George Romero in 3-D!
Written By: Todd Spence & Zak White
Sarah and her son Martin (Kyra Zagorsky and Graham Verchere) respectively own and work at "Booktime!", a struggling brick-and-mortar bookstore in Pittsburgh. Sarah answers a call from someone who says that they should move the business online, but Sarah prefers to stay brick and mortar. After the call, Sarah's landlord Mr. Cooper (Peter New) enters the store to tell her that the new lease for her store kicks in next week and she still hasn't signed it, as her choice of remaining brick-and-mortar in a digital world has her struggling with finances. Cooper then tells Sarah that he's doubling the lease due to a new housing development going up and the resultant fair market value. Sarah tries to fight back, but Martin is forced to admit that what Cooper's doing isn't illegal, though it is immoral. Cooper tells them he'll be back at the end of the day with the new lease, saying that "it's kill or be killed" and purposefully knocking books off a display as he leaves.
Martin goes to the backroom to do some work on the store's highly obsolete computer. Entering the backroom, Sarah comes to the conclusion that if there's any possible way they'll be able to pay their bills, they'll have to move the store online. Unfortunately for Martin, the easiest way for them to save money at the moment is to have his co-worker and potential love interest Dawn (Megan Charpentier) fired. Though he complains that Dawn has done nothing wrong and that they're going to see Night of the Flesh Eaters that day, Sarah tells her son that there's simply no other way to reduce overhead, prompting Martin to agree on the condition that he can be the one to fire her. As Martin prepares to tell Dawn the bad news, the bottom of a box she found under the stairwell breaks as she carries it, revealing an antique crate bearing the logo of Image 10, the production company that made Night of the Living Dead (1968). Looking inside the crate, Dawn and Martin find issues of an unfinished, unpublished horror comic called Brain Rot, written by George Romero himself. Leafing through the first issue, the pair notice a cartoon version of Romero on the first page as a pair of 3D glasses fall out of the issue. Telling the oblivious Dawn that she just saved the store and her job and asking her to get some plastic sleeves for the comics, Martin puts on the glasses and looks at the issue's cover, watching as the zombie on said cover moves. Dropping the comic in shock, Martin tells the returning Dawn that the 3D effects are amazing. As Martin goes to tell his mom the good news, Dawn picks up the issue to find that the zombie on the cover is gone. Just as she hears footsteps and thumping noises, the back door slowly opens and closes by itself.
As Sarah's son shows her the comics, a customer by the name of Bub (Anthony Moyer) asks where he can find the horror section, prompting Martin to direct him there. Suddenly, Bub starts screaming from the aisle, and Martin runs over to find him being bent backward by an unseen force. Martin realizes Bub resembles the victim on the cover of the first issue of Brain Rot. As Bub's throat is brutally ripped apart, Martin puts on the 3D glasses to see the zombie from the first issue disemboweling him. Martin shows his mother Bub's dismembered body and tries to warn his mother that the zombie is still in the store, and frantically texts Dawn to let her know. As the zombie notices Martin, he drags his mother into the storage room and barricades the door, explaining that Bub was killed by a "3D zombie", but she thinks he's pranking her as revenge for firing Dawn, since the zombie can't be seen without the glasses. Dawn soon calls Martin from the office, currently looking up prices for the comics. Martin tells Dawn she needs to lock the door immediately because something invisible is in the store. At that moment, the office window starts to crack as the invisible zombie pounds on it, but Sarah and Martin can't save Dawn themselves because the door to the storage room is jammed.
In desperation, Martin puts the glasses back on and turns to the comics, hoping to bring something else out of it to help them, particularly settling on George Romero's illustration on the first page. As he does this, Martin geeks out as he witnesses George himself (Sebastian Kroon), appearing as a 3D sketch of himself as he looked in the 70s, climbing off the page. Upon being brought up to speed, George tells Martin that Booktime! used to be his old office, explaining the hidden issues of Brain Rot. George also clarifies that in his opinion, the creatures are not zombies, but ghouls. Remembering that Dawn is in trouble, Martin tells George that they need to get out of the office to save her. George starts fiddling with the wiring of an electrical panel as the invisible ghoul enters the office, managing to turn on the ceiling fan. Yanking the storage room door open, Martin gets to the messed up office. The ghoul tries to traverse over one of the knocked-over cabinets to get to Dawn, scalping itself via the fan. He also puts the glasses on Dawn to show her the dead ghoul itself, clearing up the situation.
