Ep 6. The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth
- TV-PG
- March 4, 2004
- 23 min
-
8.3 (320)
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a horror-comedy series that combines the genre's tropes with the subversive humor of Britcoms. In the show's sixth episode, titled "The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth," we follow the characters' attempts to fend off a deadly outbreak of plant-like organisms while investigating a mysterious survey ship.
The episode begins with hospital administrator Thornton Reed (played by Richard Ayoade) receiving a distress call from a survey team stationed on the shores of Shuggoth, a remote island. Reed sends his team of paranormal investigators to assess the situation and quickly discovers that the survey team has been mutated into humanoid moss creatures. The mutations seem to be the work of a strange moss-like organism that seems to be spreading rapidly.
The investigators, led by hospital doctor Rick Dagless (Matthew Holness), must work quickly to identify the source of the infection and halt its spread before it engulfs the entire island. Along the way, they encounter several obstacles, including a surly fisherman and a doctor whose diagnosis of paranoia lands him in a straightjacket.
The episode is filled with the usual tropes of horror movies, including jump scares, mysterious disappearances, and a creeping sense of dread. But it also features plenty of references to 80s pop culture and tongue-in-cheek humor that makes it clear the show doesn't take itself too seriously.
As the infected individuals begin to succumb to the moss, the investigators realize that the organism is not of this world and was most likely brought to Earth by the survey ship. They must navigate their way inside the ship and destroy the moss before it can claim more lives.
What follows is a tense and action-packed finale that includes a harrowing chase sequence and a showdown with the moss creature. With its mix of horror and comedy, "The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth" is a standout episode of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace that delivers on both scares and laughs.
