This is part two in what I'm hoping will be a three- part Halloween- related installment.
The inspiration for this particular entry just came to me on the fly a week or so ago.
As I said in the previous entry, I recently finished a monthlong free subscription to Netflix, which enabled me to get caught up on 'Stranger Things.' In addition, it helped me watch a lot of other shows I was behind on, and it helped me discover another show I'd never even heard of before, called 'Creeped Out.'
SLIGHT DISCLAIMER: While this show is for kids, it can have its creepy moments.
This is a British/ Canadian horror anthology show for kids, similar to what 'Are You Afraid of the Dark' was like. Its sort of host/ Cryptkeeper- type character is "The Curious," a mysterious, silent, childlike figure wearing a strange mask. The Curious is apparently harmless, yet is always around when something spooky happens, and at the end of each episode, takes a little memento from that tale while whistling the show's eerie theme music. Here's the opening to one of the episodes, which shows you a little of what the Curious is like:
There were a lot of very good episodes of this show, such as 'Marti' (The episode that the above clip was taken from, which deals with our society's addiction to smart phones), 'Bravery Badge' (A genuinely frightening and yet encouraging tale in which a kind of Girl Scout troop on a camping trip discovers that mosquitoes and poison ivy aren't the only things to look out for in the woods), and the quite moving two- part episode 'Sideshow.'
However, if I had to pick one episode that was my favorite so far, one that sticks out for me is an episode called "Trolled."
SPOILERS!
This episode revolves around a British teen named Sam, who is enrolled in a prestigious boarding school for choral students. He is outwardly active and well- liked, but we soon learn he is leading a double life: He is secretly "NoFace," a vicious Internet troll and cyberbully who anonymously posts malicious insults and gossip on the school's Web forum and various social media outlets.
He has now set his sights on his roommate Fitzy, who has begun dating Sam's crush, Naini. As NoFace, Sam spreads a nasty rumor about Fitzy on the Web forum to try and break them up, and also posts an insulting picture of Naini on her Facebook page (Keep in mind that Sam outwardly professes close friendship with both of them). After he does so, though, he gets a message from an ominous- seeming user named "Billygoat356," warning him to stop doing this or "Pay the price." Sam of course ignores this.
The next day, we learn that Sam may have to leave the school, as his working- class mother (A decent woman who ironically comes across as a much more sympathetic character than her son) can no longer afford to pay his tuition and various other school- related expenses. Sam, however, learns of a solution: If he can successfully perform an extremely difficult solo at a big choral recital the next day, he'll get a full scholarship.
Later that evening, Sam is back to trolling as NoFace, now posting an insulting (Though admittedly rather funny) edited picture of the school's headmaster on the faculty section of the web forum. Just then, he gets another message from Billygoat356, basically telling him "I warned you," followed by a string of phrases written in Norwegian.
The next morning, Sam begins experiencing some very bizarre changes: He grows a thick unibrow seemingly overnight, his gut becomes bloated and grotesque, his hands and feet turn misshapen and gnarled, and so on.
As you can probably guess, as punishment for his trolling ways, Sam is transforming into an ACTUAL troll! The string of Norwegian words Billygoat356 sent to him, when translated, are revealed to have been a curse which began this transformation.
Billygoat356 contacts Sam again, and tells him that there are two ways for him to break the curse and turn back to normal, but neither are very desirable for him: Either stay hidden from everyone until sunset (In which case he'd miss the recital, lose his shot at the scholarship, and have to leave the school), or go to the recital and openly admit to everyone there that he is NoFace (In which case he'd lose all his friends and be expelled from the school).
Sam shows up to the recital, wearing a hood to keep from revealing that the transformation has now spread to most of his face (Though he tells the headmaster he's wearing it due to stage fright), and attempts to perform the solo. Midway through it, however, Sam's voice changes to a troll's growl.
Suspecting that something's amiss, the headmaster orders Sam to remove the hood, and when he does so, everyone is of course horrified at his appearance. In a touch that is simultaneously funny, fitting, and yet also an incredibly sad commentary on the current state of society, one of the first reactions to this we see from the recital's audience is one of the parents there whipping out his phone to snap a picture of it.
Sam hears the online voice of Billygoat356 telling him one last time to confess he's NoFace and break the curse, and he seems to think about it for a few seconds, but then says "I can't." He runs out of the performance hall in shame, but as soon as he steps out of the building, exposure to sunlight (A mortal weakness for trolls, as anyone familiar with 'The Hobbit' could tell you) instantly turns him to stone, preserving him in troll form forever.
