Dennis (Colin Ferguson) loses his ball in chain and gets a set of bars in FEAR ITSELF: The Family Man(2008).
© NBC-Universal

Mania Grade: B
TV Series: Fear Itself
Episode: The Family Man
Starring: Colin Ferguson, Clifton Collins Jr.
Written By: Daniel Knauf
Directed By: Ronny Yu
Network: NBC

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FEAR ITSELF: The Family Man

The promise has been that this would be the best installment of the first three episodes of Fear Itself. Being better than the first two wouldn’t be saying much alone but “The Family Man” is actually a good watch and should begin the process of raising the bar for this series. The problem with the story is that it has been told over and over again in previous anthology series such as Tales from the Darkside and The Twilight Zone. What’s good about the episode is the acting and the directing. The climax of the episode also adds something of a new layer to this tried and true story.

Basically, there’s a good family man named Dennis - played by Colin Fergusson (Eureka) and a serial killer Brautigan played by Clifton Collins Jr. - end up crossing paths, and switching bodies in a hospital. After the switch, they are forced to live each others lives, with the serial killer happy to suddenly be a family man and the family man devastated to find himself in prison and about to go on trial for multiple murders. Interestingly, the story never reveals how Brautigan was able to make this happen, but it was most definitely his doing because he has devised a plan for his survival in the real world. He visits Dennis in prison and demands lessons on how to do his job and take care of his family. Dennis reluctantly agrees after some veiled threats from Brautigan.

Most horror stories – especially short ones – feature some sort of morality play and this installment of Fear Itself is no different. Dennis is a good man, to a fault, and Brautigan is as opposite as he could be, yet he is benefiting from the switch. Rambo’s theory for saving the day is to become the enemy, and do it even better than they do. If Dennis makes this decision what will be his fate? Very little in this episode is unpredictable but the actors do such a great job of building their characters, that the episode is still intriguing. Ronny Yu deserves points for bringing us the slickest and the best edited installments of the series so far. There are plenty of little bells and whistles in the episode but these little tricks are never so overpowering that the episode feels more like an MTV music video rather than a film much like most Platinum Dunes releases. Yu is no real “master” of the horror genre but he is behind some really fun installments such as Bride of Chucky and Freddy VS Jason making him a welcome creator behind this series.

“The Family Man” is a no nonsense simple and fun story – exactly what you’d expect from an anthology horror series. Hopefully, this is a sign of the series finding itself (Get it, get?) and improving with each future installment. Don’t hold your breath, but watch this one, it’s worth your time.