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Treehouse of Horror XXXII

Treehouse of Horror XXXII is the thirty-second installment in ' annual Halloween anthology series, serving as the third of the thirty-third season and the 709th overall. It originally premiered on on October 10, 2021. The non-canon was written by John Frink and directed by Matthew Faughnan and Mike B. Anderson. The episode is the first in the series to feature five segments that parody classic and contemporary horror films. The segments are "Barti," spoofing (1942) with violent revenge themes; "Bong Joon Ho's 'This Side of Parasite,'" exploring class divides in a parody of Parasite (2019); "Nightmare on Elm Tree," reimagining (1984) with Bart facing a nightmarish entity tied to the family's backyard treehouse; "Poetic Interlude (aka The Telltale Bart)," a short Gorey-inspired poem narrated in the style of ; and "Dead Ringer," drawing from The Ring (2002), centering on Lisa receiving a cursed with fatal consequences. Production codes for the episode are QABF16, and it features special guest voice work by as the "You'll Never Sleep Again" singer in the "Dead Ringer" segment, alongside as and as himself. As with all episodes, it advances no ongoing storylines in the series and emphasizes self-contained, tales.

Episode Background

Development and Production

Executive producer announced during a panel at the Comic-Con@Home that "Treehouse of Horror XXXII" would feature five segments, a departure from the series' traditional three-segment format. The episode carries the production code QABF16 and was written by John Frink, with direction by Faughnan, who oversaw the integration of multiple parodies into the expanded structure. Production for the episode, part of season 33, involved the standard Simpsons workflow of script development followed by , culminating in its completion ahead of the October 10, 2021, broadcast, though exact timelines from writing to final were not disclosed publicly. Coordinating guest star recordings, including voices by and , presented logistical hurdles typical of anthology episodes with diverse elements, while balancing tropes with the show's comedic style required careful scripting to maintain tonal consistency across segments.

Cast and Crew

The main voice cast for Treehouse of Horror XXXII features the series' longtime performers in their recurring roles, adapted to the episode's anthology format of five horror segments, which allows for expanded ensemble use across multiple characters per actor. provides voices for , , , , and Kodos, among others. voices , Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier. voices . voices . voices characters including , , and . voices , , , and , among others. Guest stars include as the "You'll Never Sleep Again" singer in the "Nightmare on Elm Tree" segment, a role highlighting the episode's musical parody. appears in various roles, notably as narrating the poetic interlude "The Telltale ." as himself in the "Bong Joon Ho's 'This Side of Parasite'" segment. Additional voices include as Mopey Mary, the ghostly antagonist in "Dead Ringer," and as Audrey II. The episode was written by John Frink, a veteran Simpsons writer and executive producer who has contributed to multiple installments, including episodes XI, XII, XIX, and XXVIII. It was directed by Matthew Faughnan, with co-direction by Mike B. Anderson, emphasizing the special's blend of animation styles across its segments.

Plot

Barti

"Barti" is the opening segment of " XXXII," presented in a classic animation style to the 1942 film . The story reimagines the as anthropomorphic forest animals, subverting the original's themes of innocence and loss with horror elements centered on family survival against a human threat. Set in a idyllic woodland, the narrative begins with a saccharine musical number, "Love Is a Song," twisted into a morbid ballad highlighting death in tales: "In cartoons, a parent dies / Life will be full of pain / We bring tears to children's eyes / They'll never sleep again." Young fawn Barti, a deer version of , frolics with his rabbit friend, a Thumper voiced by , under the watchful eye of his doe mother, resembling . The peaceful scene shatters when Marge warns of an approaching hunter, depicted as with a . As the hunter fires, the rabbit is gruesomely killed—its head and leg blown off in a burst of contrasting the whimsical . Barti and Marge flee through the forest in a direct nod to Bambi's iconic maternal sacrifice chase, with gunfire echoing amid the trees. Barti reaches their den alone, desperately calling for his mother, building tension around the expected tragedy. The segment twists the parody by sparing Marge, who emerges unharmed to reveal that Barti's father, reimagined as a majestic buck, has intervened. Homer arrives triumphantly with the bloodied hunter impaled on his antlers, accompanied by Lenny as another deer. In a "stag party," the adult deer toss the hunter's body and devour him, ironically noting their herbivorous nature despite consuming flesh. Key visual gags include abrupt animal deaths during the opening —a tumbling to its demise with a on its head—and the hunter's gory reveal, blending cute aesthetics with splatter-film . This subversion emphasizes family unity over loss, allowing the reunited herd to frolic safely. Clocking in at approximately two minutes, "Barti" serves as a brief, self-contained intro to the episode's unprecedented five-segment structure, transitioning abruptly with a thunderclap to the next tale of domestic horror.

