Stalker: The Haunting Review

If you’ve been following CBS’s Stalker, you’d probably agree that last week’s episode ended very strongly. It was definitely a shining moment for the series and is one that likely hooked a lot of people, including me. It will be interesting to see, whether or not this episode can live up to the hype built by last weeks. Welp, here we go!

Just in time for Halloween, the episode starts with a little dress up. Oh no, the store is closing in 15 and these girls need to get as inappropriately dressed as soon as possible! Laurie (Lyndon Smith) certain looks nice in her maid outfit. This is starting to look a little like AHS. Here comes the clown, with his bouncing ball. It is a nice outfit indeed. Laurie is beginning to get a little frustrated, after a lengthy game of bounce the ball. A fast ball from the clown diminishes her confidence and she is soon running and screaming for Annie. She gets away, but the clown is long gone and has left his costume behind.

Back to Perry Whitley (Erik Stocklin), who is mesmerized, by his comics. He is chatting on the phone with an Internet hacker, who apparently hacked Beth Davis’ iCloud account! Here comes the nudes! At the station, Jack Larson (Dylan McDermott) and Janice (Mariana Klaveno) share a conversation and Larsen doesn’t seem interested in taking their relationship any further. She questions him about his real reason for moving, which he silently ignores.

Laurie and Annie are seen discussing Bobby, with Beth (Maggie Q). It seems old Bobby has been stalking Laurie for quite some time now. Laurie seems to be displaying the common signs of a victim. She is confused and doesn’t know whether he is seeking revenge or reconciliation. In an interview room with Bobby, he quickly denies any part in the scare. Of course, a video shows Bobby dressing up as a clown and his friend claims it was all Bobby’s idea to play dress up.

Bobby denies pretty much everything and insists that he wants Laurie back. Max and Bobby are throwing each other under the bus. Laurie doesn’t want the backlash of having Max arrested, despite Beth trying to talk her into it. Laurie leaves, by claiming that the situation is over, but we doubt that is the case.

At their haunted house, Laurie and Annie continue preparations for their upcoming party. That night, Laurie begins hearing strange noises, as she sleeps. As she gets out of bed, the door slowly creeps open. She calls for Annie, to no avail. The lights shut off, as she nears the stairs. Oh man, this is getting good. The downstair’s light flips on, as she approaches. Shadowy figure behind her. Annie finally arrives. Right before the commercial break, the pair discover that someone has spray painted “GET OUT” on the wall. That was definitely intense. Let’s catch our breath, during the break.

Beth and Jack visit the house and talk to the victims. Supposedly the house is haunted. People were killed inside and the ghosts are haunting the place. Jack transforms into the Original Night Stalker and begins investigating the basement. After being startled by Beth, Jack discovers an ancient spirit trap. Janie discovers that the house has been listed on a haunted house website. Supposedly, the house has a past, in which two people committed suicide.

Jack and Ben go on a witch hunt together. Both are slicked up. Ben reveals that he knows about the hookup between Jack and Janice. No answer at the front door. The house is surrounded, by Halloween-type decorations. Despite no probable cause, Jack convinces Ben to investigate inside, after finding the back door open. More spooky stuff inside the house. The pair discover that Atwood has been keeping files on Laurie and Annie.

Uh oh! Blood in the sink. Animal organs. Voodoo powder and an attack on Ben. Jack to the rescue. Atwood isn’t actually stalking the girls. He is trying to protect the girls from the evils he believes reside inside the house. He claims to have seen a ghost inside and believes he can cleanse the spirits from the house. Jack is being threatened to leave town or he’ll be exposed for what he did in New York. Janice appears to have eavesdropped on the situation.

Louis (Kevin Christy) shows up to the party and dons a mask. Jack is back to stalking his ex-wife and kid. As two kids begin to steal Ethan’s Halloween candy, Jack swoops in and neutralizes the threat. As a thank you, Ethan (Gabriel Bateman) gives Jack a piece of his candy. Jack disappears into the darkness.

Back to Louis and the party. It seems as though Louis is attempting a ritual to cleanse the house of evil. During the middle of the ritual, he is violently choked to death, by an unseen figure. Man, this show is too violent on men! WTF CBS? ARGH! Ok, commercial break.

Jack and Beth arrive at the party and begin seeking for Louis. Beth encounters Annie and the pair begin searching for Laurie, who is supposedly dressed as a French maid. Back at headquarters, Janice and Ben are investigating Louis’ documents and discover that he believes he has seen a ghost inside the house. Now, they’re beginning to believe him. Beth spots a creepy person in an old man costume, who begins to tail her. She pins him against the wall and pulls off the mask to reveal Perry! Perry plays it off well, but mentions the name “Michelle” and it catches Beth off guard.

Max and Laurie share a spooky moment together upstairs. Ben calls Jack and reveals that the wife hung herself in the basement, but something is wrong with the history surrounding the husband. Laurie encounters Bobby, who immediately gets aggressive. He’s a drunken fool, who is trying to reconcile the relationship. Of course, he stumbles into the bathroom and begins throwing up. Jack reveals that the husband never committed suicide, but instead simply disappeared. Thump in the bathroom and Laurie opens the door. It’s not Bobby! Run Laurie run!!!! Whoever it is has her, as Jack and Beth rush upstairs, but it is simply too late. The masked man has made off with Laurie.

As the episode returns, Bobby reveals that Laurie is in trouble and confirms that the attacker wasn’t Louis, but was Greg Miner. Greg seems to be protecting the house to protect the memory of his deceased wife. Jack and Beth begin investigating the basement. Jack quickly discovers that one specific portion of the basement wall is drywall. With an axe, he discovers a hidden room on the other side. With a few more whacks, Jack enters looking like a total bad arse. Upon inspecting the bed, they discover Louis’ dead body. Soon after, they discover Laurie’s body. Wait! She’s still alive!

Jack continues exploring and discovers pictures of Greg and his wife on the wall. Out of nowhere, Greg emerges from the wall and instantly attacks Jack. Beth shows up and shoots Greg to save the day! Greg begins crying, as he is led away in cuffs. Bobby apologizes to Laurie and finally admits to being a total idiot. Finally, Laurie stands up for herself and tells Bobby where to go! Happy ending indeed Jack!

And the remixed music begins. These are usually the few best minutes of the show. Jack looks at the Halloween candy, as Janice shows up and begins offering her friendship to Jack. Beth begins her nightly ritual of locking up, before checking in her desk and discovering red book. She begins crying, as she explores pictures of her as a baby. Perry discovers some intriguing information online regarding Beth. It appears as if someone set a fire and killed their entire family, aside from one daughter, who is likely Beth.

Beth reveals her real name as Michelle Weber and calls a mental institution to confirm that a mysterious person is still locked inside! So there you have it! Lots of reveals this week.

Review


The episode was definitely a solid followup to last week’s stunning episode. The Halloween aspect, clown and haunted house all worked well together. The stalking case held my attention throughout the episode and packed plenty of action and surprises. However, it is the interaction between Jack, Amanda, Beth and Perry. The show continues to be suspenseful each week. It is hard not to get excited, as soon as you hear a remixed, eerie song begin to play, cause you know something big is about to go down and in this episode, it definitely did. Solid episode that deserves a 9 out of 10.

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