Someone's got the wrong idea about severance pay.
Crypt Keeper: (wearing an earring, and a leopard skin outfit with matching bandanna, having turned his crypt into a beauty salon; he checks up on a woman under a hair dryer, whose head has shrunken due to the intense heat; in a feminine voice) Ooooh! I just love how your hair has groan out! A little scream rinse and conditioner, and it'll look fa-boo! If you don't look dead, we don't look dead. (to the camera) Oh, hello kiddies! You're right on time for your appointment. (in his regular voice) You know, it was always one of my ghouls in death to open my own scare salon. Now, let’s see... a few shrieks in your hair would look good. A boo-faunt would look even better! Or maybe you'd like to try tonight's die-fashion statement. It's a nasty nugget that asks the question, zombie or not zombie. I call it: Half-Way Horrible.
Roger Lassen (Clancy Brown), president of a highly successful chemical company, is called to the city morgue to identify a body. The corpse turns out to be that of Dan King (Costas Mandylor), co-founder of Roger's company, who was killed via a massive injection of Exthion-B, the company's newest, longest-acting preservative. The police have found a note in Dan's coat pocket which reads "I have not forgotten or forgiven", as well as a photo in his apartment of him, Roger, and their friends Kevin (Brian Wimmer) and Alex (Jon Tenney). The photo was found to have been taken during a (illegal) business trip to Brazil six years ago, during which Alex died.
While in Brazil, the four men met with a native tribe and participated a ritual sacrifice, in which a native drank an herbal formula and was buried alive. Roger had quieted the others' objections to the scene by saying that every person had an evil side, and that the trick was to keep it under control. Roger had also secretly made a deal with the tribe to sacrifice Alex's life in exchange for the formula, which his company eventually developed into Exthion-B. In the present day, Roger returns to his apartment and finds the message from Dan's note spray-painted on the wall. A voodoo doll of Roger rests on a table among his collection of tribal artifacts, one half showing him as a normal man and the other as a demon. Roger insists to the police that he doesn't know anyone who would want him dead, but mutters "Nobody alive." to himself after they leave.
Dan's death prompts the FDA to withhold its final approval for Exthion-B. Acting on advice from his lawyer Colin, a badly shaken Roger tracks down Kevin, only to find him dead from a Exthion-B overdose and with another note on the body. He accuses Colin of trying to frame him for the murders and fatally bashes his skull in, but finds that he isn't alone. The zombified Alex emerges from the shadows, an effect of the formula and sacrifical ritual. He points out that the handwriting on the notes and on Roger's memos is the same, and reveals that Roger himself killed Dan and Kevin. Alex explains that he had placed a voodoo curse on Roger as revenge for selling him out, the curse having allowed Roger's evil side to escape his conscious control and acting on its own accord.
Roger decapitates Alex and calls in a witch doctor, Dr. Beneloy (Cheech Marin), to regain control of himself. After undergoing a ritual to destroy his evil side, he asks his secretary to bring a batch Exthion-B to him. She begins to scream at the bloody, mangled ruin that now makes up half of Roger's body as he rambles on about having beaten Alex and prepares to inject himself with all the preservative left in stock, aiming to either keep himself alive or put himself out of his misery.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Ending: Regarding Roger injecting himself with Exthion-B, is he doing so because he wants to stay alive longer, or does he plan to overdose on it to relieve the pain of his half-destroyed body?
- Amnesiac Dissonance: Roger has no idea that his evil side has escaped his control and is killing his friends.
- And I Must Scream: Roger ends up destroying his evil side, but half of his body is left a rotted mess. He injects himself with Exthion-B to preserve himself, but that won't ease the pain that having a half-rotted body will bring. The police are also hinted to have found him out, so he'll be spending his eternal life behind bars.
- Arc Words: "I have not forgotten or forgiven.", which Roger begins seeing in nearly every piece of paper or wall that he looks at.
- "Bang!" Flag Gun: The Crypt Keeper fires one off in his closing segment.
- Big Red Devil: Half of Roger's voodoo doll appears as one, representing his evil side.
- Body Horror: The bloody and decaying half of Roger's body after he destroys his evil side is enough to make his secretary scream bloody murder.
- Body Paint: Roger's evil side leaves black illustrations of tribal markings on the bodies of his victims.
- Buried Alive: This is how the natives accomplish their human sacrifices. Alex was duped into meeting the same fate by his best friend.
- Calling Card: The tribal markings and "forgotten or forgiven" notes that Roger's evil side leaves behind on/with his victim's bodies.
- Chromosome Casting: The episode's cast is composed almost entirely of men, the only female present being Roger's secretary.
- Cold Ham: Dr. Beneloy, who can deduce Roger's advanced curse by observing him and the voodoo doll. He goes full on Large Ham during the ritual to destroy Roger's evil side, dolling himself up in tribesmen's apparel and apparently levitating to Roger as it commences.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Roger is the president of a major chemical company, and he tries to be a respectable businessman in the office. When his evil side escapes his control and kills his friends, he plays the trope partially-straight.
