“SNL ”recap: Host Inde Navarrette takes shot at Shane Gillis’ divisive monologue in Halloween episode

Boo! It’s your fiendish guide to the late-night comedy netherworld, SNLin Review, back for another monstrous recap. Tonight’s show is <a href="https://comicvibe.com/zendaya-has-a-ball-channeling-halle-berry-for-halloween-2026/” title=”Zendaya Has a Ball Channeling Halle Berry for Halloween 2026″>Halloween, and they have an apt host: Obsession‘s Inde Navarrette. In fact, only a handful of episodes have aired on October 31. I am reminded that 45 years ago — this very night — was the famous Fear musical performance… and the final on-air appearance of John Belushi. Other famous SNLHalloween moments include Cassandra Peterson as Elvira during season 13 and Catherine O’Hara’s all-time monologue from 1992.

Obsession was a huge hit earlier this year largely because of its deliciously cruel, monkey’s paw premise, a Twilight Zone-esque nightmare dreamed up by former sketch performer Curry Barker. In other words, it’s a great horror comedy. Having someone like Navarrette host on Halloween of all days is beyond perfection, and I expect some “ghoulish” attempts at humor.

Former cast member Jeff Richards says the ideal horror comedy “obviously must be funny and satirical with awesome practical effects. The first thing that comes to mind is Larry Cohen’s The Stuff, where Garrett Morris has his head destroyed. Obviously, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice with Alec Baldwin. Reanimatorand Return of the Living Dead too. Anything that’s spooky and clever about itself, with just the right amount of gore. Happy Halloween, everyone! Rent Pay to Die today!”

Grab some popcorn, dear friends; Gracie Abrams is back. Scroll down… if you dare!

Cold open

The return of David S. Pumpkins! It’s the Tombs of Doom at Fright Night. Jeremy Culhane and Grace Reiter are about to take a spooky ride. Any questions?

Few things: great to see Tom Hanks back in this silly role, yes. But also: Bobby Moynihan! Pumpkins debuted almost 10 years ago to the day, and there was a media retrospective about the sketch. Wild that Kenan Thompson, and also Mikey Day, are still here, years later. (In 2022, Hanks and Moynihan returned in the season 48 episode hosted by Jack Harlow also… There was also randomly a Pumpkins animated special.)

Donald Trump — our true god — pops up. He has a lot in common with Pumpkins. They’re orange, popped up in 2016, and…annoying. Also: they make odd noises and surprise people. Things get very meta, complete with references to Riblet and Tom Hanks’ World War 2 documentaries. I was pleasantly surprised by the verve here — though it felt like James Austin Johnson lost the audience a bit. Maybe they just wanted a straight, familiar Pumpkins sketch.

Later, Saidah Belo-Osagie does a fine Nicki Minaj, almost topping Nasim Pedrad’s impression. Minaj is auditioning to be Trump’s new press secretary — or is she tanking her career? (Or both?) Meanwhile, Veronika Slowikowska plays White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, who Trump fired on Oct. 16 after a turbulent five-day tenure. Having this morph into a standard Trump monologue might’ve stopped this from fully working — I think people are bummed out hearing about even his fake thoughts on the midterms, let alone seeing Kenan defy time. No comfort in that.

Monologue

Navarrette is nothing like her character in Obsession! We get to that reference quickly.

She also notes her “whore” outfit that she wears to get fit to play Rogue in the new X-Men movie, a reference to the controversy from earlier this month, stoked by Shane Gillis’ monologue.

Cast members come out in their Halloween outfits since they can’t go out tonight. Good energy, but a bit forced or rushed. Nothing really kills. Slowikowska and Reiter riff on Kelly Clarkson’s bird snafu. I wanted to like Kam Patterson commenting on the new Nathan Fielder documentary You Can See Everything, but it didn’t land.

Story developing…

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