Summary
A traditional story of family vs technology, written and presented for a young, modern audience, the latest episode of British-Canadian Creeped Out keeps up the quality and the tension.
This Creeped Out Season 2 Episode 3 recap for the episode titled “Help” contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
I’ll get straight to the point here: I liked Episode 3, entitled “Help”, a lot. The story wasn’t original, but the way it was applied to a modem setting worked well. The moving camera made it tense from near the start, with the focus moved steadily inwards, giving a genuine sense of claustrophobia.
“Help” was about Molly (Quincy Kirkwood, in her first TV role) and her big brother Crispin (Jakob Davies, Once Upon a Time), who are left alone for a night… Well, alone except for Ava, the AI which is hooked up to appliances, entertainment systems, sprinklers, and even the doors. I’m not going to give away how or why, but Ava shows she/it is more than just a machine while the kids’ parents are away.
This concept was unnerving in the 1950s when Ray Bradbury wrote about such things, and it’s great to see his ideas presented for modern kids. I believe we should all embrace technology, rather than fear it; but nevertheless, the idea of artificial intelligence taking control of a family home is still unnerving now, because modern technology makes it more plausible.
Ava (voiced by Kaniehtiio Horn, Mohawk) was a great character, friendly and innocuous at first, with a misguided sense of being part of the family, and then an Ex Machina style craving for freedom. Directed again by Bruce McDonald and written by Rob Butler, it was impressive how much can be fitted into a twenty-five-minute episode. Molly and Crispin were believable characters too, Molly especially: it was clear she was an annoying little sister to Crispin, yet the young actor was not at all annoying.
Creeped Out Season 2 Episode 3 was definitely creepy; though interestingly, my twelve-year-old didn’t find it as creepy as I expected him to… That is, until the ending, which gave him lots to think about. I do wish sci-fi horror wasn’t quite so Luddite these days, but as long as it is, I hope it continues to give us stories as good as this one: maybe it will prompt kids to come up with good solutions.
