We start much the way a normal episode opens, but with a stormy night's sky. In fact it is reminiscent of the original openings with the storm. Also the normal opening bird has been modified.
And then it's killed.
Now on to The Simpsons.
Now we move to the nuclear plant where the military is taking a last stand against a zombie horde. The Apocalypse is upon them!
At this point we can clear see that Del Toro is really going to cram the episode with imagery and homages. From zombies to geigers.
And I have been persnickety on shout outs to stuff in looking at Treehouse of Horror in the past...So we'll see how this goes. And I won't be pretending like I can get everything that will flash before our eyes.
(Also, we see what happened to the bird that was electrocuted at the start of this title sequence. Crashed down onto the tire fire, we can see now that it was actually gigantic. Ah, horror movies and there giant animals.
In town, some buildings are boarded up, and under zombie assault. And in the park, zombie bullies are still pulling their pranks.
The statue head lands on a still alive Ralph, cleaving off his head. But his head is too busy to notice.
Elsewhere, the Lard Lad statue is alive again, and smashing things.
But Wiggims in Ray Harryhausen style picks him up and devours him.
Outside the school, Alfred Hitchcock sets birds on Crabapple.
And, somehow, Bart has managed to get detention during the Apocalypse. But he's having his fun.
Then he sees who's with him.
Stephen King.
And Bart flees at top speed.
In the process he starts a fight for Groundskeeper Hellboy. (Del Toro is putting in a number of shout outs to his own work, and his passions.)
At the nuclear plant, Homer gets a radioactive rod in his suit. A usual opening. But it seems to turn Homer into one of the special vampires from Blade 2 (another Del Toro movie).
He runs off. Carl reveals himself to be Blade, and gives chase,
Going down into the ground, we see where the original version of the Simpson family is buried.
And the bones of Godzilla.
We then come into a room that is a replica of one in Pan's Labyrinth.
And this version of Burns eats his Smithers.
At the store, Maggie is being bought. (Also like the effort for corny magazines behind her.)
A bug version of Marge is buying her.
When her nemesis eyes her, he sheds his outside. Then Maggie does the same.
At someplace else, a line of Phantoms (of the Opera) are all singing together. (A nice bit of history.)
We also have the music teacher playing the Phantom of the Paradise.
Once again, Lisa is being kicked out. But if you look at the walls you'll see some memories of Treehouse of Horror's past.
Bart, still heading home, gets to meet Cthulhu. (I hope Del Toro someday gets to make his Moutains of Madness movie.) He rides his tentacles and rolls for SAN loss.
He then rides passed a number of authors of horror. (I will admit I can't name them all. But it's nice to see Lovecraft, Poe, and Bradbury getting some thoughts.)
Then we see a mob racing down the street.
And they're being chased by a host of Universal Monsters.
Elsewhere, Maggie is just driving herself home.
On the way, she runs Milhouse off the road.
Before he hits the water, a giant mutated fish gets him.
Then we get a massive dose of classic horror and scifi nostalgia. I won't even try to name everything. But it is nice to see London After Midnight, Ray Harryhausen, and Freaks getting some respect..
Finally, the family gets home. Bart and Homer are first.
Then Lisa.
And then Maggie.
She runs Homer down. (And I like the updated garage with Apocalypse survival tools.)
Then everyone meets up on the couch. (I am not sure what Homer is supposed to be, but it looks nice.)
But it isn't over! Suddenly Lisa falls through the couch.
She turns into Alice, on her way to Wonderland.
Down below she meets...the Hypnotoad?! Awesome!
Suddenly she finds herself in Pan's Labyrinth.
...So does this means she's dead?
And we pan up to the title.
The little pixies are hitting it like it's a bug zapper.
This was a jam packed opening. We got a lot thrown at us. There were a myriad of Del Toro projects. There were also shout outs to horror movies from the earliest days of movies up to the present.
It was my kind of presentation. It was too much, and I liked it. We even got some literary love along the way.
This is a benchmark for any opening that wants to be extravagant. This was a banquet of classic horror.
This episode brought us...
and
and
which offered...
and
and
Next time, YEAR XXV! Yeah, the 25th!
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