- Even before his evil side escaped, Roger was shown to be a villainous man in Brazil, entering the country illegally, stealing sacred healing herbs, and sacrificing his best friend to the natives in exchange for more herbs.
- Deadpan Snarker: Roger is quick with the snark, being the stressed-out corporate honcho he is.
- Death-Activated Superpower: Being sacrificed to the natives and coming back as a zombie apparently caused Alex to be given voodoo powers, as he places a curse on Roger that makes his evil side able to escape his mind.
- Dirty Cop: The Brazilian police are hinted to have been bribed by Roger to allow him and his friends into the country so they could steal the natives' herbs. When the bribe wasn't big enough for their tastes, they decided to bust them for entering the country without work visas.
- Downer Ending: Even though the Crypt Keeper says the episode had a happy ending, it's clear that the episode's real ending is anything but:
- Roger destroys his evil side, but doing so has rendered him half-dead.
- He uses all of the Exthion-B samples left in stock to keep himself alive (which may not even succeed), leaving him virtually penniless.
- His secretary notes that the police have found the bodies of Alex and his aide in his office, which reveals that he's the killer. So even if Roger does survive injecting himself, he's going to be spending eternity in prison.
- Enemy Without: Alex's curse caused Roger's evil side to escape his subconscious and act on its own volition, killing Dan and Kevin. Roger has a witch doctor perform a ritual on him in order to mitigate this, but the result leaves half of his body in a rotted, mangled state.
- Everyone Has Standards: Roger's friends clearly weren't jovial while witnessing him joining a native tribe into performing a human sacrifice, even telling him that they were going straight to hell for their association with the act.
- Exact Words: When the police ask Roger about people who might have access to his preservative and want him and his friends dead, Roger insists that he doesn't know anyone who fits their description, before muttering to himself "Nobody alive." after the police leave. Roger was referring to Alex, whom he had sold out as a Human Sacrifice to a native tribe six years ago, but he has no idea about the extent of the truthfulness of his words.
- Fantastic Drug: Exthion-B has shades of this trope, given that it's used to kill Roger's friends and business partners via overdose.
- Flashback: We get a couple of scene of Roger and his friends in Brazil six years ago, one of them showing the moment where Alex was sold out as a human sacrifice.
- Foreshadowing: The voodoo doll of Roger depicts him as half-businessman, half-devil. When Roger destroys his evil side at the end of the episode, he appears half-rotted, similar to the doll.
- In Brazil, Roger told his friends that everyone has an evil side. And the trick is to keep it under control.
- Roger also suffers from headaches when he brings up his trip to Brazil and his friends, and has been known to miss entire days. This is because his evil side has been escaping his psyche, thanks to Dan's curse.
- Roger's aide also tells him that everyone needs at least one person to dish out a little truth. This is exactly what Alex reveals himself to Roger for.
- Foul Flower: The herbs that produce Exthion-B grow these kinds of flowers. They are able to turn any liquid they come into contact with blue, and are utilized for ritual sacrifice by the tribesmen who harvest them. As Exthion-B, they allow for any organic matter they come into contact with to stay preserved for all time.
- Gilligan Cut: A shot of a mask-wearing native in Brazil allows for the scene to change to Roger's office, where the same mask sits.
- Headache of Doom: Roger suffers from headaches whenever his friends die, or when he remembers his trip to Brazil, hinting that his evil side is returning to his mind.
- Healing Herb: The herbs that the natives used in their formula are hinted to be these. When Roger's company processes them into Exthion-B, they allow for anything organic to be kept preserved forever.
- Healing Potion: Exthion-B was processed from an herbal formula from a Brazilian native tribe. Anything organic that's injected with it will be kept fresh for all enternity.
- Here We Go Again!: The episode ends with a half-dead Roger preparing to inject himself with a batch of Exthion-B so that he could survive. Either that, or he's planning to overdose on it and put himself down.
- Hollywood Voodoo: The natives in Brazil were shown to practice this. Their magic allowed Roger's evil side to escape Roger's mind and go on a killing spree.
- Human Sacrifice: The tribal ritual Roger and his friends witnessed. Roger secretly sold Alex out as a sacrifice in exchange for the tribe's formula, which his company processed into their new preservative. Unfortunately for Roger, Alex didn't stay dead.
- The Illegal: Roger and his friends are revealed to have been these six years ago, where they illegally entered Brazil by bribing crooked police officers. The cops are shown to have been unpleased with Roger's meager bribe and began looking for them, hoping to bust them for entering the country without work visas.
- Indestructible Edible: Exthion-B turns any food that's injected with it into one of these, allowing it to stay fresh forever.
- Ironic Echo: As Roger tells Alex, just before he sacrifices him, "We came down here to go all the way!"
- The Killer in Me: The actual killer turns out to be Roger himself, his evil side having escaped his control after a curse from his undead former friend Alex.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Even if Roger survives whatever he intends to use Exthion-B for, the police have figured out it was him who killed his friends and his aide, so he'll be spending his extended life in prison.
- Laughing Mad: Roger maniacally laughs after Beneloy's ritual, thinking he's beaten Alex's curse.
