Tales from the Crypt (TV Series) 99 & 44/100% Pure Horror (1995) User Reviews

Blood is thicker than shower water, and it doesn't mix and lather up well with Derma Soap!

[blanbrn · 6/10 · 25 July 2008]

This "Tales from the Crypt" episode from 1995 wasn't one of the best, yet it wasn't one of the worst either as like many in the series it had it's typical gore, plot twist, and sexy scenes to make it a worthy episode. Veteran actor Bruce Davison stars as the head tycoon of a soap company called Derma and customers have put out word by surveys that they want a new brand and style of soap and he wants to go along with creating a new line. But wait enter his sexy and unfaithful cheating trophy wife(played by gorgeous Cristi Conaway remember her from "Batman Returns" as the "Ice Princess")she offers her ideas and wants to use her thoughts at the convention and tell about a new soap line. And this deadly beauty will do anything to feel right with success and greed, so when her idea is rejected she resorts to desperate measures in fact it's time to mix a little dead blood in with soap chemicals! As this episode ends it proves blood is thicker than water and it shows a bloody shower type revenge that includes soap and water as it lathers up all to a bloody mess. Overall pretty good episode of revenge that shows a cold witch like trophy wife getting what she deserves.

Another revenge episode, and nice like the others

[bellino-angelo2014 · 8/10 · 10 July 2021]

Luden Sandelton is the president of Dermasmooth, a company that produces soap. After an interview he discovers that the advertising campaign for the new line of soap and he is left with no other choice to fire his artist wife Willa (since she did the artwork for the new brand). On a rampage, Willa murders her husband for rectifying the situation, but revenge will go skin deep on the next shower...

Revenge might seem a typical theme in the series as it has been used in episodes such as ABRA CADAVER, REVENGE IS THE NUTS, FOREVER AMBERGRIS and it's quite adequate considering the show's premise. But every time, it never annoys because is always put in different contests, and this episode it's no exception. However, I must recommend to don't eat while watching as the scene near the end with Willa's body rotting in the shower might make you feel the stomach turned upside down!

Enjoyable episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 7 December 2012]

Luden Sandelton (an excellent performance by the always reliable Bruce Davison) is the president of a company that manufactures soap. When the advertising campaign for the latest line of soap is deemed a failure, Luden has no choice but to fire his artist wife Willa (well played to the ruthless bitchy hilt by gorgeous blonde Crista Conway) who did the artwork for said campaign. However, the greedy and unfaithful Willa has her own deadly ideas about rectifying the situation. Writer/director Rodman Flender relates the entertaining story at a snappy pace, spices things up with an amusing sense of deadpan dark humor, and delivers one doozy of a surprise gory ending. The sound acting by the able cast holds everything together: Conway and Davison do fine work in the lead roles, with sharp and funny support from Darin Heames as Willa's dim bulb hunk lover Tom and Kelly Coffield Park as an airhead talk show host. The slick cinematography by Levie Isaacks provides a cool stylish and polished look. Jay Ferguson's moody score hits the melodic spot. A fun show.

Decent enough crypt episode.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 5 September 2008]

Tales from the Crypt: 99 & 44/100% Pure Horror starts as a money grabbing self serving woman & controversial artist named Willa Sandelton (Cristi Conaway) is told by her soap company owning husband Luden (Bruce Davison) that sales are low & the designs for the soap packaging which she painted are being dropped as is she from the company. Not caring in the slightest for Luden & only with him for his money & influence Willa decides that he has outlived his usefulness & murders him, but Willa then has to get rid of the body which she thinks she does but her plan backfires with grotesque consequences...

This Tales from the Crypt story was episode 14 from season 6 & was the penultimate episode of the season, written & directed by Rodman Flender who also has a small cameo role in it as a TV show producer like a lot of season six Tales from the Crypt this isn't so much a straight out-and-out horror as a dark thriller with a twist. The script was based on a story from 'The Vault of Horror' comic book & could best be described as a murder story with a gorily grim ending. Not much in the way of horror at all then really, while 99 & 44/100% Pure Horror isn't too bad & passes twenty five odd minutes it's not amongst the show's best episodes & the lack of any horror definitely counts against it. The ending is somewhat satisfying although totally improbable & doesn't exactly make perfect sense. The character of Willa is extremely unlikely which doesn't help the episode either & ultimately there really isn't much to it besides the twist ending.

If you, like I was, are baffled by the title of this episode I did a little bit of research & discovered that it refers to the popular real life Ivory soap slogan '99.44/100% Pure' from the 1880's although I still don't really know what that means except that it has something to do with the results of some sort of test carried out at the time. Obviously since this episode & the original comic book story are based around soap the title is a play on that slogan. There's a bit of gore in this one, someone's head is bashed in & there's some blood splatter, someone's skin starts to melt & peel off in the shower with bloody results & there's a bar of soap with an eyeball in it. The only name of note in the cast is veteran film & TV actor Bruce Davison.

99 & 44/100% Pure Horror is one of those dark thriller type Tales from the Crypt episodes as all the horror based stories were starting to dry up, not bad but not great & really only saved a nicely grim twist ending.