Directed by Michael Thou (who edited the Donner cut of Superman II, another EC adaption Two-Fisted Tales and Small Soldiers) and written by Ron Finley, this episode finds four boys — Aaron (Aron Eisenberg), Norm (Scott Fults), Jess (Jason Marsden) and Josh (Ke Huy Quan) — discover that the town’s pharmacist Nate Grundy (Graham Jarvis) and undertaker Sebastian Esbrook (John Glover) are murdering people and making money off their funerals.

“Quiet on the set! Deathly quiet. Fond felicitations, fiends and welcome to the Crypt. Tonight’s sordid saga is about a couple of kids with time to kill. See, they’re just dying to get into the horror movie business. And if they’re lucky, that’s exactly what’ll happen to ’em. Lights! Camera! Action!”

This episode is filled with Richard Donner moments, like the boys leaving a theater showing Radio Flyer and a poster for Lethal Weapon being up. It’s also quite like another of his films, The Goonies. There’s also an element of found footage in this as the kids try to capture the crimes on a video camera after Josh’s father is one of the victims of the scheme.

It’s based on the story “Undertaking Palor” from Tales From the Crypt #39. It was written by Al Feldstein and William Gaines and drawn by Jack Davis.

You can also watch this narrated version of the original comic book.