Opowiesci z ciemnej strony Seasons of Belief (1983–1988) HD online

Don't say the name of…the Grither! Season of Belief is a return to form for Tales from the Darkside, offering this Christmas themed episode as the great EG Marshall, the father of two kids, tells them a scary story about a creature from the "other side of the North Pole" while his wife (played by the very pretty Margaret Klenck) helps to embellish the fantastic nature of it. The episode is impressive due to how almost in its entirety this is about Marshall weaving a creature feature tale to frighten the kids who, at first, aren't buying the Grither. But as the wind picks up and the lights flicker, the kids begin to believe that the Grither is quite real, although their parents try to discourage and encourage fear in this delicate balancing act. The shocking ending, where the belief becomes so strong that it gives life to something quite made up, is successful because of Michael McDowell's direction. He builds to the ending and we just know something is out there in that dangerous wind. Mark Capri, as Uncle Michael, really has little to do but arrive at the doorstep of the family to give the kids a little extra scare. The wind "assault" is quite a doozy, but the arms bursting through the windows afterward are indeed an even greater whopper. Marshall seems a bit too old for Klenck, and for whatever reason that nagged at me. Make no nevermind, because this episode is truthfully about parents scaring their kids and actually paying for it in the end. Disbelief is the crime the parents commit, while the kids give in totally to the idea that the Grither exists. Jenna Van Oy of Blossom fame is the little girl. The kids being needled by the parents who often delay finishing the story is a nice little trick to drag out the episode sufficiently.

This episode "Seasons of Belief" has to be one of the best episodes of "Tales From The Darkside", due to it's great acting and wonderful plot with a twist at the end. You have TV and movie legend the old vet himself E.G. Marshall(most memorable for his role in 1982's Creepshow)as a traditional father who along with his wife and two kids one boy and one girl who all plan on enjoying Christmas Eve together. Yet after the children open one gift each, they get bored and the E.G. character decides to tell them a story for entertainment. However this little tale is not a Christmas tale at all, but a fright story that at first the kids find funny only to later be frightened by it. The Marshall character tells of a tale of a creature thought to be a myth named Grither who once was on a corner of the North Pole, and the kids are given the terrible descriptions and told that each time the name Grither is mentioned he moves closer to their house! The pace of this episode goes so good that you think this creature is only a myth by the way it's told by the Marshall character only to feel the shock when you find out it's real and the ending is such a surprise twist that it is such a shock! This "Tales From The Darkside" episode works so well due to it's setting at the Christmas season, and a nice plot build up that is scary while leading up to surprise and a clever twist ending. And last but not least you have fine acting from a traditional one like E.G. Marshall.

Tales from the Darkside: Seasons of Belief starts late on Christmas Eve as young siblings Jimbo (Sky Berdahl) & Greta (Jenna von Oÿ) pester their mom (Margaret Klenck) & dad (E.G. Marshall) to tell them a story. Together mom & dad come up with a scary tale about a horrible creature called the 'Grither' who, once you say it's name, comes to get you. Of course mom & dad know it's just made up & just want to scare the kids, but then again maybe it's not just a story after all...

Episode 11 from season 3 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during the 29th December 1986 a mere four days after Christmas day & is for all intents & purposes a season themed Tales from the Darkside episode, written & directed by Michael McDowell this is one of the highlights of the entire four seasons of Tales from the Darkside. Like all the best Tales from the Darkside episodes Seasons of Belief has a horror themed story with a creepy edge about it, forget those awful light hearted Disney style episodes the likes of Seasons of Belief is where it's at. The episode is fairly straight forward story that works very well, at only twenty odd minutes in length it moves along at a nice pace although the ending is a little predictable as the whole episode builds up & points to it but it's very satisfying & is good creepy fun.

Like a lot of the Tales from the Darkside episodes Seasons of Belief takes place in only two locations, a front room & a kitchen. The Tales from the Darkside production team were very good at making stories around one or two simple locations with the minimum amount of actors & special effects as is the case here. The directing & atmosphere is very good here being set inside a traditional family home with a log fire crackling in the background & a fierce snow storm raging outside. The acting is good with veteran actor E.G. Marshall as the dad.

Seasons of Belief is a great Tales from the Darkside episode, it has the lot. A good solid creepy story with plenty of atmosphere. Watch this one along with the And All Through the House (1989) episode of Tales from the Crypt for a creepy & scary Christmas.

I've seen a lot of really strange TV episodes about the flip side of the coin of Christmas from "Woodland Critter Christmas" from "South Park", "Last Christmas" from "Doctor Who", you name it, but out of all of them this one to me still takes first prize.

