Promotional image for the episode.
"Treehouse of Horror XXV" is a Halloween-themed episode from the twenty-sixth season of the long-running American animated comedy series The Simpsons. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on October 19, 2014.
In common with all previous Treehouse of Horror episodes, the program is made up of three self-contained stories. In the first story, "School is Hell", the boy Bart Simpson and his sister Lisa find themselves transported to a demonic school. However, Bart finds that he prefers it to his regular school and remains there permanently. As its title suggests, the second story, "A Clockwork Yellow" is a parody of the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange,[1] with references to other movies by director Stanley Kubrick. The third story, "The Others" is a parody of the 2001 Spanish horror film of the same name in which the 2014 version of the Simpson family encounter ghosts of their former selves from 1987.
The alien characters Kang and Kodos make a brief appearance at the start of the episode, as hosts of a TV show on which people are tortured.
Summary[]
"School is Hell"[]
The boy Bart Simpson is being punished by being kept in detention and forced to clean a classroom. While cleaning a desk, he finds an inscription in the ancient language Aramaic. Using an app, his sister Lisa translates it. Reciting the message transports the two children to Hell, where they take on the form of demons and discover that Hell is a school. The two children manage to escape but Bart finds that he prefers studying in Hell to his regular elementary school. With his parents' permission, he transfers there permanently. For his final exam, Bart is required to torture his father Homer. Bart is reluctant to do this but his father allows the boy to torture him. A proud but disfigured Homer watches his son graduate top of the class.
"A Clockwork Yellow"[]
In London, there is a gang similar to the one from the Stanley Kubrik film A Clockwork Orange, made up of the Simpsons characters Lenny, Carl and Homer Simpson (known as "Dum")[2] under the leadership of Moe. Homer meets a woman (Marge Simpson) who persuades him to give up his life of violence and leave the gang. After Homer leaves, the gang falls apart.
Many years later, Moe is attacked at home in a manner similar to the way in which his gang used to attack people. He contacts Lenny and Carl (who have both become police officers) and Homer with the aim of getting the gang back together. The gang find themselves at a masked orgy, similar to the one from Kubrick's last film Eyes Wide Shut. A fight sequence follows which also parodies the Kubrick films Full Metal Jacket, Barry Lyndon and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The story ends with the revelation that it has all been a Kubrick film. Stanley Kubrick announces that he is not happy with it and that it should be entirely re-shot.
"The Others"[]
The Simpson family are puzzled when they find frosted chocolate milkshakes[3] around their house and when their television only shows episodes of Married ...with Children, a sitcom which ended its initial run in 1997. They eventually discover that their home is being haunted by the ghosts of the original Simpsons who appeared in a series of short animated films between 1987 and 1989.
Due to a series of incidents of jealousy and misunderstandings, all of the members of the 2014 Simpson family also die and join the 1987 Simpsons as ghosts. The girl Lisa Simpson wonders aloud if there will ever be any future versions of the Simpson family. Several more versions of the Simpsons in various different animation styles then appear at the house's front door. The animal versions of the Simpsons from "Treehouse of Horror XIII" are briefly seen.
The segment ends with a tribute to the Simpsons short "Family Portrait", in which the ghostly 1987 Homer Simpson tries and fails to take a good photograph of the 1987 and 2014 Simpson families together.
Footnotes[]
- ↑ The film A Clockwork Orange is also referenced in "Treehouse of Horror III", "Treehouse of Horror XXI" and "Treehouse of Horror XXVII".
- ↑ In the novel and film A Clockwork Orange, one of the gang members is known by the nickname "Dim" because of his stupidity.
- ↑ The original Homer Simpson from the shorts which appeared between 1987 and 1989 had a fondness for frosted chocolate milkshakes. This is also referenced in the segment "Send in the Clones" from "Treehouse of Horror XIII".