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Summary:
Frank Black faces an eerie night full of unsettling coincidences when
he takes Jordan to the streets of Seattle for some Halloween
Trick-or-Treating. Are the mounting coincidences the result of simple
chance, or is someone — or something
— trying to provide Frank with
a powerful message?
Season Two on DVD
Quote:
"Do you ever find yourself talking
with the dead? Since Willie's death, I catch myself every day,
involuntarily talking with him as if he were with me."
—Abraham
Lincoln (upon the death of his son)
Synopsis:
On Halloween night, Frank puts the finishing touches on a hand carved
Jack- O'-Lantern and lights the candle inside. Suddenly, the candle
extinguishes. Frank checks his watch, and realizing he is scheduled to
take his daughter trick or treating, makes his way to the front
doorway. As he peers across the street, he sees a devil-figure, the "Gehenna
devil," staring back at him. A few moments later, the figure is gone.
As Frank drives off to pick up his daughter, the candle inside the
pumpkin inexplicably reignites.
Later that night, Frank
accompanies his daughter, who is dressed as Marge Simpson, through
the neighborhood. Jordan senses evil inside one of the homes and
decides to pass by. She tells her father there "are ghosts in that
house." Frank dismisses the notion, but a few moments later, he
relives a moment from his childhood. In flashback, five-year-old
Frank Black and three of his childhood buddies approach a creepy old
house on Halloween. On a dare from his friends, Frank knocks on the
front door of the old home. A man named Mr. Crocell answers the door
and invites the young boy inside. Crocell explains the meaning of
Halloween, and how, on this night, the spirits of the dead return to
visit the living. A veteran of World War II who lost many a friend
in battle, Crocell asks the young Frank if such a thing is possible.
Frank responds that there are no such things as ghosts. Crocell
nods, slipping further into depression.
Later that night, while
driving home, Frank's Jeep stalls out on a darkened street. Though
Frank doesn't notice, the vehicle's odometer, as well as his watch,
all contain the numbers "2-6-8" (numbers which turn up again and
again throughout the episode). Frank makes his way to a nearby
neighborhood — only to come upon the abandoned Yellow House as it is
being egged by two teenage boys. Frank chases the pair away and
makes his way inside. There he experiences memories of happier
times, of Catherine and Jordan. Frank makes his way to the
basement, following indiscernible whispers. As he listens from the
shadows, a teenage boy tours the basement with a group of friends.
He describes how Bletcher met his grisly fate, and how his ghost has
roamed the house, "waiting for the curse of Frank Black to be
lifted." Frank lets his presence be known, and the terrified
teenagers run off into the night. Afterward, Frank recalls his
friends' reactions when Crocell--the victim of a suicide
—
was
discovered by authorities. As Frank leaves the house, he scoops up a
Bible, only to momentarily glimpse the book title. Outside, he
notices the teenagers' egg carton on the sidewalk. He picks up the
surviving egg and tosses it at his old house. When Frank returns
home, he is surprised by the sight of the lit candle inside the
Jack-'O-Lantern. He then pursues the mail, mainly of the junk
variety. Though Frank doesn't realize it, the envelopes all contain
the accentuated letters, "A-C-T." Then, as he watches television,
the numbers "2-6-8" again appear in various combinations. Frank
realizes Crocell's address was "268." He also remembers seeing the
Bible at the Yellow House, and the book's title: "ACTs of the
Apostles." He searches through his Bible until he reaches Chapter
26, Verse 8. There he finds the sentence, "Why should it be thought
incredible by you that God raises the dead?"
Frank hears movement in the attic of
his house. He climbs upward, flashlight in hand, seeking out the
source of the noise. There he encounters Mr. Crocell, who warns he
has been sent to Earth because Frank has become him. He tells Frank
to give up the Millennium Group, return to his wife and daughter,
and live out the rest of a normal, happy life. After Crocell
vanishes, Frank climbs into his Jeep, a bucket and cleaners in hand.
He drives to the Yellow House and washes away the yolk stain from
the window he defaced earlier. He freezes momentarily at the sight
of the "Gehenna" devil, as seen through the window, inside the
house. But Frank continues to clean the window — refusing to become
Mr. Crocell.
