessary, even the singing scene in end. It has the gag of Groundskeeper Willie (in each of the three segments which I'll review individually) coming to someone's rescue only to get axed in back and killed: first by deranged Homer, then Maggie (with eerie voice role by James Earle Jones) and Principal Skinner.

The Shinning: This first segment is based off the 1980 psychological horror film, The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson (and the Stephen King horror novel). There's many references or similarities to the film even with Homer as Jack Torrance, Marge as Wendy, Bart as Danny, Willie as Halloran: wife swinging a baseball bat at her insane husband before locking him in the pantry, torrent of blood coming from an elevator/lift, the hedge maze, the word REDRUM (word "murder" backwards) Maggie using her blocks, Homer saying Jack Nicholson's iconic line "Here's Johnny!" and family freezes in the snow like Jack Torrance's death. This is without doubt most popular Treehouse of Horror segment, with laughs even Homer's "Can't murder now: eating"

Time and Punishment: This one is somewhat quite a weird Treehouse of Horror segment, and inspired by Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder". Of course, time travel is somewhat tense (with unpredictable consequences) yet seems to have more a science-fiction theme than horror with some pop culture references and one-liners. After breaking and somewhat repairing the toaster, Homer travels back to prehistoric times and alter the course of history, even his reaction to each of the altered realities he turns up in - one with Flanders as an amiable villain and even one Homer has a rich house yet he misses out that it rains doughnuts.

As it ends, Homer, hilarious, gives questions for confirmation: "What's my name? What colour is the sky? What of donuts? What?! For the love of God, tell me!" And just when it seemed Homer has returned back to the present, Oh no, his family have, eat with amphibian forked tongues which gave a bit of scare. A world without using cutlery? Doesn't bother me or Homer with good answer: "Eh, close enough".

Nightmare Cafeteria: This is quite a dark disturbing school slasher with bit of stomach-churning gruesome cannibalism sorta made for Halloween, and it's literally a tasty revenge some people by overcrowded detention students. Who knew school faculty make disturbing villains?

Overall, this is a popular Treehouse of Horror special, even if the second one of Homer time-travelling doesn't outshine the first and third ones. And the unwanted singing at end (fog turning their bodies) quite like the Christmas "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" ending to previous Treehouse of Horror.

Three comedy horror stories from The Simpsons.

This is a strong Halloween episode and the standout story for me is The Shining tribute. The concept of it being a lack of television and beer that drives Homer murderously insane is brilliant and there are a number of standout gags that work very well. My favourites include the opening journeys to the Overlook-type hotel, the moment Homer scares himself and Bart's shinning moments.

The other two parts are pretty good too, particularly the school of cannibalism, which is very dark in its humour and quite creepy and stomach churning at times.

Numerous characters are used well, particularly Homer, Groundskeeper Willy, Skinner and Krabapple.