Other movies in this series:
Please see the Nightmares and Dreamscapes page.

Rish Outfield's reviews
Tyranist and I watched this together, right after the excellent first episode, Battleground. Having so enjoyed the first hour, I was really excited, already counting my pennies for the inevitable DVD release. Now I'm not sure what to think.
Crouch End was one of the scarier stories in Stephen King's "Nightmares and Dreamscapes," mostly because of its foreign locale (well, it wasn't Maine, for once), the confusing jumble of images, and the disturbing glances he gave us into the darkness that was on the other side, trying to get out.
An American husband and wife (Eion Bailey and Claire Forlani), in London for the first time, try to find an address in the area known as Crouch End. What they find instead, is a weak spot between dimensions, where elements from an evil and strange other place cross over into ours.
Puzzled and frustrated by the short film, I immediately picked up King's original story, and found myself creeped out as I had been the first three times I read it. I also found myself surprised by the many elements that were the same in both tellings.
Unfortunately, the filmed version left nothing to the imagination, did completely away with subtlety, and became a more straightforward narrative with all the questions answered. By changing the focus of the tale from the skeptical policemen to the vacationing couple, everything became literal and urbane, showcasing the limitations of the short film's budget. Instead of trying to understand what might have happened, we see what did happen, and it just doesn't work. Plus, its ending was quite weak (much more so than the story's creepy, untidy one).
This wasn't unwatchable, and it didn't put me off the rest of the series, but it was disappointing. The story had great potential to frighten . . . and I suppose it still does.
Posted: July 20, 2006

The tyranist's thoughts
I love Claire Forlani. Can't explain why.
I also love H.P. Lovecraft and all things influenced by him. This King tale is no different. Horror owes a huge debt to the man and hopefully it will someday be repaid.
So I can't remember the story too well on this one. I remember being excited about it because of the Lovecraft ties, but I don't really remember the story proper.
So in spite of the loves that I have that might make me really appreciate this episode, I found that it was really sort of bland. They could have done so much more to make the locale creepy and the circumstances mysterious. I'd say that perhaps the limitations of television held them back, but I really don't think that was it. This felt like what most of the worst Stephen King adaptations feel like. It felt as if they knew I'd read the story and they were counting on me to fill in all the details. It's a damn lazy way to make a film, and the biggest reason King adaptations often suck so much.
Still, if you are watching the series, don't skip this one. You might like it. And really, when I think about it, I love to see horror on television. I just wish they were good at it.
Posted: July 28, 2006

Total Skulls: 13

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?