Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Tubi!

This week’s episode is all about death, natural and otherwise.

Episode 2.19 “A Family Affair”

(Dir by Keith Samples, originally aired on February 19th, 1990)

Paul (Leonard O. Turner) is having an affair with Claire (Kim Morgan Greene).  He doesn’t want his wife, Helen (Marlene Warfield), or his son, Jason (Morris Chestnut) to find out so when Claire becomes possessive and breaks into his house, he resorts to drastic measures and kills her.  However, he and Jason then discover that Claire has already killed Helen.  Months later, Paul and Jason are now estranged and Jason is doing drugs.  When Paul has a heart attack, he is visited by Claire’s spirit.  Claire is now the Angel of Death and has come to claim his soul.  Paul begs Claire to give one more week of life so that he can settle his affairs.  Claire agrees and then says that she still can’t return empty-handed.  Guess who overdoses?

“Drugs,” Freddy Krueger says, “Now there’s a real nightmare!”

Did you hear that kids?  The horribly scarred. undead serial killer who is the host of this show says that you better not do drugs.  Freddy — or I should say, Robert Englund — delivers the line in a very solemn tone.  Freddy’s Nightmares is trying to be socially responsible.

Oh, what to say about this episode?  Kim Morgan Greene was enjoyably snarky while playing the Angel of Death.  Otherwise, this was a pretty boring episode.  Paul’s a jerk and, as a result, he loses everyone that he cares about.  If Paul was in any way sympathetic, that would be sad.  As it is, it’s hard to care.

Only three episodes left!