Tales from the Crypt 1.04

Only Sin Deep

starring Lea Thompson

directed by Howard Deutch

Sylvia Vane (Lea Thompson), a prostitute who wants to change her life, sells her beauty to the owner of a pawn shop for $10,000. He gives her four months to come back and reclaim it.

Sylvia changes her life. She meets a rich man and he falls in love with her. Everything goes great for her until the four months have elapsed.

Sylvia's face starts to deteriorate. She goes back to the pawn shop but its too late. The owner refuses to sell her back her beauty She waited too long.

She goes back to her boyfriend's apartment but he doesn't recognize her. He picks up the phone to call the police and report a break-in so she shoots and kills him.

Sylvia is left wandering the streets as her condition worsens.

Thoughts

This episode is adapted from a story that was originally published in Haunt of Fear 24 (Apr 1954). The story was written by Otto Binder and illustrated by Jack Kamen.

The music and the way this episode was shot both felt very late 1980s. That's not intended as a compliment. What I'm trying to say is that in a few ways this episode felt cheap and slapped together. 

This was a little too melodramatic for me. I think I might have enjoyed this story more if Lea Thompson had played the part a little more seriously. The bones are there for a better story but I'm just not wild about the way it was turned into an episode of this series.

Notes

I know Lea Thompson best from the Back to the Future trilogy of movies. I watched Back to the Future (1985) for the umpteenth time earlier this year. I've seen her in a few other things like Caroline in the City and Some Kind of Wonderful (1987).

This is the first of two episodes of this show that Howard Deutch directed. He also directed Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), Grumpier Old Men (1995), and a few episodes of Caroline in the City.