WARNING: The Following contains spoilers for The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XXXII, which aired Sunday on FOX.
The Simpsons first aired in 1989, making it the longest running scripted comedy in history with an impressive 32 seasons under its belt. In its second year, the show started an annual fall tradition of airing a Halloween-themed episode called "Treehouse of Horror" that typically parodies horror, sci-fi and fantasy films. The episodes are often much darker and violent than the rest of the series, and also feature self-contained segments that take place separately from the usual Simpsons narrative.
This year’s "Treehouse of Horror XXXII" doesn’t disappoint, with a record breaking five segments compared to its usual three. After sparing no punches with classic Disney movies, the episode ends with “Dead Ringer,” a spoof of 2002’s horror hit The Ring -- with an updated twist.
The Ring stars Naomi Watts as a journalist investigating a mysterious VHS tape that kills anyone who watches it after seven days. Raking in almost $250 million at the box office worldwide, The Ring is one of the highest grossing horror remakes of all time, second only to the 2017 remake of Stephen King’s It. Ironically, DVD sales first surpassed VHS tapes the same year as The Ring’s release, followed by streaming video sales surpassing DVD and Blu-Ray sales in 2016. It’s hard to imagine the same story taking place today now that the film’s 20th anniversary is quickly approaching, but The Simpsons spoof opts for a lethal TikTok video instead in brilliant comedic fashion.
The deadly TikTok in “Dead Ringer” features some of the same iconic imagery as The Ring's VHS tape: creepy black-and-white shots of an empty chair, an abandoned well, a girl looking in the mirror while she combs her hair before jumping off a cliff and so on. The Ring centers around 10-year-old orphan Samara and the horrific consequences of her supernatural abilities on the people around her, including the parents who adopted her. Samara ultimately drives them over the edge, and her mother pushes her into a well to be rid of her. In The Simpsons' version, Bart and Lisa learn the tale of Mopey Mary who threw herself down the school well after receiving a prank Valentine’s gift of rabbit poop in a heart-shaped box. Both Samara and Mopey Mary return to exact revenge by killing anyone who watches the sinister video with unknown origins.
Determined to put an end to the killing spree, Lisa Simpson watches the video herself in hopes of meeting Mopey Mary in the flesh and befriending her. Just like the movie, the phone immediately rings with an unknown caller delivering the cryptic message, “Seven days...” -- the amount of time the viewer has left to live. Lisa demands, “Kill me now or kill me never,” and is comically put on hold, complete with a hilarious recording: "Killing you is very important to us. Please hold -- your curse will be answered in the order it was received.”
Despite being almost 20 years old, The Ring holds up as one of the most terrifying horror movies to date. The Simpsons' parody brilliantly retells the story sans outdated media to cater to younger generations with the more contemporary TikTok platform.
The Simpsons' haunting Treehouse of Horror XXXII is available now on Disney+.