As Martin and Dawn clean up the office and get rid of the ghoul's body, Sarah has a quaint chat with George (after Martin taught her to put on the glasses to see him). Martin suddenly realizes that Bub's corpse is missing and finds a trail of bloody footprints leading away from the horror section. As he spots Bub reanimated into a ghoul himself, Dawn says that she can see him without the glasses. The undead Bub demonstrates the ability to learn by taking another pair of glasses out of another Brain Rot issue, putting them on, and staring at the cover, pulling a small horde of fellow ghouls out of the comic. When asked if they can make it out of this situation alive, George honestly tells them that he's not really known for uplifting endings. While Martin, Dawn, and Sarah work to fight off the ghouls, George goes into detail about the 3D glasses. According to him, the man who Image 10 hired to build them wanted more money than his agreed upon price, so the publisher sued him and the comics were left unfinished and tossed into the crate. As a means of vengeance, the man had his uncle, a voodoo priest in Trinidad, put a curse on the glasses, allowing them to bring the ghouls inside Brain Rot to life.
As the trio barricade the door and windows once again, Dawn and Martin tell George that since he created the ghouls, he can make them go away. George unfortunately clarifies that the rules of his movies don't apply to the comics, as he was preparing to write a whole new set of rules before the lawsuit and the voodoo curse. George also notes that he can't just write a happy ending to fix the situation because he only writes as he sees fit, and things don't look good from where he's standing. The ghouls break through the barricade and haul Sarah out of the room to be devoured. George manages to bludgeon Bub to death with a fire extinguisher to save Dawn, and afterwards, has a change of heart and works to write down his new rules, only for the computer to crap out on him.
Hatching a backup plan, George remembers that his sketched body is made of paper, tearing his arm off and writing a new "rule" to his ghouls on it: "Destroy the glasses, destroy the ghoul." Martin destroys the glasses as written, causing the ghouls to disappear just before they devour Dawn. Martin and Dawn thank George for everything before he disappears, the filmmaker signing off with "See ya around the graveyard, kids.", pleased by finally writing a happy ending. Mr. Cooper then comes back with the new lease, complaining about the state of the store as he enters. Suddenly, Sarah, having become undead herself, grabs Cooper and devours him. Martin and Dawn, now a couple, remind Cooper that "it's kill or be killed" as they walk out to see Night of the Flesh Eaters. The camera pans down the open issue of Brain Rot, where George, back on the page, waves goodbye to the viewers with his severed arm.
This episode contains examples of:
- The Alleged Computer: The computer in Booktime's office, which is slow, unresponsive, and old enough that Martin and Dawn call it "the computer that landed the Apollo 11". It nearly screws the cast over at the climax, as it craps out on George when he prepares to write a new "rule" for the ghouls.
- An Arm and a Leg: Just before Dawn becomes ghoul food, George manages to tear off his paper arm and write a new "rule" on it to defeat them once and for all. The last shot of the episode has him waving to the readers with the same arm.
- Bittersweet Ending: George finally manages to write a happy ending and Martin and Dawn finally become an item, leaving Booktime! to see the movie they were aching to see. The only downside is that Martin's mother is zombified in the process, but she at least takes care of Mr. Cooper before he can throw them out of the store.
- Bookends: Dawn flips off Mr. Cooper at the beginning and end of the episode.
- Call-Back: Quite a few references to previous episodes are present here:
- Some of Jay Stratton's novels and a Stephen Bachman poster from The Hat can be seen in Booktime!, particularly in the "New Arrivals" section.
- Issues of Timeless from the previous episode, Doodles, can also be seen in the store.
- The opening page of the Brain Rot issue Dawn holds has illustrations from previous Creepshow episodes in its contents page.
- Just like how Gray Matter, the very first episode of the series, was filled with references to Creepshow's "father" Stephen King, this episode is jam-packed with references to Creepshow's other "father", George Romero.
- Also like the above episode, as well as Night of the Living Late Show, Skeletons In The Closet, and A Dead Girl Named Sue, the episode goes all out with references and overall feel to please the fans.
- Just as a fictional comic book plays an important role in Model Kid, a different fictional comic book plays an important role here.
- Similarly, like in Public Television of the Dead, a place in Pittsburgh comes under siege by supernatural forces.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Bub, the customer who the original Brain Rot ghoul kills. He reanimates, puts on the cursed glasses, and stares at another issue of the comic to bring a small horde of ghouls off the page.
- Cursed Item: The 3D glasses that came packaged with the issues of Brain Rot Dawn digs up, which cause everything viewed in the comic to manifest in the real world, such as the ghouls within. George explains to Martin and Dawn that the guy he and Image 10 hired to make the glasses wanted more money than they agreed on, so the company fired and sued him. He turned out to have a voodoo-practitioning uncle in Trinidad, who he had put a curse on the glasses to give them their power as a way to get back at them for getting screwed over.
