LOS ANGELES, Feb 23 — M. Night Shyamalan is behind a resurrected Tales from the Crypt, previewed in a pair of apparent video trailers, and the director has started speaking about his perspective on a mainstay character, the Crypt Keeper.

TV series Tales from the Crypt is coming back with director, producer and writer M. Night Shyamalan at the helm.

The horror anthology broke boundaries when it first aired in 1989, partly due to the type of otherwise taboo content, perhaps mild in retrospect, its stories contained.

Over the course of its seven-year run it accumulated a glittering guest star roster that included Superman star Christopher Reeve, Kirk Douglas of Spartacus fame, Twin Peaks icon Kyle McLachlan, Ghost star Demi Moore, Boyhood lead Patricia Arquette, and Lance Henricksen of Aliens.

Directors, too, were rotated, with Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future), Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon), Mary Lambert of both Pet Sematary and Madonna’s Like a Prayer music video, and even Nightmare on Elm Street effects artist Kevin Yagher stopping by.

Over 20 years after its initial run ended, Tales from the Crypt is returning, switching hosts from HBO to TNT, and with M. Night Shyamalan in charge.

“What if we did an evening of television — the gateway to all the best genre TV?” he proposes in a now removed promo that surfaced online. 
”You can do drama, humor, a reality show for half an hour, a ten minute short... a destination for the highest level of storytelling,” he said of a two-hour programming block which would include the new Tales from the Crypt.

Yes, but what about this Crypt Keeper, the show’s narrative constant?

In Shyamalan’s view the character will be “someone who draws us in, like a dark Walt Disney”.

And that’s all we get... for now.

Intercut with Shyamalan’s quotes are scenes from various episodes, while the second trailer contains a longer look at one particular jump-scare sequence.

Neither were promoted by official TNT Drama social media accounts.

Announced in 2016, Shyamalan’s vision for a 10-episode Tales from the Crypt is expected later in 2017, and TNT’s order follows horror anthology trends seen elsewhere.

American Horror Story has completed six seasons on Fox’s FX, while Shyamalan has already had success with Wayward Pines on the group’s main network; the BBC mixed horror with comedy through Inside No. 9 and is currently airing season 3, while Canada’s Super Channel has the debut season of Slasher up for five Canadian Screen Awards in March. — AFP-Relaxnews