[7.0/10] At first I thought this episode was going to be another “Mad Mod” -- zero story with the gang fighting a sort of goofy villain. And the first act pretty much is that! Control Freak, a nerdy super-baddie with a magic remote bringing video story merchandise to life, is a pretty silly antagonist. But having our heroes go up against some silly machinations for seven minutes works much better than trying to stretch it out for a full half hour. Hell plenty of the nerdy tweaks in this one are directed at folks like yours truly, and I still laughed, so Justice League scribe extraordinaire Dwayne McDuffie must be doing something right!
But from there “Fear Itself” turns into a horror movie pastiche, and an equally fun one. Watching the team face off against a Lovecraftian Eldritch horror thanks to a curse a la The Ring, a swarm of critters out of an old school creature feature, and even an elevator full of goop a la The Shining is good Halloween-y fun. There’s also a lot of Scream-esque bits here, with Beast Boy winking at the audience over the comic relief being the first to go, and Raven filling the “final girl” role..
This one also features a cool explanation for the supernatural attack, with the fight being a product of Raven refusing to admit she’s afraid, rather than any lingering effects of Control Freak or a genuine curse from the movie. As is par for the course with Teen Titans, it’s a pretty simple throughline for the character, but one that works. Raven accepting her own fear and fighting back anyway is a solid way to resolve the conflict and leave the team unharmed.
Overall, this one has its dull or trying points (see: running gags about Cyborg, well, gagging), but the concept is clever enough for the whole thing to click.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-07-09T02:08:52Z
[7.0/10] At first I thought this episode was going to be another “Mad Mod” -- zero story with the gang fighting a sort of goofy villain. And the first act pretty much is that! Control Freak, a nerdy super-baddie with a magic remote bringing video story merchandise to life, is a pretty silly antagonist. But having our heroes go up against some silly machinations for seven minutes works much better than trying to stretch it out for a full half hour. Hell plenty of the nerdy tweaks in this one are directed at folks like yours truly, and I still laughed, so Justice League scribe extraordinaire Dwayne McDuffie must be doing something right!
But from there “Fear Itself” turns into a horror movie pastiche, and an equally fun one. Watching the team face off against a Lovecraftian Eldritch horror thanks to a curse a la The Ring, a swarm of critters out of an old school creature feature, and even an elevator full of goop a la The Shining is good Halloween-y fun. There’s also a lot of Scream-esque bits here, with Beast Boy winking at the audience over the comic relief being the first to go, and Raven filling the “final girl” role..
This one also features a cool explanation for the supernatural attack, with the fight being a product of Raven refusing to admit she’s afraid, rather than any lingering effects of Control Freak or a genuine curse from the movie. As is par for the course with Teen Titans, it’s a pretty simple throughline for the character, but one that works. Raven accepting her own fear and fighting back anyway is a solid way to resolve the conflict and leave the team unharmed.
Overall, this one has its dull or trying points (see: running gags about Cyborg, well, gagging), but the concept is clever enough for the whole thing to click.