An art collector’s perverse cravings find him fighting for his life. A prisoner relationship with the spiders in his cell draws him in to a web of horror.

Shudder’s anthology show continues with two more comic book tales of retribution that are fun to watch while lacking any great weight. In The Last Tsubarya, tech billionaire Wade Cruz (an obnoxious Brandon Quinn) acquires the infamous final painting by Japanese artist Tsubarya of a mythical beast. The artwork has never been seen by anyone but the artist, and can only be uncovered on the 100th anniversary of his death. The spoilt tycoon looks at the painting and then burns it so no one else can enjoy it. Such an awful person then gets his just desserts as the monster manifests itself as an impressive physical beast… and that’s about it.

Okay, I’ll Bite is written and directed by John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside: The Movie) from his own short story and it’s a more original premise. Prisoner Elmer Strick (Nick Massouh, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) has been convicted for helping his mother with her suicide. He’s been a model prisoner and is due parole, but he’s just too useful for the corrupt guards who use him to cook up drugs, so they concoct a phoney charge to keep him in.

Back in his cell, Elmer speaks to his only friends, the spiders in the walls, and when it’s threatened that the cell block is being fumigated, he uses an ancient inscription to release the arachnids’ potential. Good, gooey nonsense that really feels like an old EC comic.

Verdict: Another mixed bag, with only the second story using the Creepshow formula to full effect. 7/10

Nick Joy