Tales From The Crypt “The Trap”

Well, I will say this much: the director of this episode, known more for acting, has a really clever cameo in this one.

Oh yeah, Michael j Fox directed this episode.  I have no idea if he ever directed anything else.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he directed episodes of various sitcoms he’s starred in, but he directed this one, and when the episode goes to court, he’s playing the nameless prosecutor, only you don’t see his face right away.  You do hear his distinctive voice asking questions of various witnesses, and I was about ready to conclude he wouldn’t appear on-camera…and then his face pops into frame when his character makes his closing remarks to the jury.

So, who was on trial?  That would be one Lou Paloma (Bruce McGill), a sleazeball dreamer who makes life for his wife Irene (Teri Garr) as miserable as possible.  He’s loud and boisterous, never holding down a job for long, apparently hitting her from time to time, and he even cheats.  So, naturally, when he needs money, he decides to pressure his coroner brother Billy (Bruno Kirby) into helping him fake his own death.  As a homicide no less!

Somehow, this works.  He’s set to get a big life insurance policy.  The only one who’s suspicious is his mother, who doesn’t care for Irene or her other son, despite the fact Billy actually has a job and a medical degree.  But wait, after nearly cremating the still-alive Lou, Billy convinces him to go down to Rio by himself and then wait for Irene and the half-million dollars he gets for his life insurance policy.  Lou thinks that’s a great idea!

Until the dumbass realizes Irene isn’t coming.

See, Billy and Irene, they like each other.  A lot.  So, while Lou was hiding in Brazil under an alias, they got married.  Why not?  Lou is legally dead.  And when he comes back, well, the “murder weapon” has Lou’s blood on it, so now he looks like he’s a murderer.  Only problem is he killed himself.  Sort of.  And he’s convicted of murdering…himself.  Mostly because the cop says it can’t be Lou.  Irene and Billy testify that it isn’t Lou.  The waiter from Rio says the alias Lou has been using is his actual name.  His mother identifies him, but she also calls the prosecutor Lou and says she’s Eleanor Roosevelt.

So, Lou gets the chair for murdering himself.

Well, he was a dick.

What about the Cryptkeeper?  He’s an insurance agent now.

Notable Names: Garr, Kirby, Fox, McGill has a long resume as a familiar face, Fox’s Back to the Future costar James Tolkan plays the cop and doesn’t call anyone a slacker, and writer Scott Alexander has a nice resume of scripts for biopics about lesser known pop culture figures