Terror in the Aisles – The show begins with Mark Higgins (Matt McGorry) watching Peter and Elliot’s “Terror in the Aisles” episode “Satan’s Carnival.” Peter (Nick Pasqual) and Elliot (Andy S. Allen) hold a discussion.

Julia Bennett (Ahlam Abbas) places her necklace inside Melody’s baby blanket before leaving St. Joseph’s. Young Melody (Lena Josephine Marano) spends her first 10 years at St. Joseph’s. While completing an assignment, she begins to scribble on her paper. She continues scribbling until Sister Ann (Tressa Glover) jerks her notebook away. Sister Ann demands her to explain the scribbles. She doesn’t know, explaining there is something out there.

Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) is in a counseling session with Dr. Steven Turner (Charlie Hudson III). She explains the feeling as something pulling at her. It continued until her foster mother Lila took her out of St. Joseph’s. Lila died in the spring of last year. The strange feeling has returned. She feels like a scared kid again. She asks if he can help her. He agrees to work with her to find something that works. He gets up to answer the door to find Cleo. Melody plays with Cleo before her session ends.

Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) stands beside a large concrete building. He contacts Mark to update him on his work. Mark tells him about the NYU staff restrictions. He questions if Dr. Turner was trying to publish something, and NYU found out.  Dan didn’t find cameras anywhere in the bathroom. He gained access to the surveillance feed. Mark is headed to Melody’s house. Dan turns on the shower while he studies the surveillance system. He marks an area near the chapel that does not have cameras.

Dan is in the community room of the Visser when Melody enters. She asks if he is a member of the community and introduces herself. She whispers something is weird about the building and asks him out for a drink. A knock on the door brings Dan back to reality. He checks the surveillance cameras and finds a woman standing at the front door. She identifies herself as Bobbi (Jacqueline Antaramian). Virgil Davenport (Martin Donovan) sent her over the check on him because the shower water was running for a long time. She claims there is mold in the bathroom and wants him to move. He denies the mold problem and reminds her of Virgil’s guarantee of privacy.

Dan repairs another tape. Melody and Anabelle (Julie Chan) are in the community room, where the meeting took place last night. Anabelle jokes around about a sex room and blacklight. She tells her about the strange voice. Anabelle suggests talking to Jess Lewis (Ariana Neal.) Initially, she refuses, but with a bit of persuasion, she gives in. Cassandra Wall (Kristin Griffith) enters the community room to hang a notice on the bulletin board. She ignores their presence until Melody says her name. She stares intently and approaches Anabelle. She puts her head close to Anabelle and calls her lovely. Anabelle jokingly agrees. Cassandra denies being in the community room last night.

Melody visits Jess who is down about fighting with someone. She refuses to let Melody tell her mother to avoid going to Father Russo (Martin Sola.) She is scared of whatever is wrong with her. Melody tells her about experiencing terror and finding someone who helped her.

Anabelle tells Melody that parents appreciate it when other people take their children to psychologists. Melody says the catholic church’s methodologies are ineffective. Dr. Turner helped her. He has agreed to see Jess Saturday morning. Dan retrieves a tape from his dad’s collection of the Saturday session. He asks her to explain the episodes she is experiencing. She has been having them for a while. The episode begins with her feeling as if she is being pulled somewhere and then returns. Jess meets Cleo. Dr. Turner believes Jess’ episodes may be linked to anxiety. He needs parental consent to put Jess through a series of tests. Melody tells him that she will start looking for her mother. He is concerned about her mental welfare. She suggests her mother might want to see her, but fears getting hurt. He admits to being concerned about his kids not returning his love.

Irate Erika Lewis (Gameela Wright) enters the room and demands Melody to tell her why she didn’t get authorization to take Jess to Dr. Turner. Jess told Melody her mother approved the visit. Dr. Turner tells Melody she can’t care for her people’s children. She wishes someone would have parented her when she was a child.

Dan checks the surveillance footage to find Bobbi in the equipment room. He demands to know what she is doing. She claims to be checking the power strips. He asks her to remove the boards blocking the entrance to the chapel. She leaves without saying anything.

Mark meets Melody (Paris Benjamin) as she walks into her home. She invites him inside. He asks about her mother who she denies finding. She has little recollection of the fire. When she woke up in the hospital, her name was listed as Jane Doe. She started a new life and doesn’t remember Dr. Turner. He plays a song, which she claims to not recall.