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Photographs:
- A frightening illumination Frank's face
- Frank enjoys Halloween pumpkin carving
- Frank in the yellow house's basement
- Frank takes Jordan trick-or-treating
- A young Frank trick-or-treats with friends
- Frank Black as a teenager
-
The disturbed Mr. Crocell
- Frank finally gets the message
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Abyss Rating:
(5/5)
Media Review:
"With his furrowed,
skin-tightened skull of a face, Lance Henriksen is the perfect actorly
complement to Carter’s thematic obsessions, his Frank Black the mortal
survivalist pushing ever-forward, even in the face of the devil’s idle
temptations. Morgan and Wong’s numinous plottings only strengthen
Frank’s resolve — he’s the Carter agnostic in perpetual conflict with
a fatalistically preordained narrative arc where every story element,
every character, has its perfect endpoint."
—Keith Uhlich, Slant Magazine
"Some
of the season's strongest story-telling... A surreal, ghostly journey
from uncertainty to renewed determination, played out on the silent,
wind-blown streets of Frank's neighborhood on Halloween night."
—Paula Vitaris, Cinefantastique
Trivia:
This episode was influenced primarily by
Kwaidan, a haunting 1964 film by Japanese director
Masaki Kobayashi. The film contains four vignettes
concerning spirits and ghosts and is generally commended for its
visual impact, the way in which the film's composition resembles a
painting, rather than the pacing of its plots.
This episode was written primarily by
Glen Morgan. James Wong, meanwhile, focused his attention on the
script for "19:19." Morgan
has said that his script for "The Curse of Frank Black"
lacked
dialogue as a means of spotlighting Lance Henriksen's visual impact
and his more subtle acting strengths. "I didn't want to do any more
dialogue. Lance is so great with looks."
This episode's events reflect the
development of other Millennium characters while,
simultaneously, offering viewers a glimpse at the potential
fallibility of the show's very human hero. Morgan explains, "Frank's
journey is similar to Lara's. That's where Frank could go, where he
could quit and find a place for himself. He is at the brink. He goes
back to his yellow house and throws eggs at it, like kids do at
Halloween. He was on the brink of becoming Mr. Crocell. But he's got
to go back and clean up the mess, otherwise he would just be giving
up. What I liked is that it did seem like a slip-up in his quest."
When Frank Black is distracted by a big-screen projection television while trick-or-treating he gets a brief
glimpse of the opening credits to Glen Morgan and James Wong's The
Notorious 7, a television pilot that was rejected by the Fox
network before the duo signed on to supervise Millennium.
This episodes contains the most
blatant of all of Glen Morgan and James Wong's trademark sight gags
referencing
their work on Space: Above and Beyond. The costumed man
that Frank faces on the street is dressed as a Chig, the alien
villains of the sci-fi drama series.
At home, Frank is tormented from his own
television screen by a chillingly bizarre depiction of a laughing
devil. He's seeing clips of Fétiche
(The Mascot), a short 1933
film by Polish director Wladyslaw
Starewicz, famed for his pioneering work with cartoons and stop-motion
animation.
Guest star Dean Winters, who appears here
as the ghostly Mr. Crocell, has had regular roles on such shows as
Oz and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and has guest
starred on Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blue, New
York Undercover, and others. This would not be his only
Millennium appearance; Winters would guest star again in the third
season episode "Matryoshka."
Death Toll:
1
Title:
After considering the
tragic events of his life, and after hearing of those events cast as a
Halloween horror story by the teens in his basement, it is clear why Frank Black
might begin to consider himself a cursed man.
Soundtrack:
"Little Demon" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
"Memories are Made of This" by Dean
Martin
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Guest Starring:
Dean Winters as Mr. Crocell
Kett Turton as the Ghost Storyteller
A.J. Adamson as 5-Year-Old
Frank
Shaun Toplass as
14-Year-Old Frank
Lachlan Murdoch as the Hobo
Production
Credits:
Production #5C07
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Chip Johannessen
Consulting Producers Darin Morgan
Co-Producer Robert Moresco
Co-Producer Paul Rabwin
Producer Thomas J. Wright
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Glen Morgan
Executive Producer James Wong
Executive Producer Chris Carter
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