This is my favorite anthology tale for the show, it sort of predates the recent film "Krampus". It really was a risky and rather bizarre move to have a horror story based on the most cheerful time of the year and on a side note my favorite holiday. But this was the best move they made, in a way the whole story was actually loosely inspired by the legend of "Krampus" but also a bit on the "Bloody Mary" urban legend.

Despite the fact we don't really get to see the monster till the end it's surprisingly works because this is an episode that is based on constant build up then pay off. That story about the Gritter really gave me chills as it was continuously being told, it is just feeding out imaginations. We then see the more that it's being told bizarre things are starting to happen, in a way it's the motif of fantasy becoming reality.

You could also say that the fact that the story is being told and bringing the Gritter closer is sort of also the classic motif of mortals tempting/defying fate, and if you know your Greek mythology you can easily guess what happens to those mortals.

So, pray the person that comes down your chimney is Santa.

Rating: 4 stars Rating: 4 stars

A father (a wonderfully robust and rascally performance by E.G. Marshall) alleviates the tedium that his two children are feeling on Christmas Eve by telling them a scary story about a fearsome beast known as the Grither. Writer/director Michael McDowell relates the crafty and enjoyable story at a brisk pace, neatly captures the festive atmosphere of the yuletide season, and generates a good amount of suspense while building towards a real doozy of a surprise bummer ending. Moreover, McDowell derives a lot of entertaining mileage out of the delightfully imaginative mythology for the monster which even comes complete with a catchy paraphrasing of a popular Noel ditty about the thing's nefarious exploits. The solid acting by the able cast keeps this show humming: Marshall excels in his juicy role, Margaret Klenck delivers an endearing perky portrayal of the mother, Sky Berdahl and Jenna von Oy are suitably bratty as the kids, and Mark Capri contributes a nice turn as the jolly Uncle Michael. A hugely fun Christmas-themed episode.

***SPOILERS*** It's Christmas Eve and the kids Jimbo & Stefa, Sky Berdahl & Jenna Von Oy, are getting a bit unruly and impatience in wanting to open up their Christmas presents. Pop, E.G Marshall, and Mom , Margaret Klence, in trying to keep order in the household decide to tell the kids a story that would settle them down about this monster from the north who the very mention of it's name-G.R.I.T.H.E.R-gives it fits and has it track down the person who mention it for immediate termination.

At first the kids think that both Mom and Pop are full of hot air, on this cold and snowy Christmas Eve, about this so-called flying monster who's ears get bigger and bigger, turning into wings, every time its name is mentioned. But as the midnight hour approaches they seem to feel that there's something to this monster story as it becomes apparent that the monster is a real not a made up creature with the winds outside whipping up and banging against the door. As for Mom & Pop they who at first wouldn't dare to mention the monster's name start to speak it out at every opportunity!

***SPOILER*** The parents should have kept their mouths shut about the flying monster because they unconsciously brought it back to life by them bringing it up in the first place. As things turned out what they did was to try to put out out a small ashtray fire, their unruly kids, with a gallon can of gasoline that ended up putting an end to them.

P.S What struck me the most about this "Tales from the Darkside" episode was the age difference between Mom & Pop. In watching it I at first thought that Mom, Margaret Klenck, was actually Pop's, E.G Marshall, daughter in that she looked at least 20 to 30 years younger then he did!

Guest stars EG Marhsall.

Here we have a really clever plot, that's really scary brought down by horrible child actors. The plot is EG Marshall (from George A. Romero's and Stephen King's Creepshow) and his wife tell their kids a scary story on Christmas Eve of the Grither, a big creature that eats little children. As the story goes on the kid's get more and more scared, and by the end, we learn that the Grither is not a myth. Violent and scary ending works really well to a poorly acted episode written wonderfully. Found on VHS volume 1.

My rating: Great. 22 mins. TV PG V

SEASONS OF BELIEF is a silly Christmas-themed episode of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE. It seems to have been inspired in part by HOW THE GRINCH STOLE Christmas. The storyline is cheap enough to consist of a father and mother telling their kids about a horrible monster which turns up at Christmas to terrorise children. Guess what? It's not a story after all...

This type of tale will surprise nobody and the calibre of the writing is very poor, with every single scene predictable and trite. The only actor of note is E.G. Marshall (CREEPSHOW), who gives a decent performance even at this late stage in his career. Otherwise this tale crashes and burns like so many others in this series.