Dan talks to his rat. He pleaded with his father to get a dog until he relented. Cleo ran away after the family home caught on fire. He encounters Melody on his way to get more supplies. She waited for him, but he never showed up. She has been getting it wrong, letting me down, and messing things up for a while. He tells her she is a caring person. He suddenly wakes up at his desk.

Dan watches another tape from the Visser archive. Melody is getting ready to visit St. Albert’s. She wants to meet Father Russo. His sermon is about “Satan’s Carnival.” He asks if the film is anti-church. Melody meets Father Russo who remembers her from the hardware store as Jess’ friend.

Melody meets He agrees to let her interview him. She compliments on his library and asks what he is hiding in a cabinet. The church keeps forbidden books from all over the world. He took Father McCormick’s position in 1987. She asks him about Julia Bennett whom he denies knowing. She refused to take part in the Eucharist even though she was raised catholic. He had a lot of anger as a child. He calls the church a light. She disagrees with him. As he asks how she is doing at the Visser and if she notices anything, a woman begins screaming. Erika is with Jess who appears to be having a seizure. He refuses to let Melody call an ambulance. He whispers something in Jess’s ear, and she comes through.

Melody and Anabelle visit a grocery store. Melody admits to caring about people and hopes Ericka will get some real help. She says, “It is a feature, not a bug.” Anabelle questions the meaning of the comment. She brushes it off, saying it means I’m a good person. Anabelle tells Melody about Cassandra being a wealthy art collector. She wants to see her works. Melody says maybe you can start paying rent when she buys something. They stop at Jess’s apartment, where they hear someone say, “Help me.”

Tamara Stefano (Kate Eastman) comes out into the hallway to tell them the noise is the TV. Melody says someone needs help in Jess’s apartment. She tells them when Father Russo visit’s Jess’ apartment, they turn the TV volume. Melody orders her to call John Smith (Eden Marryshow) to let them in the room. Tamara gives Melody a key. She opens the door to find Father Russo purging Jess. He says we can’t stop now she needs to be purged. The hysteria continues until Samuel (Evan Jonigkeit) enters the room. Father Russo is escorted out of the apartment. Samuel comforts Jess and tells Erika that he knows pediatric neurologists at Columbia University who can help her. He promises to pay her medical bills. She agrees and they both break down.

Melody rushes to catch up with Father Russo to tell him he is like the rest of them. He angrily says she doesn’t know what is happening and will never find her mother. He recommends she leaves while she can. Melody is distraught and orders Anabelle to turn off the camera.

Dan visits the chape. He calls Mark who denies meeting with Melody. He says she never showed and promises to try again later. Dan tells him about Bobbi and the chapel, which has a tunnel entrance and no cameras. He plans to tamper with the camera feed at the tunnel entrance, so he can enter without Virgil finding out. He just needs a key. Mark admits to lying about meeting Melody. He doesn’t believe the woman he met is Melody. He believes the woman acquired Melody’s identity, so she can collect her benefits.

Dan replays the footage, where Melody says, “It is a feature, not a bug.” Melody pops up on the screen. She says, “You came” and pops open a Fanta and says, “Cheers.” She thanks him for telling her she likes to help people. He asks if this is truly happening. She asks why it wouldn’t be. She leaves to inspect some type of commotion and asks him to stay. Cassandra enters the store and looks directly at the camera. She demands he stay out as her hand comes out of the screen. Dan wakes up gasping for breath as the episode comes to an end.

 

Archive 81 Review

The show is becoming more and more like “The Blair Witch Project,” with each episode. Some of the scenes are unrealistic, but what supernatural horror film isn’t?

The show introduces a new character, Bobbi. It is questionable what role she will play in the Visser project.

The Anabelle character is annoying. It would be nice to see her have a more serious tone. Some people may like the intrusion, but I find it an annoyance.

Remarkably, the camerawork, sound, and editing are decent. From my understanding, achieving ideal cinematic lighting for horror films is fairly complicated. Yes, low-key lighting is effective, but it is just the beginning. It is just nice to have clear visibility in dark scenes as well. This is very important since the majority of the show is set in dark environments. The episode deserves a 6.

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