IR TV Review: TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES - EPISODES 5 & 6 (“Quota” & “Fix”) [CW-S2]
The idea of morality tales or the essence of decision primarily integrates in what the end of goal of a certain character or characters is. Whether it rests in a sense of ambition, selfishness or a sense of redemption, it tends to come with its own price, sometimes literally and sometimes metaphorically. The two episodes of "Two Sentence Horror Stories" this week: "Quota" and "Fix" reflect that notion.
Quota The inset of this story initially plays to the thought of those underfoot and underappreciated, especially warehouse workers, day in and day out. But that is simply the justification for a bigger metaphor of rats in a cage. The supervisor of a local plant leaves his manager in charge and gives her a specific ultimatum to hit a certain goal/quota by the end of the evening. Certain plot devices gives the parameters a bit of play but what becomes interesting, not in an external way, but internally is the gender and race politics at play within the workplace between two black women. The discussion is just overt enough and yet subtle enough to be prevalent while the genre story unfold. The eventual resolution is in itself thematic while still resounding with a bit of irony. Its basis is wrapped in pre-existing lore but it definitely gets the fire burning. B
Fix The second episode is a little more metaphysical in a way. It uses loss as a catalyst in reflection on faith and culture. The lead character, who is gay but that doesn't change the structure very much, lost his parents as did his sister. He reflects his sorrow in the essence of the Church trying to be a better person while his sister seems to have descended into a different arena of drug use. He goes over to her apartment to try to save her but she has already given herself up to something more powerful that she says had been in the back of her mind for awhile. The imagery definitely has horror film odes but what really works as the reveal sets in is the power of perception and projection, both inward and outward into the notion of being while disguising its predilection in pre-ordained imagery. B-
By Tim Wassberg
