Millennium 5C07: “The Curse of Frank Black”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season Two
“The Curse of Frank Black” (5C07)
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Ralph Hemecker
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
Aired October 31, 1997
Summary
On Halloween, Frank Black experiences a number of unsettling coincidences that spark flashbacks to his youth and lead to a fateful encounter with a tragic figure from his past.
Epigraph
“Do you ever find yourself talking with the dead? Since Willie’s death, I catch myself every day, involuntarily talking with him as if he were with me.”
Synopsis
On Halloween night, Frank puts the finishing touches on a hand carved Jack- O'-Lantern and lights the candle inside. Suddenly, the candle extinguishes. Frank checks his watch, and realizing he is scheduled to take his daughter trick or treating, makes his way to the front doorway. As he peers across the street, he sees a devil-figure, the "Gehenna devil," staring back at him. A few moments later, the figure is gone. As Frank drives off to pick up his daughter, the candle inside the pumpkin inexplicably reignites.
Later that night, Frank accompanies his daughter, who is dressed as Marge Simpson, through the neighborhood. Jordan senses evil inside one of the homes and decides to pass by. She tells her father there "are ghosts in that house." Frank dismisses the notion, but a few moments later, he relives a moment from his childhood. In flashback, five-year-old Frank Black and three of his childhood buddies approach a creepy old house on Halloween. On a dare from his friends, Frank knocks on the front door of the old home. A man named Mr. Crocell answers the door and invites the young boy inside. Crocell explains the meaning of Halloween, and how, on this night, the spirits of the dead return to visit the living. A veteran of World War II who lost many a friend in battle, Crocell asks the young Frank if such a thing is possible. Frank responds that there are no such things as ghosts. Crocell nods, slipping further into depression.
Later that night, while driving home, Frank's Jeep stalls out on a darkened street. Though Frank doesn't notice, the vehicle's odometer, as well as his watch, all contain the numbers "2-6-8" (numbers which turn up again and again throughout the episode). Frank makes his way to a nearby neighborhood—only to come upon the abandoned Yellow House as it is being egged by two teenage boys. Frank chases the pair away and makes his way inside. There he experiences memories of happier times, of Catherine and Jordan. Frank makes his way to the basement, following indiscernible whispers. As he listens from the shadows, a teenage boy tours the basement with a group of friends. He describes how Bletcher met his grisly fate, and how his ghost has roamed the house, "waiting for the curse of Frank Black to be lifted." Frank lets his presence be known, and the terrified teenagers run off into the night. Afterward, Frank recalls his friends' reactions when Crocell--the victim of a suicide—was discovered by authorities. As Frank leaves the house, he scoops up a Bible, only to momentarily glimpse the book title. Outside, he notices the teenagers' egg carton on the sidewalk. He picks up the surviving egg and tosses it at his old house. When Frank returns home, he is surprised by the sight of the lit candle inside the Jack-'O-Lantern. He then pursues the mail, mainly of the junk variety. Though Frank doesn't realize it, the envelopes all contain the accentuated letters, "A-C-T." Then, as he watches television, the numbers "2-6-8" again appear in various combinations. Frank realizes Crocell's address was "268." He also remembers seeing the Bible at the Yellow House, and the book's title: "ACTs of the Apostles." He searches through his Bible until he reaches Chapter 26, Verse 8. There he finds the sentence, "Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?"
Frank hears movement in the attic of his house. He climbs upward, flashlight in hand, seeking out the source of the noise. There he encounters Mr. Crocell, who warns he has been sent to Earth because Frank has become him. He tells Frank to give up the Millennium Group, return to his wife and daughter, and live out the rest of a normal, happy life. After Crocell vanishes, Frank climbs into his Jeep, a bucket and cleaners in hand. He drives to the Yellow House and washes away the yolk stain from the window he defaced earlier. He freezes momentarily at the sight of the "Gehenna" devil, as seen through the window, inside the house. But Frank continues to clean the window—refusing to become Mr. Crocell.
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Guest Starring
Dean Winters as Mr. Crocell
Kett Turton as the Ghost Storyteller
A.J. Adamson as 5-Year-Old Frank
Shaun Toplass as 14-Year-Old Frank
Lachlan Murdoch as the Hobo
Production Credits
Production #5C07
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Chip Johannessen
Consulting Producers Darin Morgan
Co-Producer Robert Moresco
Co-Producer Paul Rabwin
Producer Thomas J. Wright
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Glen Morgan
Executive Producer James Wong
Executive Producer Chris Carter
Soundtrack
“Little Demon” (1956) by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
“Memories are Made of This” (1955) by Dean Martin
Location
Book Excerpt
“‘Little Demon’ offers no answer... acting only as its title character would, as the foot soldier of the Devil, hounding Frank... The song is perfectly pitched to fit Frank’s ghoulish Halloween, and when it pops back up, completely unbidden, after Frank returns home and has to fight to keep the stop-motion devil off his television screen, it provides a startling message to Frank that his night is not over yet. This is a rare instance of a song functioning as a kind of character, even if that character is just a front for someone else.”
—Joe Tangari
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“Some of the season's strongest story-telling... A surreal, ghostly journey from uncertainty to renewed determination, played out on the silent, wind-blown streets of Frank's neighborhood on Halloween night.”
—Paula Vitaris
Cinefantastique
“With his furrowed, skin-tightened skull of a face, Lance Henriksen is the perfect actorly complement to Carter’s thematic obsessions, his Frank Black the mortal survivalist pushing ever-forward, even in the face of the devil’s idle temptations. Morgan and Wong’s numinous plottings only strengthen Frank’s resolve—he’s the Carter agnostic in perpetual conflict with a fatalistically preordained narrative arc where every story element, every character, has its perfect endpoint.”
—Keith Uhlich
Slant Magazine
“The Curse of Frank Black” print ad.