One of the films greatest achievements
was bringing together some of the Horror genera’s greatest pioneers together
for one project. The first is director George A. Romero, who’s often cited as
the great Godfather of the horror genera, as he created two of the most
influential Zombie classics “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of
the Dead”. The second is famed Author Stephen King, who’s resume consists
of such thrilling titles like “Carrie”, “The Stand”, “Firestarter”,
“Cujo” and “Salem’s Lot” … just to name a phew. Not only did
Stephen King write the screenplay, but two of the episodes are adapted from his
short stories. In essence, George A. Romero paired with Stephen King is just as
exciting as merging Frankenstein with Dracula. The last talent to note is Tom
Savini, who’s special effects, and makeup designs have become staples in horror
cinema. As you’d expect, he’s the visionary behind the creature designs of the
film, but he also contributes to the overall comic book presentation and style
of “Creepshow”.
It’s
probably best to single out the individual shorts, and review them one at a
time. The first episode is titled “Father’s Day”, which revolves around
a grumpy old man who comes back from the dead as a zombie to seek revenge on
his greedy family members. This is easily my least favorite episode of the
bunch, as it’s about as basic a premise as they get with no real twists or
excitement. One thing to take note of is Viveca Lindfors straight-faced
performance as the bitter Aunt Bedelia. I’ll also give credit to the
make-up design of the Zombie, which is one of the most original and grotesque
I’ve ever seen. Still, this is a weaker episode, doesn’t leave much of an
impression, and features some really odd moments ... like a Zombie using “The
Force” to drop a tombstone on one of his victims.
Next is “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”, which is easily
the goofiest short of them all. A meteor crashes on a farm and spreads some
kind of plant vegetation across the land, and slowly transforms a farmer into
foliage. It’s kind of a neat premise to have something as simple as plant
growth be the main situation at hand. The real reason this episode stands out
is because of Stephen King’s over the top performance as the farmer. It’s a fun
contrast to see the guy who scared people with countless frightening stories to
be this goofy dope of a farmer. Once again, I wouldn’t exactly call this a
great short, but it’s certainly superior to the first, as it’s at least more
memorable.
The middle short is titled “Something
to Tide you Over”, and straight to the point … this is my favorite episode
of this whole anthology. It’s a far more serious and grounded tale revolving
around a vengeful husband, who lays out a nefarious plan to do-in both his wife
and her new lover. The appeal of this short is due to the villainess lead
performance from one of my favorite late actors Leslie Nielson. I’ve been a fan
of Nielsen for years, namely his iconic comedy roles in films like “Airplane”
and “The Naked Gun” trilogy. Seeing him out of his wheel house, and in
the role of a vengeful mastermind is quite admirable, and his performance
highlights just how versatile he was as an actor. The way he calmly talks to his
victims, and taunts them as they suffer is very unsettling, yet it’s a highly
entertaining delivery. The culmination of his revenge is an unbearably
suspenseful sequence in which both his wife and her new boyfriend are buried neck
deep on the beach as the tide comes in. Another noteworthy talent in this episode is the boyfriend, who's played well by Ted Danson of "Cheers" fame. The story does get over the top near
the end with more gruesome creatures, and a spooky haunted house atmosphere,
but for the most part, this is the most subdued, well-paced and most genuinely
suspenseful short of the whole feature.
Episode four is titled “The Crate”,
which is a duel story revolving around a husband who’s suffering at the mercy
of a cranky wife, as well as a mysterious box that contains a savage monster. This
is another solid short, with some electrifying buildup, exciting creature
action, and some genuinely effective scares. Perhaps the most startling moment
of the whole film is our first glimpse of the creature, which is nothing more
than two piercing yellow eyes glaring through the holes of the crate. The
creature looks like a hybrid between Bigfoot, and a Tasmanian Devil, which is
great. It’s the longest of all the episodes, but it’s well plotted and delivers
cheesy, B monster entertainment at its finest.
The last episode titled “They’re
Creeping up on You”, revolves around a cruel manager, who’s also a germaphobe, and is constantly being attacked by bugs in his clean room. This
short goes straight for the gross out factor, and it doesn’t shy away from some
unforgettably shocking visuals. “Bravo” even labeled it as one of the
one-hundred scariest moments in film because of just how repulsive it gets. If
you can’t handle the image of cockroaches bursting out of a man’s body, you
should probably skip this one. While not my absolute favorite episode, it is
the most effective to close out the movie, and the nasty imagery in this short
leaves the most effective sting on the audience.
