Freddy's Nightmares (TV Series) Judy Miller, Come on Down (1988) User Reviews

Good episode

[The_King_of_Cool · 6/10 · 1 March 2009]

EPISODE 5: JUDY MILLER, COME ON DOWN- *** ½

Writers- Michael De Luca & Jack Temchin

Director- Tom DeSimone (Hell Night)

Judy Miller (Siobhan McCafferty) unhappy with her life appears on a twisted game show each right answer comes at a cost; the 2nd half has Judy and her husband Tom (John DeMita) enjoying their winnings, but when a maid (Susan Oliver) shows up and claims to be Judy from the future and tells her she has to kill her husband. I actually quite enjoyed this episode the first half is campy and over the top, but a lot of fun; the 2nd half wasn't as good, but still works, but problem is it was sort of pointless with a lame ending. Despite these problems I highly enjoyed this one for the most part. Larry Anderson who plays Sammy Ray played Michael Long who later became Michael Knight played by David Hasselhoff in the pilot episode of Knight Rider.

Starts out decent enough, then leads up with a disappointing second half.

[b_kite · 5/10 · 22 March 2019]

Judy Miller is an unhappy housewife who dreams of becoming rich off of a popular game show and living out her dreams, all while escaping her Husband who is always busy with work and his nagging parants. However strangely one night Judy finds herself on a game show however this one is very different and very deadly. The second half has Judy now happy and with lots of money and having made up with her husband, being paid a visit by her future self who warns her of the upcoming future were her life with tragically fall apart, leading Judy to make a decision she didn't for see herself having to make.

Directed by Tom DeSimone who directed the horror classic "Hell Night" (1981). This one starts out pretty good, I really liked the whole game show plot and how twisted it was with all the weird questions and what not. It sadly wraps up way to fast though. The second part however really is a bummer, for starters its never actually revealed why Judy's future self is able to time travel back to the past, but, the main problem here is nothing happens, this whole part of the story is just dialogue driven so it can slowly build us up to a twist you can see coming a mile away. Overall, its not bad, but, nothing great either. Freddy is back on crypt keeper duty this time around, but, his interruptions are the best thing here including when Judy pulls down the stove lid to expose Freddy's talking head.

A Twisted Tale of Greed and Gore

[BeefyBoyGod · 6/10 · 11 August 2023]

"Judy Miller, Come on Down" presents a curious blend of surreal game show spectacle and time-travel morality tale, wrapped in the context of Freddy's Nightmares. As the fifth episode of the series' first season, directed by Tom DeSimone, it embarks on a split narrative that combines two contrasting storylines tethered by a common theme.

The episode unfolds with Judy Miller (Siobhan McCafferty), a frustrated housewife yearning for a life beyond domesticity. When she gets a shot at the bizarre 'Beat the House' game-show, the story takes a delightfully strange turn. The game-show sequences, alternating between being dubbed 'Beat the House' and 'Beat the Reaper,' are the highlight of the episode's first half. Judy is subjected to unconventional questions, dealing with killers and her own life, where right or wrong answers result in equally odd consequences. Be it being doused with honey in front of her in-laws or a comically grim scenario reminiscent of the Pendulum trap from "Saw V," these sequences brim with campy charm. However, the narrative shifts gears rather abruptly, returning to normality, and Judy surprisingly emerges as the winner of the game-show's top prize, a million dollars.

The second half, unfortunately, takes a turn for the mundane as Judy, now wealthy, is visited by a maid from the future (Susan Oliver). This version of Judy imparts a dire warning: she must give away all her newfound wealth to avert the destruction of her life. This half of the episode becomes a standard morality tale, cautioning about the pitfalls of unchecked wealth. Despite the inclusion of time travel and the potential for intrigue, the plot loses its footing. The lack of any genuine horror elements and a predictable narrative arc dampen the impact.

While Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) makes sporadic appearances in this episode, they hardly contribute to the overall narrative. His one-liners and quirky sketches offer fleeting amusement but fail to add substantial substance. Gore, which had featured prominently in earlier episodes, is notably minimal here. A severed hand crawling with ants and a stomach sliced open by a swinging blade are the extent of the episode's visual horror.

In terms of tone, the episode leans toward surrealism, embracing odd and campy moments rather than outright scares. The disjointed nature of the narrative, the abrupt transitions, and the lack of a strong twist ending leave much to be desired. The episode's attempt to merge two distinct storylines under a single thematic banner ultimately results in a mixed bag of quality and impact.

"Judy Miller, Come on Down" stands as a mixed offering within the Freddy's Nightmares series. Its stark division between an intriguing game-show spectacle and a lackluster time-travel cautionary tale generates an uneven viewing experience. With minimal scares, campy game-show absurdity, and Freddy's limited involvement, it might be one of the episodes best left unexplored, even for dedicated Freddy enthusiasts.

"The slice is right..." Starts off alright but goes crap.

[poolandrews · 3/10 · 4 June 2010]

Freddy's Nightmares: Judy Miller, Come on Down starts as frustrated housewife Judy Miller (Siobhan McCafferty) gets the chance of a lifetime to go on the 'Beat the House' game-show, after some bizarre visions Judy actually manages to win the top prize of $1,000,000. Back home Judy buy's her domineering in-laws their own pad & together with her law student husband Tom (John DeMita) starts enjoying her winnings. However a maid sent from an agency (Susan Oliver) claims to be Judy from the future & says she must give all the money away or it will destroy her life...

Episode five from season one of Freddy's Nightmares this was one of several directed by Tom DeSimone (early 80's teen slasher Hell Night (1981) with Linda Blair appears to be his claim to fame) & like most of the early entries of Freddy's Nightmares there are two stories here linked by a common plot & the first half with Judy Miller on a surreal & camp game-show (that seems to alternates between being called 'Beat the House' & 'Beat the Reaper') complete with larger than life host who is armed with various cheesy jokes, I quite liked this part as it's just so strange & bizarre with odd questions revolving around killers & Judy's own life & the consequences for getting a question either wrong or right are amusing to from having honey poured on her in-laws & then a jar of flesh eating Ants thrown on them or a Pit and the Pendulum gag like that seen in Saw V (2008) in which a man strapped to a table is chopped in half by a huge swinging axe while Judy is forced to watch since her feet are glued & chained to the floor! The problem is there is no reason why any of this happens & the show reverts back to normality too quickly & she wins the money. The second half of Judy Miller, Come on Down is barely worth mentioning as Judy meets herself from the future (no reason is given to how the future Judy travelled back) who has a message about the dangers of the money & that it leads to the ruination of their lives, this is standard morality crap about the dangers of wealth. It's boring & has zero horror aspects, again the lack of any satisfying or surprising twist ending just kills it as it's just far too predictable.

Freddy watch has little to report here, there's no real reason for him to even be in this episode & he only pops up for a few seconds at a time (one with his head stuck inside an oven) to spout a one-liner which are the best thing about this episode really. There's next to no gore in this one after a couple of gory previous episodes, there's a cut open hand with Ants crawling over it, there's a shot of a mans stomach being cut with a huge swinging blade & in one of his little sketches Freddy's is holding a still beating heart but that's all. There's nothing scary here, the tone is more surreal with some really odd, camp & silly moments.

Judy Miller, Come on Down is half alright & half total crap. No scares, lots of camp moments & hardly any Freddy means this is one Freddy's Nightmares that you can skip. At only forty odd minutes at least it's short but it still sucks.