The X-Files (S1.Ep3) – “Squeeze”

The X-Files – Series 1 – Episode 3 – “Squeeze”

Director: Harry Longstreet Writers: Chris Carter, Glen Morgan, James Wong Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Doug Hutchison 

The idea of a killer who comes out from the sewers every 30 years clearly owes a lot to Stephen King’s “It”and it is the first “monster-of-the-week” episode of the series (and one of those most memorable). It was also one of the scariest thing on TV at the time and aside from some pretty dodgy slow-motion effect during one of the killings, it’s still quite effective today, mainly thanks for Doug Hutchison’s terrifying portrayal of Tooms. In fact this character became successful that they decided to bring him back for another stint towards the end of the first season in an episode aptly entitled “Tooms”.The final scene in which Tooms is in jail licking newspapers strips to make a nest our of them and looking at at a small opening for his way out, is one of the creepiest images from the season. This is definitely a strong episode, despite various problems they had during the filming, including the director being fired (Apparently the episodes was saved in the editing room). “Squeeze” was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong who later went on to write produce and direct the movie “Final Destination”.

It’s also the first episode where Scully first shows her loyalty for Mulder against FBI rivals, adding a tiny little brick to their relationship. And incidentally this is the episode where they took the footage of Mulder and Scully walking through a door holding 2 flashlights swhich was then used for the iconic title sequence.