Top 15 Star Trek episodes to watch for Halloween Part 1 (#15-#11)
By Chad Porto
14. “Empok Nor” – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Admittedly, this isn’t a great episode either. Fans like it well enough but I didn’t. For me, it was too procedural. Miles O’Brien, Nog, Garak, and four characters you only just met for the episode go over to Terok Nor’s sister station, Empok Nor for a salvage operation essentially. The only problem is that the station isn’t completely deserted, with two Cardassian soldiers having been residing on the station. A chemical compound makes them extremely violent killing machines that dispatch the four dead-shirts with ease. They’re defeated but not before Garak succumbs to the same chemicals.
It’s not wholly scary, and the minute you see four characters who are basically just introduced, you know they’re there to feed the murder machine. The Cardassians are a terrifying threat, and the swerve where Garak tries to kill everyone is seen coming a mile away.
What does make this a great horror episode, however, is the jump scares and death scenes. In a true classic slasher movie, the four dead-shirts get wrecked in typical 1980 slasher flick ways. One is brutally stabbed to death while another is found hanging up like a piece of laundry by O’Brien. They’re also isolated and unable to call for help. All in all, if you’re a fan of movies like Friday the 13th or the Halloween series, you’ll enjoy this episode. Even if it’s a bit expected.