This is another one of my favorite episodes of the show, I really like the plotline it's a bit similar with the film "Last Action Hero" which played close to the same year as this episode. Only with that film it was on jump in and out of action films, this one on jumping in and out of horror films. Though this episode also kind of predates the film "Shadow of the Vampire" as that movie was a homage/love letter to the silent classic "Norsferatu".
The protagonist Pete is solid, I can emphasize with him as I myself am a film buff and have an interest in certain classics. It was cool having the recurring character Dr. Vink come back once more, he's always a fun he's a bit like Loki despite his brilliance is also a man that causes mad mischief. His latest venture is really cool as we see he use to be a filmmaker in his time, but we see their much more that a film because the characters in the film cross over to our realm of reality.
The cool part was seeing the monster come to the reality realm, and it didn't disappoint the makeup work was spot on as it very much looks like "Norsferatu" from the slient era classic. Though it was also another one of the times we saw him in color, the only other ones are the 1979 remake and "Shadow of the Vampire". I'll admit as a kid I really found the vampire creepy and unsettling from its muteness, facial expressions, and slow but swift movements which just convey silent but deadly viciousness.
One of my favorite scenes was when the protagonist goes into the movie as a way to destroy the Nosferatu vampire which makes sense when you think about it, for that vampire the film is its reality which makes it vulnerable. The final conflict between the two is suspenseful as your hopping Pete will somehow beat the vamp. It's interesting how it's really Pete's fandom and knowledge of film is his best weapon against the vamp. There is a kind of irony from that fact that we are seeing him in a movie screen, the fact that we are held in suspense seeing him in that predicament is much as we are whenever we see any horror or suspense thriller on the big screen.
By its nature this episode is a love letter to the horror movie genre in general. If it wasn't for the old black and white classics from the silent era like "Norsferatu", "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, etc. we would wouldn't be where we are now in the genre nor ever have horror franchises and icons like Fready, Jason, Michael Myers, and many more in the ever-thriving horror genre.
Rating: 4 stars