Bong Joon Ho's 'This Side of Parasite'

"Bong Joon Ho's 'This Side of Parasite'" is the second segment in Treehouse of Horror XXXII, serving as a direct of the 2019 Academy Award-winning film Parasite directed by Bong Joon-ho. The story transplants the Simpsons family into a narrative of class disparity and infiltration, mirroring the original film's exploration of socioeconomic tensions. The segment opens with the Simpsons residing in a squalid, perpetually flooded , where everyday struggles like leaking ceilings exacerbate their —complete with a humorous from Hans Moleman trapped above them. , seeking opportunity, forges a recommendation letter to secure a job for Wolfcastle's daughter at the lavish of action star Rainier Wolfcastle, the wealthy patriarch oblivious to the undercurrents around him. This foothold allows the family to systematically insert themselves into the household: replaces the fired butler Kirk Van Houten as chauffeur, Marge becomes the maid, the art teacher, and Maggie absurdly the groundskeeper, highlighting the Simpsons' opportunistic ascent up the social ladder. With Wolfcastle away on vacation, commandeer the mansion for a raucous , only to uncover the Van Houtens—, Luann, and Milhouse—living in secrecy within the boiler room basement, embittered by their dismissal and the "poor person smell" that lingers as a satirical jab at . The discovery spirals into escalating confrontations as additional "parasites" emerge from hiding, accusing both groups of freeloading and igniting a frenzied brawl that engulfs the estate in chaos, violence, and multiple deaths, including observing from afar before meeting his end. The fight incorporates Parasite's iconic stair motif, symbolizing the precarious climb and fall between classes, and culminates in a gore-strewn manor now eerily leak-free amid the corpses. Parody elements faithfully nod to Parasite's plot twists, such as the hidden underbelly of the affluent home and the eruption of pent-up resentment, while infusing Simpsons-style humor through exaggerated gags like Homer's spit-takes, a "complicated toilet," and the absurdity of family-wide infiltration turning deadly. Key characters like the bombastic Wolfcastle, voiced by , embody the detached elite, contrasting the Simpsons' scheming servant roles that drive the satire on in Joon-ho's cinematic vein.

Nightmare on Elm Tree

In the third segment of the Treehouse of Horror XXXII anthology, tells scary stories from his backyard treehouse, frightening and , who flee to their parents' bedroom and interrupt and Marge. Annoyed, attempts to chop down the tree supporting the treehouse but tires quickly and falls asleep beside it. The felled tree revives as a , animated monster when struck by lightning during a , its roots and vines extending to ensnare and terrorize Springfield's residents in a wave of environmental vengeance. The monstrous tree rampages through the town, impaling victims with thorny tendrils and toppling buildings in a chaotic assault that evokes classic pursuits, with characters fleeing through darkened streets only to be caught in its grasp. It animates other trees across , which join the attack, using pollen to weaken and disorient humans in an eco-terrorism theme demanding retribution for . A humorous interlude features unveiling his "family tree," depicted as a twisted lineage of horror icons including from and other villains, underscoring the segment's mashup of horror tropes and 's visceral tree assaults. The tree's destruction culminates in Springfield's core, where the foliage overwhelms the residents; attempts to fight back on roller skates wielding dual chainsaws with attached buzzsaws, but the pollen causes him to accidentally sever his own arms. The trees triumph, killing the humans and celebrating their victory by dancing around the Jebediah Springfield statue, with the dead bodies forming a "Christmas tree." This dark ending parodies environmental horror, leaving no restoration of peace.

Poetic Interlude (aka The Telltale Bart)

The "Poetic Interlude," subtitled "The Telltale Bart," is a brief animated segment presented as a read to , parodying the macabre style of Edward Gorey's illustrated books through black-and-white line drawings and gothic rhyme. The segment evokes Edgar Allan Poe's "" in its rhythmic narration of guilt-ridden mischief, aligning with ' tradition of incorporating Poe's influence in Halloween specials. Narrated in the voice of by , the story chronicles Bart Simpson's year-long spree of pranks and misdeeds, depicted in surreal, cross-hatched illustrations reminiscent of Gorey's unsettling Victorian-era tales. The poem builds to a crescendo of Bart's escalating naughtiness, from minor tricks to more elaborate schemes, but abruptly concludes when intervenes by strangling the narrator with her oversized , silencing the tale mid-rhyme. Serving as a stylistic breather amid the episode's longer parodies, the provides a minimalist pause, emphasizing poetic over plot-driven action and connecting the preceding "Nightmare on Elm Tree" with the following "" through its , non-narrative tone.

