In Sickness and in Health (Fear Itself)

Last updated
"In Sickness and in Health"
Fear Itself episode
In Sickness and in Health (Fear Itself episode) screenshot.png
Samantha talks with her bridesmaids
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 4
Directed by John Landis
Written by Victor Salva
Featured music Peter Bernstein
Original air dateJune 26, 2008 (2008-06-26)
Guest appearances
Maggie Lawson; James Roday; William B. Davis; Marshall Bell; Sonja Bennett; Christie Laing; Brendan Hunter; Tommy Lim
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Family Man"		Next →
"Eater"
List of episodes

"In Sickness and in Health" is the fourth episode of the NBC horror anthology Fear Itself . [1] The episode guest-starred Psych co-stars Maggie Lawson and James Roday.

Contents

Plot

Samantha (Maggie Lawson) is about to be married to Carlos (James Roday), a man whom she loves deeply despite the fact that she has only known him for a short while. She suspects that many people—including her lifelong friends/bridesmaids Kelly and Ruthie—think that she is rushing the marriage. Samantha's brother, Steven, hasn't shown up yet; Samantha explains that he is just upset since she is the only family he has. Ruthie passes Samantha a note that was given to her from Father Chris (William B. Davis), the reverend. Samantha is told it was given to him by a woman in a red headscarf. She opens the letter and finds a typewritten note which reads: "The person you are marrying is a serial killer."

She meets Carlos and finds that she can't relax around him. Samantha and Carlos get married, despite some hesitation during the ceremony. Preparing for the reception, Samantha tries to assure her friends that nothing has changed, even though they both notice something is wrong. Stressed, she asks them to leave. Alone, she hears a knock on the door. She goes out and glimpses a person leaving, wearing a red headscarf. She meets with Father Chris and asks him who gave him the note. He alludes to a tragedy in Carlos' past that she has not been aware of. She talks with Bob (Marshall Bell), Carlos' uncle, who explains that Carlos' parents mysteriously disappeared when he was sixteen, which traumatized him.

Samantha leaves a voicemail for Steven; confrontations ensue between Carlos, the bridesmaids, and Samantha. Carlos questions her about the note. When she asks if there is anything he wants to tell her, he responds by laughing, tells her not to be scared and starts to advance on her. Samantha retreats into a confessional booth and Carlos tries to coax her out. Without warning, he enters the other half of the booth. Samantha tries to escape but finds that it is blocked. Carlos tells her about a woman who started stalking him and might have been crazy enough to want to ruin their wedding.

Elsewhere, the person in the red scarf enters a room filled with human heads in jars and bloody corpses. After depositing a dead cat on a table, then checking the voicemail, left by Samantha, the person is revealed to be Samantha's brother Steven, dressed as a woman. Carlos asks if they can just forget about the note but Samantha reveals that Father Chris accidentally told Ruthie to give the note to the wrong person; the note was not intended for her, but for him. Carlos says he doesn't want to know what it says so as long as they're together, and that "You'll show me when you're ready, promise?" to which Samantha looks at him strangely and eerily replies "I promise."

Reception

Multiple reviews of the episode noted that it ended with more questions than answers, such as The AV Club questioning "Why does she look so frightened if she’s the one who’s in control?". [2] [3] Slant felt that the episode's initial conceit of a woman receiving a note stating that she was marrying a serial killer could have been "a pretty good hook for a Hitchcockian melodrama along the lines of Suspicion were Salva actually interested in telling that particular story" but that "it quickly becomes obvious that the whole thing is just a setup for a lame and illogical twist ending." [4]

Dread Central was critical in their review, as they felt that "this series continues to demonstrate the biggest fault of Masters of Horror : Horror anthologies are best suited to half-hour episodes a la Tales From The Crypt instead of the bloated hour-long format." [5]

Related Research Articles

Maggie Lawson American actress

Margaret Cassidy Lawson is an American actress who is best known for her role as Detective Juliet "Jules" O'Hara in the TV show Psych. From 2018 to 2019, she held the recurring role of Nathalie Flynn on Fox's Lethal Weapon's third and final season.

<i>Tales from the Crypt</i> (film) 1972 film directed by Oran Dsouza

Tales from the Crypt is a 1972 British anthology horror film directed by Freddie Francis. It is an anthology film consisting of five separate segments, based on stories from EC Comics. It was produced by Amicus Productions and filmed at Shepperton Studios.

<i>The Tingler</i> 1959 horror film

The Tingler is a 1959 American horror film produced and directed by William Castle. It is the third of five collaborations between Castle and writer Robb White, and starring Vincent Price.

Jane Beale Fictional character in EastEnders

Lesley Jane Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by Laurie Brett. She made her first appearance on 22 June 2004. Brett took maternity leave in 2011 and departed on 19 May. She returned on 8 November and departed again on 27 January 2012. Jane made a temporary return to the show on 6 January 2014 until 20 May and permanently from 24 November 2014 to 23 October 2017. She made two voiceover appearances on 8 and 25 December 2017.

