The spooky season wouldn't be the same without The Simpsons' Halloween special, and this year's episode is already getting high praise. Fans are raving about the "stunning" animation style and "genuinely scary moments" of season 37's third episode, titled Treehouse of Horror XXXVI, which aired last night.
In this year's Halloween special, the town is "menaced by a mysterious murdering monster from out of the sewers, Krusty has a demonic special guest on his live Halloween special, and we go a thousand years into Springfield's poseable plastic post-apocalyptic future" (via Reddit).
The first reactions to the episode have been overwhelmingly positive so far, with viewers praising old references from the show, the animation style, and memorable moments like "when Nelson smashed Cletus and Reverend Lovejoy face together".
"I loved this one!! So much better than last year's," wrote one Redditor. "I like that the first segment focused on Lou as opposed to the main family, it was really funny seeing Homer and Bart as business partners. I think the middle segment was my favorite with so many funny and gory kills. I liked the animation in the last segment a lot more than the Denim parody last year. Overall, I think this had everything that a good treehouse has and some genuinely scary moments!!"
"Thought this was a good episode," added another user. "I really liked the Krusty segment with them switching to the 4:3 format and the "classic" style of animation."
Others noted that "the gore seemed higher than usual this year," while applauding the visuals. "The animation this season has been stunning," one said.
"They've been getting more ambitious with the show's appearance for a few seasons now, but this season in particular has looked beautiful," they continued, with another fan saying the "animation was fire and way funnier than last year's."
The special featured some major guest stars, including Ike Barinholtz as Wayne the Grip, Viola Davis as the Narrator, Idris Elba as The Devil, and Michael Keaton as Hal Julian.
For more TV content, check out our list of all the new TV shows coming up this year.