In the segment "," becomes entangled in a modern curse when a viral video spreads among the students at Elementary School, promising death to anyone who views it within seven days. The video, featuring imagery such as maggots crawling and a ghostly figure combing her hair before plunging into a well, is watched by several children, leading to gruesome demises: Sherri and Terri are decapitated by playground swings, while Milhouse perishes after viewing it multiple times and being stabbed by a barrage of knives. attempts to shield by having their grandfather, Abe Simpson, watch the video instead, but Grampa also receives the ominous phone call warning of his impending doom, prompting and to investigate the curse's origins. Seeking answers, the siblings consult , who recounts the tragic backstory of Mopey Mary, a lonely second-grade girl from decades past who threw herself into an abandoned schoolyard well after receiving a cruel prank—a heart-shaped box filled with rabbit droppings from her classmates. Unnoticed for seven days, Mary perished, and her vengeful spirit now inhabits the video, emerging from digital wells to claim in a of possession. , determined to end the killings, deliberately watches the video herself and contacts Mary's ghost, who demands the completion of seven increasingly bizarre challenges over seven days to lift the curse; these tasks blend notifications with ghostly demands, highlighting the seamless integration of into everyday terror. The segment updates classic horror tropes from The Ring for the social media age, replacing the analog tape with a shareable clip that exploits viral trends and phone alerts, while retaining as a portal for the spectral antagonist and the seven-day countdown as a mechanism for escalating dread. briefly intervenes with futile school policies against the app, underscoring the inescapable nature of digital curses. The narrative resolves with a poignant friendship twist: upon emerging from the well, Mopey Mary reveals her isolation stemmed from a desire for companionship rather than malice, and offers her a genuine "You're Boo-tiful!" Valentine's card, momentarily forging a bond that halts the deaths. However, when Mary later reappears seeking more interaction, Lisa repels her by playing a tune on her titled "Well Bottom Blues," banishing the back to the well and breaking the curse definitively. This closing ties into the episode's overarching horror anthology theme by transitioning to a family wrap-up where the Simpsons reflect on the night's terrors, with aliens making a to comment on the human penchant for self-inflicted digital doom, reinforcing the blend of and unease.

Reception

Viewing Figures

The episode premiered in the United States on on October 10, 2021, drawing 3.94 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic according to live plus same-day Nielsen measurements. These figures represented the highest performance in Fox's block that evening, surpassing subsequent programs like (1.7 million viewers, 0.6 demo rating) and (1.6 million viewers, 0.6 demo rating). Compared to the previous installment, from season 32, which garnered 6.5 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic, the XXXII episode experienced a notable decline in audience size. Internationally, the episode aired on affiliates and local networks in various markets shortly after its U.S. debut, with full availability added to the platform for global subscribers.

Critical Response

The critical response to "Treehouse of Horror XXXII" was mixed, with reviewers praising select segments for their sharp while critiquing others for lacking humor and originality. On , the episode holds an average rating of 6.6 out of 10 based on over 1,200 user votes, reflecting a generally middling among fans. Critics highlighted the "Bong Joon Ho's 'This Side of Parasite'" segment as a standout, lauding its effective parody of the 2019 film Parasite for delivering pointed insights into class warfare and economic disparity through ' infiltration of a wealthy household. Tony Sokol of specifically commended the homage to director Bong Joon-ho, noting how it succinctly captures themes of resentment and inequality without overextending the runtime. The episode's innovative shift to a five-segment format—the first in the series' history—was also appreciated by some for allowing a broader range of tropes, including parodies of classics and The Ring, though it occasionally strained the 22-minute structure. Marcus Gibson of Bubbleblabber gave the episode an 8 out of 10, praising how the writers balanced the expanded format to maintain the Halloween tradition of scares and laughs, particularly in the Parasite spoof's unexpected twists. However, several reviews pointed to uneven execution across the segments, with the "Barti" opener and "Nightmare on Elm Tree" drawing particular for weak humor and underdeveloped ideas. The brief "Barti" sequence, mimicking 1940s Disney animation with Bambi's vengeful pursuit, was seen as forgettable and low on punchlines despite its visual flair. "Nightmare on Elm Tree," featuring an eco-revenge plot with a sentient , was faulted for self-conscious environmental messaging that diminished comedic returns and failed to build genuine terror. Gibson echoed this, calling the tree segment and the Vincent Price-narrated "Poetic Interlude" lacking in cleverness. Overall, critics like those aggregated on noted the episode's reliance on pop culture references sometimes overshadowed fresh , resulting in a collection of hits and misses rather than a cohesive horror anthology.

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