<i>Venom</i> (2005 film) 2005 American film

Venom is a 2005 American horror film directed by Jim Gillespie and starring Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, Meagan Good, D. J. Cotrona and Method Man. It is the final film by Dimension Films to be released during their Miramax tenure before The Walt Disney Company, Miramax's parent company at the time, sold Dimension to The Weinstein Company on October 1, 2005.

Chocolate (<i>Masters of Horror</i>) 5th episode of the first season of Masters of Horror

"Chocolate" is the fifth episode of the first season of Masters of Horror. It originally aired in North America on November 25, 2005. It was directed by Mick Garris and based on his short story.

Cigarette Burns 8th episode of the first season of Masters of Horror

"Cigarette Burns" is the eighth episode of the first season of Masters of Horror. It originally aired in North America on December 16, 2005.

<i>One Missed Call</i> (2003 film) 2003 Japanese film

One Missed Call is a 2003 Japanese horror film directed by Takashi Miike. The film is based on the novel Chakushin Ari by Yasushi Akimoto. The plot revolves around Yumi Nakamura, a young psychology student whose friend Yoko gets a strange voice message on her cell phone. The message is dated two days in the future and Yoko can hear herself screaming in it. After Yoko mysteriously dies, her death sets off a chain of events which leads Yumi to discover that this phenomenon has been occurring throughout Japan long before Yoko received an alarming call from her future self. When Yumi receives a call with the date and time of her death, she struggles to save herself and learn the truth behind the calls.

The Sacrifice (<i>Fear Itself</i>) 1st episode of the first season of Fear Itself

"The Sacrifice" is the first episode of the television series Fear Itself. The episode originally aired on June 5, 2008. It was based on Del Howinson's short story titled "The Lost Herd." The plot revolves around four men who become stranded in an old fort—to find that it is home to an ancient vampire.

Spooked (<i>Fear Itself</i>) 2nd episode of the first season of Fear Itself

"Spooked" is the second episode of the NBC horror anthology Fear Itself.

Family Man (<i>Fear Itself</i>) 3rd episode of the first season of Fear Itself

"Family Man" is the third episode of the NBC horror anthology Fear Itself.

"Eater" is the fifth episode of the NBC horror anthology Fear Itself and is based on the Peter Crowther short story of the same name.

New Years Day (<i>Fear Itself</i>) 6th episode of the first season of Fear Itself

"New Year's Day" is the sixth episode of the NBC horror anthology Fear Itself. This episode is based on the short story The Dead Time by Paul Kane.

Community (<i>Fear Itself</i>) 7th episode of the first season of Fear Itself

"Community" is the seventh episode of the television series Fear Itself, the episode originally aired on July 24, 2008. The plot revolves around a young couple move into a secure gated community and discover its horrifying secret.

<i>Alien Raiders</i> 2008 film

Alien Raiders is a 2008 American science fiction horror film, starring Carlos Bernard, Rockmond Dunbar and Mathew St. Patrick. The film is Ben Rock's first feature film as a director. The film was produced by Daniel Myrick, John Shiban, and Tony Krantz, and was released by Warner Home Video and Raw Feed in September 2008.

House of Fears is a 2007 American horror film, directed by Ryan Little. It stars Corri English, Sandra McCoy, Michael J. Pagan, Corey Sevier and Alice Greczyn. The film was released Direct-to-DVD on April 27, 2009 in the UK. The DVD release in the United States was distributed by Your Indie Films. The movie features a cameo from American actor Jared Padalecki.

<i>V/H/S</i> 2012 American horror anthology film

V/H/S is a 2012 American found footage horror anthology film created by Brad Miska and Bloody Disgusting. It features a series of found footage shorts written and directed by Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and the filmmaking collective Radio Silence.

<i>The Possession of Michael King</i> 2014 American film

The Possession of Michael King is a 2014 American found footage horror film written and directed by David Jung, in his directorial debut, from a story by himself and Tedi Sarafian. The film had its world premiere on August 14, 2014 in Singapore and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 22 of the same year. It was released on to video on demand on August 26, 2014. It stars Shane Johnson as a widowed, atheist filmmaker who finds himself the target of demonic forces.

<i>Terrifier</i> 2016 film by Damien Leon

Terrifier is a 2016 American slasher film written, co-produced, and directed by Damien Leone. The film stars David Howard Thornton, Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi, Catherine Corcoran, Matt McAllister, and Michael Leavy. Thornton portrays the murderous Art the Clown, who hunts three young women played by Kannell, Scaffidi, and Corcoran on Halloween. It marks the second feature film appearance of the Art the Clown character, after Leone's 2013 anthology film All Hallows' Eve, which incorporated footage from previous short films that were also directed by Leone and featured the character.

References

  1. ↑ "Landis Talks Fear Itself, Batboy". ComingSoon.net. 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  2. ↑ "Fear Itself: "In Sickness And In Health"". The AV Club. Retrieved 2020-11-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ↑ Fowler, Matt (May 12, 2012). "Fear Itself: "In Sickness and In Health" Review". IGN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ↑ Holcomb, Brian. "Fear Itself: "In Sickness and in Health"". Slant. Retrieved 2020-11-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ unclecreepy (2008-06-25). "Fear Itself: In Sickness & In Health (2008)". Dread Central. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.