The stone troll statue that used to be Sam is then hoisted to the top of the school's roof and mounted up there like a gargoyle, and the school explains his disappearance by saying that the spectacle he caused at the recital was a prank that got him expelled. The school seizes his computer and thus discovers and reveals to everyone that he was NoFace all along, and Fitzy and Naini get back together when they realize how much Sam had been deceiving and manipulating them. We learn that Billygoat356 was apparently the school's maintenance man, the show's narrator gives a sober warning about how bullying people online is just as destructive as doing so in person and "You never know who's gonna be your Billygoat," and the Curious takes a souvenir of Sam's tale (A chalk rubbing of the school's brickwork that he/she was seen making at the start of the episode), and walks away as the episode ends.
As I said, "Trolled" stands out as being my favorite episode of 'Creeped Out.' The story right away was quite interesting. A tale of an Internet troll (Among the most loathsome kinds of people that most of us would be likely to personally encounter) getting what's coming to him is of course quite satisfying to watch, and the twist of him becoming a literal troll because of it was quite clever. Speaking of clever, having an internet troll's destruction brought about by a user with the screenname of "Billygoat356" is a VERY amusing nod to a certain classic fairy tale, all that was missing was for a bridge to somehow be involved. Most of the characters are quite likable, you find yourself really feeling bad for Fitzy and Naini being so deeply hurt by Sam's actions and the wedge he tries to drive between them, as well as for Sam's mother who you can tell works herself to the bone and sacrifices a lot for her son who clearly doesn't deserve any of it. The acting from everyone in the cast is pretty solid, too.
Sam's transformation into a troll is handled amazingly well, with very good use of makeup effects and prosthetics for a show that you can tell probably doesn't have the highest of budgets. The whole episode also has a fascinating Gothic mood to it, between the use of cinematography and shadows, the ways Sam's transformation is shown, the use of orchestral and choral music throughout, and the austere and rather foreboding environment that the school itself presents. It's just a real treat of an episode from start to finish. If any of you have Netflix and are in the mood for light scares, check it out.
I was inspired to do an entry on the Nightcrawler Experience about "Trolled" because, in addition to it obviously being a cautionary tale about the dangers of cyberbullying, I believe it also conveys a couple warnings that are quite Scriptural in nature.
The first concerns what Sam actually did, and what God's Word says about it. An important consideration is that Sam's actions weren't just cruel, two- faced and cowardly; They were also incredibly sinful. In Proverbs 6:16- 19, it talks about seven things that God hates, and views as abominations. The last four of those things include "A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Sam, through his trolling as NoFace, was most definitely guilty of those. He spread lies about people, was quick to deliberately cause trouble, and sowed disharmony and unhappiness between Fitzy and Naini, and you know he had to have done all that to a LOT of others in the school before that point through his trolling. What's worse, he spewed all that hatred and venom about them, all the while outwardly pretending to be a close friend to both of them.
While obviously Internet trolls are particularly likely to commit those sins these days, I've seen plenty of people commit those sins in real life as well.
Gossiping about people and being two- faced with them are incredibly destructive sins, and it pains me to say that one of the places that can be the worst haven for gossip is within a church. The people who commit those sins might try and justify them by saying things like "I'm just speaking out of concern," "I'm just venting my frustrations about them," or "They really need our prayers," but that doesn't change that it's' a sin. It turns people against each other, divides families, destroys friendships, and damages their walks with God.
Another Scriptural warning to be taken from 'Trolled' is on the importance of taking responsibility, not trying to hide your sins. In the end, while Sam's trolling and gossiping were horrible, what truly condemned Sam was his refusal to then take responsibility for what he did. Even when his transformation was exposed to all the school, even when he was reminded that confessing what he had been doing as NoFace was the only way to change back and avoid his awful fate, he STILL couldn't bring himself to reveal his secret, and THAT was what destroyed him. In a sense, Sam's transformation can be seen as his rotten hidden sin manifesting itself in an outer way for all to see, causing the formerly rather handsome young man to turn into a monster as ugly on the outside as he clearly was on the inside, and be preserved that way forever. On top of all that, his foul secret ended up being revealed anyway when the school seized his computer.
We, likewise, might think that when we sin, nobody is watching and nobody will ever find out about it, but God sees all, and will bring all of it to light in time. 1 Corinthians 4:5 points out that a time will come when God "Will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart." Jesus said in John 3:20 that "Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed."
The Devil loves when people try to keep their sins and struggles a secret, so they don't set out to get any help for it. That way, the guilt and pain over it can just keep growing within them and overtaking them, just like Sam's transformation in 'Trolled' did for him. It is through openly admitting our sins and inner struggles to God and to people we know we can trust that we can overcome them and live in the victory and peace that Christ offers. 1 John 1:9 says that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Through avoiding such toxic sins as gossip and through being honest and open when we do stumble, we can persevere in our walks with God and not allow Satan to "Troll" us anymore.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Hope you liked it, and stay tuned, as I should hopefully have the final entry in this Halloween series of entries up by the night in question. Until then, may God bless you all!
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