- Deadly Rotary Fan: As the invisible Brain Rot ghoul approaches Dawn, George tinkers with a circuit breaker in the storage room to activate the office's ceiling fan to maximum speed. As the ghoul tries climbing over some spilled boxes and cabinets to get to Dawn, its head touches the fan, causing it to scalp itself.
- Devoured by the Horde: Sarah is killed and reanimated by the ghouls this way, and Dawn nearly joins her before George and Martin destroy the glasses.
- The Dog Bites Back: Mr. Cooper goes out of his way to be a huge dick to Sarah and her son by doubling their lease and threatening to throw them out on the street. When she becomes a ghoul, Sarah promptly tears him to pieces.
- "Eureka!" Moment: After the computer craps out on him and there's no paper to write new "rules" down, George remembers that he's made of paper, and tears off his own arm to write his rules on it.
- Fat Bastard: Mr. Cooper, Sarah's landlord who aches to take her store, has a noticeable beer belly under his shirt.
- Goggles Do Something Unusual: The 3D glasses that come with the Brain Rot issues were cursed by the witch doctor uncle of the guy who made them, and are able to bring the characters of the comic into the real world, only viewable to whoever is wearing them.
- Hate Sink: Mr. Cooper, Sarah's landlord, who tries to throw her out by the end of the day after doubling her lease and overall just acts like a huge dick. The undead Sarah gruesomely kills him at the end of the episode as her son and his new girlfriend head out.
- Historical Domain Character: A young George Romero himself plays a big role in the second half of the episode, as Martin summons him from the pages of his unpublished comics for help in getting rid of the ghouls.
- Homage: The entire episode is a loving tribute to George Romero and his Living Dead franchise, with a young Romero himself appearing as an animate drawing and fighting off his own creations with the cast. Martin even sincerely thanks George "for everything" after he saves the day and returns to the comic.
- It Can Think: When Bub becomes a ghoul, he discovers the cursed glasses, puts them on, and stares at one of the Brain Rot issues on the front counter, which brings a small army of fellow ghouls to life.
- Insistent Terminology: George repeatedly clarifies that the undead beings invading Booktime! are not zombies, but ghouls.
- Invisible Monsters: The ghouls from Brain Rot can enter the real world through the cursed 3D glasses, but are invisible to everyone who isn't wearing them. Despite this, they can still move things around and kill people. When Bub reanimates, everyone gets nervous because they can see him without the glasses.
- Invisible to Normals: Like the ghouls in his comics, George can only be seen by whoever wears the 3D glasses.
- Ironic Echo: Mr. Cooper's "kill or be killed" and "just business" one-liners are thrown back at him by Martin, as he's devoured by the boy's now undead mother.
- Karma Houdini: The Image 10 employee who made the 3D glasses was sued and canned for trying to bilk extra money from the company, but he presumably got away with getting his uncle to curse the glasses.
- Living Drawing:
- When he crawls out of Brain Rot, George Romero appears as a three-dimensional sketch of himself as he appeared in the 70s, colored white and covered in inky scribbles that never stop moving.
- The ghouls inside Brain Rot could technically count, as they're also summoned from the comic despite being flesh and bone.
- Mr. Exposition: George often fills the others in on the history behind Brain Rot and the glasses, both to inform them of their options and to bring the audience up to speed.
- Mythology Gag: The episode is entirely dedicated to George Romero, the father of the modern zombie and director of the original film. As a result, references to both the first Creepshow and his other films are abundant:
- The "Father's Day" ashtray sits on the computer desk in Booktime's office.
- There's also the fact that Dawn finds an old, dusty crate under a stairwell housing a powerful supernatural force, just like in "The Crate".
- The Creep tells the "kiddies" that "they're coming to get you" in his narration.
- An issue of Creepshow can be seen in the establishing shots of Booktime.
- When asking if Martin and his mom have any weapons to beat the invisible ghoul, George suggests either a machete, a Molotov cocktail, or a screwdriver in the ear.
- George's introductory narration in the first issue of Brain Rot has him state "When there's no room left on the page, the dead will walk the earth."
- Most notably, every character shares their name with a character from one of Romero's films:
- Sarah and Bub come from Day of the Dead (1985).
- Dawn is obviously named after Dawn of the Dead (1978).
- Mr. Cooper comes from the Cooper family from Night of the Living Dead (1968), and his appearance and behavior makes him resemble patriarch Harry.
