1.03 - Squeeze
The first straight-up horror episode. It sets the standard for what the other horror episodes can achieve, that’s both a curse and a blessing in this case because the character of Eugene Victor Tooms is creepy. as. fuck. One of the reasons why is Doug Hutchison, who was born as a naturally. creepy. as. fuck. human, see literally any other role he’s ever played as proof, or just this scene right here.
Donal Logue plays against type as a sort of yuppie FBI agent who is there to get all huffy and say “Spooky Mulder,” then sneer. He also gives Scully a reason to stand up for Mulder, but more than that, for herself and her assignment as investigator on the X-Files. I really love the part where Scully tells Mulder the killer will return to the first crime scene, which she is right about. It’s great because Mulder essentially laughs in her face, and it not only lets us see how Mulder handles being wrong, but shows Scully isn’t there just as someone to “ruin the fun,” but as a talented and qualified agent who knows her stuff.
After a lie detector test is administered to Tooms, Mulder and Scully end up in a kind of State of the Union for their relationship. Andrea said Mulder basically tells you who he is with the line: “And maybe I run into so many people who are hostile just because they can’t open their minds to the possibilities. That sometimes the need to mess with their heads outweighs the millstone of humiliation.” Scully says “It seems like you were acting very territorial, I don’t know—”
And then? Mulder reaches out and plucks at her dangly necklace with a finger. He says of course he was territorial, and lets the necklace fall briefly, then plucks it again. Tells Scully he’ll support her if she wants to leave the X-Files, and she’s taken aback but not scared, but she’s like what the hellllll, and you the viewer are getting a very different kind of shiver from this episode all of a sudden. It’s personal, verging on intimate. It’s nice.
Scully says nah, she doesn’t need to skate into a better parking spot with Agent Yuppie Sneer (whose name is actually Tom) and she doubles down on her commitment. Back to investigating, but these goosebumps you just got will stick with you.
Cut to Tooms cramming his creepy ass down a chimney, complete with gut-churning cracking sounds as his shoulders pop out of place. This is one of the episodes from the first season that truly scared me and stuck with me all the way to this rewatch. Tooms is always fucking sweaty. His killer eyes, which change when he’s feeling real rowdy, will haunt your goddamn daytime because Doug Hutchison is not sane or normal.
Sneery Tom: “Look Dana, whose side are you on?”
Scully: “The victim’s.” Don’t trip on that mic on your way out, Tommy.
When they interview the investigator who worked the Tooms case back in the day he mentions the Kurds and the Bosnians, plus WWII concentration camps as a way to relate the evil he felt upon finding Tooms’s apartment. It’s an unsettling scene, and not just because real world atrocities are cited to demonstrate how evil humans can be. The camera work and the soundtrack are fantastic additions to the performances here, which build tension, capitalize on the horror already present, and give you some more shivers. How do you top that?!
How about a papier-mâché cocoon spackled together with bile?!
That’s not even the end of the episode. There’s a good chunk left after that, actually, but most of it is good enough I’d rather you watched than read my snarky recap. It’s one of the best Monster of the Week episodes in this season.
EDIT: After finishing the full season 01 (episode write-ups are coming) it is revealed by Chris Carter that Doug Hutchison chose to appear in episode 1.21, the follow-up to this, completely naked. Yeah. Check out the entry for 1.21 for more on that.