Now, I have to mention both the prologue and
the epilogue, which in my view is the absolute worst aspect of the film. Things
are at least off to a good start, as it’s a rainy October night with house-hold
Halloween decorations taking up the scenery. We see an abusive father
frustrated with his son for reading the actual Creepshow comic book, which
effectively foreshadows certain events, and sets the tone of the movie quiet
well. My one issue with this whole thing is the little boy, who is clearly
disturbed and twisted from the start. Maybe if this kid was just a
misunderstood innocent, I’d be okay, but he’s clearly evil from the start, and
the dad was right to scold him for it. We return to this family during the
epilogue, and this right here is the moment that ruins the entire experience for
me. While dark comedy had been laced through the film, this boy’s methods of
getting revenge on his dad are down right sick, and disturbed. Basically, he
kills his own dad, which is terrible, but it’s his means of doing-in his dad
that really kills all my positive feels for this movie. I mean, I still like
this movie overall, but it would absolutely rank higher among my favorite
horror films if it weren’t for this awful and tasteless ending.
Creepshow
2 (1987)
Without going into a full-on review, I want
to lightly talk about the 1987 sequel simply titled “Creepshow 2”.
George Romero, Tom Savini and
Stephen King are all back for this film, giving it that same fun comic book,
anthology style, and adapting more of Stephen king’s short stories.
However,
the style is noticeably downgraded from before, and it lacks that same colorful
presentation that characterized its predecessor. The real down side is that
this movie only features three shorts, which robs the film of the fun variety present
in the first film. These shorts now have to be stretched out to relentlessly
long lengths, and they overstay their welcome in the process. This especially applies
to the first short titled “Old Chief Wood'n head”, which wasn’t even that
interesting to begin with. Basically, a group of bullies pick on an old store
owner, and then a statue from the shop comes to life to take revenge of those
bad kids. It’s so simple, yet it takes up too much of the film. The middle
short titled “The Raft” suffers from annoying characters, but makes up
for it with an original and suspenseful premise. A group of teens get stuck on
a raft in the lake, with a mysteries substance underneath that can melt flesh. It’s
a unique situation, with some effective tension, and it could have almost
worked had the characters been more likable. To finally pore salt on the wound,
we have the final short titled “The Hitch-hiker”, and this right here is
my absolute favorite of any Creepshow short. This episode revolves around a
woman who’s coming home late one-night after work, gets lost, and accidentally
runs into this pore man on the road … taking his life. In the heat of panic,
she drives off, and gets even more lost in the woods.
She’s having a hard time
copping with what just happened, and things get even more intense as she finds
herself followed by the corpse of the man she hit. At first, the episode
doesn’t establish if it’s his ghost back for revenge or if he’s a figment of
her troubled imagination. Either way, there’s nothing quiet as terrifying as
being followed at night by a man you just accidentally murdered. The tension in this
episode is great because whenever she tries to escape this guy, he always
reappears again, either on the road or even in her own car. Even his appearance
gets more and more decayed every time, which is really creepy. It’s a deeply
thrilling concept pulled off very well, with an eerie atmosphere, and plenty of
scares.
In my opinion, if the “The Hitch-hiker”
episode had been switched out with the “Father’s Day” short from the first
… and that horrible epilogue dropped … then 1982’s “Creepshow” would have a
secure spot as one of my top ten favorite horror movies. The sequel "Creepshow 2" certainly has value for featuring
my favorite short of the bunch, but it just doesn’t excuse the blandness of
everything else. For all my issues with the first movie, it still had an
original look, feel, personality, and has just held up as the better
alternative.
Over the years, there have been a number of Dark-Comedy horror
themed anthologies trying to replicate what “Creepshow” perfected, but
none of them have come close. While my feelings toured “Creepshow” are
very mixed, it’s still something I enjoy re-watching now and then around the
Halloween season. It’s one of those rare horror films that doesn’t aim for serious
scares and instead just busts loose for some fun. Actually, it’s like the
grownup version of the “Goosebumps” series I grew up with back in the 90’s,
as it likewise combines campy frights with creativity and atmosphere. Honestly,
I’d give “Creepshow” a slot alongside both “The Shining” and “Misery”
as one of my favorite movies adapted from Stephen Kings written work. The special
effects are appealing, the direction is stylish, and in the end, this spooky
anthology highlights just how fun a horror movie can be.
Thanks for reading my review of the 1982 horror anthology “Creepshow”, along with it's sequel … and treat yourself to one good scare this October.
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