- Martin is named after the vampiric main character of Romero's 1977 film of the same name.
- Nice Guy: George is incredibly chill, endlessly patient, and boundlessly upbeat to everyone who can see and interact with him, going so far as to have a nice chat with Sarah about how she turned his old office into a family owned/operated bookstore as Martin and Dawn clean up the mess that the scalped ghoul left behind. He also actively participates in the fight against his three-dimensional creations to save the rest of the cast.
- Our Zombies Are Different: The zombies inside Brain Rot, referred to as "ghouls" by George, are able to be brought into the real world through the cursed 3D glasses that come with the comics. While they're only visible to anyone who is wearing the glasses at any given moment, their actions can be seen by everyone regardless of whether or not they have the glasses on. Anyone they infect into a fellow ghoul is able to be seen without the glasses as well, and as the reanimated Bub shows, they're smart enough to put the glasses on and summon more of themselves.
- Pædo Hunt: As well as being a colossal jackass, Mr. Cooper also shows an attraction to the teenage Dawn, offering to "hire her in a heartbeat". This prompts the disgusted Dawn to flip him off.
- Paper People: George appears as a constantly moving 3D illustration made of ink and paper. When the computer in the office shuts down, George manages to save the day by tearing off his own arm and writing a new set of rules on it, allowing the ghouls to be destroyed.
- Parent-Child Team: Sarah and her son Martin work together to try and save Dawn before the invisible ghoul from Brain Rot can kill her.
- Rage Against the Author: Martin concludes that since George created the ghouls, he can just write a happy ending to get rid of them. George rebuts that he only writes as he sees fit, and the situation doesn't look good where he's standing. He thankfully manages to stop the ghouls by writing a new "rule" for them on his papery severed arm, allowing them to disappear when Martin destroys the cursed glasses.
- Reference Overdosed: The references to the original Creepshow, previous episodes of the series, and the works of George Romero are absolutely everywhere, though the references don't shove the plot aside just to be shown off like in Skeletons in the Closet.
- Rewriting Reality: George does this to stop the ghouls, as he created them in the first place. His new rule of "Destroy the glasses, destroy the ghoul." ends up making the undead disappear as Martin breaks the cursed glasses.
- Running Gag: Whenever someone puts on the glasses, a wave of red and blue lighting is flashed on the screen.
- Sealed Evil in a Can / Sealed Good in a Can: The flesh-eating ghouls of Brain Rot, able to enter the real world through the cursed 3D glasses the comics come with. George Romero himself is able to exit the comic as well, and he helps Martin and Dawn get rid of the undead horde.
- Shout-Out:
- Martin has plans to see a movie with Dawn titled Night of the Flesh Eaters, which gets its name from both the original Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Flesheater, an independent film from the 80s not only inspired by the former film, but also stars Bill Hinzman, the man who played the cemetery ghoul in said film.
- An ad for Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun is seen on Booktime's computer as Martin works on it, hinting that he's a fan.
- Martin mentions Xenomorphs as he leads Bub to Booktime's horror section.
- Show Within a Show: Martin tells his mother that he plans to go to the movies with Dawn, hoping to watch Night of the Flesh Eaters with her.
- Spanner in the Works: The former employee of Image 10 who cursed the 3D glasses included in Brain Rot after trying to bilk the company out of extra cash and getting sued. The cursed glasses being unleashed decades later leads to a small army of ghouls invading Booktime.
- Squee: Martin absolutely geeks out when George Romero himself climbs out of the Brain Rot issue through the cursed 3D glasses.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Both Martin and Dawn, on separate occasions, refer to the old, slow, crappy computer in Booktime's office as "the computer that landed the Apollo 11." Martin utters an unheard "I love you so much!" after Dawn repeats it to him, hence why they're meant to be.
- Struggling Single Mother: Sarah shows no evidence of having been married, but she's struggling to make money after refusing to take her brick-and-mortar bookstore online.
- Tempting Fate:
- As Martin goes to fire Dawn, he tells her that his mother needs a miracle to keep her store open. Cue the box Dawn is currently holding breaking, dumping the crate of Brain Rot comics on the ground.
- At the end, as Mr. Cooper demands to see Sarah, the reanimated mother herself devours him.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: Brain Rot, the unpublished comic series by George Romero and Image 10. The comics themselves aren't dangerous, but the 3D glasses packaged with them are able to bring anything illustrated on their pages to life.
- Totally Radical: In his illustrated form, George appears as he did in the 70s, so he injects some notable 70s slang in his dialogue from time to time.