- Literal Split Personality: A variation of the trope comes into play with Roger's evil side. Even though it's been established to have escaped his control, it's never seen controlling Roger or seen killing his friends, but Roger does throw out a factoid that he's blacking out for entire days because of this.
- Mysterious Note: Roger finds one in Dan's pocket that reads "I have not forgotten or forgiven." The statement keeps turning up in different places Roger looks.
- Noodle Implements: Roger observes surgical tools next to him as the ritual to destroy his evil side begins. We never learn what they're used for, but we see a puddle of blood surrounding them after the ritual.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Whatever Dr. Beneloy did to Roger that got rid of his evil side, and therefore destroyed half of his body, is never revealed at any point.
- Off with His Head!: Roger decapitates Alex when he starts digging rather deep into the truth behind his friends' murders.
- One Dose Fits All: A single syringe of Exthion-B is enough to keep anything organic preserved forever. It's also enough to kill a man and turn his body into a zombified husk.
- One-Scene Wonder: Dr. Beneloy, the witch doctor played by Cheech Marin who rids Roger of his evil side.
- Persona Non Grata: Roger and his friends are shown to have snuck into Brazil without work visas by bribing some crooked Brazilian cops. The cops weren't satisfied with Roger's bribe and had decided to turn on them, barring them from the country by busting them for illegal entry.
- Please, I Will Do Anything!: Roger begs Dr. Beneloy to get rid of his evil side, saying that he'll pay him with everything he owns, including the profits of Exthion-B.
- Police Are Useless: The cops simply call Roger to identify bodies and investigate the scenes of the crimes. Beyond that, they're no better at finding the culprit than Roger is.
- The cops in Brazil were hinted to be even worse, having been bribed by Roger to let him and his friends enter the country illegally. They quickly turned traitor when they were unimpressed with his bribe, and aimed to bust them for not having visas.
- Red Herring: Alex is teased as being the killer of Roger's friends and is looking to kill Roger himself as revenge for being sacrificed. The undead Alex does come to confront Roger, but he admits that he isn't the killer, Roger himself is, thanks to a curse he placed on him that allowed his evil side to escape his control.
- Revenant Zombie: Alex became one of these, equipped with voodoo powers, after Roger sold him out as a Human Sacrifice. Revenge is his sole motivation as the result, and he does so by laying a curse on Roger, causing Roger's evil side to escape his control.
- Riches to Rags: Roger gives all his money to Dr. Beneloy so he can destroy his evil side. He's implied to have become dirt poor in the final scene. He also aims to use all the Exthion-B samples he has left to preserve himself, costing him his opportunity at riches.
- Riddle for the Ages: We never see Roger's evil side in person, so we have no idea what it looks like. The voodoo doll Roger finds hints that it may be a Big Red Devil.
- What exactly happens during Roger's evil side-destroying ritual is also left intentionally vague.
- Sarcastic Clapping: Alex does this toward Roger as he introduces himself, right after Roger kills his aide.
- Super Serum: Exthion-B, which keeps any organic material it is injected into permanently fresh. Clothing will never fade, wood will never rot, food will never spoil, etc. It's also hinted to do the same on human bodies, but it kills them in the process.
- Unnaturally Blue Lighting: Exthion-B emits a strong blue glow whenever it's shown.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Roger's interview describing how Exthion-B works shows that he's pretty well respected for all the shady dealings he committed.
- Voodoo Doll: One of them is used to represent Roger and his newly-freed evil side, appearing as half-man, half-devil.
- Way Past the Expiration Date: Food injected with Exthion-B can stay fresh long after its expiration date. Roger demonstrates this with a pair of apples harvested two years ago, still looking as fresh as when they were first ripe.
- We Used to Be Friends: Roger and Alex were best friends in the past. After Roger sold Alex out for the formula, however, Alex has only vengeful hatred against Roger in mind.
- Wham Shot: The moment when Alex reveals Roger's handwriting is the same as the notes the killer has been leaving, revealing that the killer is Roger's freed evil side.
- "What Now?" Ending: Roger ends the episode half-rotted, and preparing to inject himself with Exthion-B. We don't know whether he intends to live longer or overdose and kill himself by doing so.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The Crypt Keeper says that Roger's company was still successful after everything that went wrong in the episode.
- Witch Doctor: Dr. Beneloy, who Roger calls to perform a ritual that will destroy his evil side to get back at Alex. He looks like an ordinary doctor when he and Roger first meet, but he dons the traditional witch doctor outfit and makeup during Roger's ritual.
- With Friends Like These...: Alex has nothing but hatred towards Roger when he returns from the dead, since Roger sold him out to the natives as a human sacrifice.
Crypt Keeper: Well, at least in the end, Roger knew rot from wrong. If only he learned a little fester. You'll be happy to know, kiddies, that our story has a happy ending. Roger's company did very well. Its shares shot up... on the New York Shock Exchange! (cackles) So, have we made up our minds? You want bangs? Perfect. (pulls out a pistol) I have just the thing! (cackles and fires the gun, revealing it to be a "Bang!" Flag Gun) Bang! (cackles some more)
