Die unheimlich verrückte Geisterstunde

This is a homage to pulp E.C. comic books from the 50s, adapting an anthology which presents creepy looks and grotesque events at the horror genre. With writings by Stephen King and teaming up George A. Romero, both devise a gruesome terror tales. Stephen King mingles efficiently the spirit of ¨Vault of horror¨and ¨Tales from the crypt¨. The film is constituted by four scary stories. King even plays a redneck farmer who cultivates a rare meteor but gone wrong and create fantastic consequences. Viveca Lindfords and Ed Harris as a heirs when abruptly appears a living dead. Besides the perennial Leslie Nielsen confronting a ghoulish Ted Danson. And Hal Holbrook with a unbearable spouse Adrienne Barbeau alongside a strange monster. Finally, a man with an insect and germs phobia, played by E. G. Marshall as a Howard Hughes-alike , closed into flat, and suddenly bursting by hundred roaches.

The picture packs gory scenes, morbid humor with some jokes, creepy images and is quite entertaining though some moments is heavy-handed. Eerie and frightening stuff appointed for juvenile public from two masters of the terror genre and delight all enthusiastic of the terror vein. Followed by a sequel(1987) directed by Michael Gornick, cameraman of this one. Rating. Acceptable and passable , it will like to terror moviegoers

Creepshow (1982) was a horror fan's dream come true. Two of the masters in their respective fields joining forces to collaborate on a movie. Several tales filmed in an anthology style based upon the E.C. Comics that the two enjoyed reading in their youths. With Stephen King writing and George A. Romero directing plus Tom Savini creating the gory special effects how can you go wrong? You just can't and the aforementioned duo delivers the goods.

The story begins as a young kid is being punished by his overbearing and brutish father for reading "trashy filth" and is punished. During the night the tossed out comic book comes to life and plays out all the stories (in comic book form) with the "Creepshow Ghoul' leading the way. Black comedy has never been funnier.

All the stories are excellent and well directed. The set pieces are very well designed and are brilliantly executed. You have to love the lighting schemes. The cast is a mixture of new actors and classic ones. George A. Romero stated that he finally got to work with Fritz Weaver and Hal Holbrook and E.G. Marshall. Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, Ted Danson and Ed Harris co-star as well. A couple of Romero regulars such as his wife Christine, Tom Savini and who can forget Stephen King as Jordy Verill.

Creepshow is a true modern day horror classic. I have enjoyed this as a child and I still consider this movie one of my favorite horror films. Sadly the two could never capture the magic they once had. Maybe they'll work together directly in the near future. This movie was near flawless in design. They set out to recapture the old E.C. Comics aura and they succeeded. Followed by a absolutely bad sequel.

Highly recommended!

George A.Romero("Dawn of the Dead","Day of the Dead","Martin")after huge success with "Dawn of the Dead" directed his another masterpiece-an anthology of five short stories called "Creepshow".The script was written by Stephen King,and the special effects were made by F/X wizard Tom Savini("Martin","Maniac","The Prowler").The first story "Father's Day" is so-so-nothing special,but the zombie looks terrific;the second story "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verril" is the funniest,Stephen King steals the show as a Jordy,a goofy farmer,who finds a strange meteor;the third story "Something To Tide You Over" is my favourite-it's ghastly,creepy,funny and a little bit disturbing,again great make-up of the drowned zombies;the fourth story "The Crate" is the longest and goriest-there's a lot of suspense and plenty of gore mixed with black humour.Finally we are getting to the last story "Creeping Up On You"-an enjoyable story about cockroaches with some rather gross special effects.Overall I must say that I love "Creepshow"-surely they don't make them like this anymore.This is a REAL horror,not a teen-oriented garbage like "Scream" or "Urban Legend".Check it out.

When I was about 13 years-old, I tried to rent this on VHS several times. Unfortunately, my mother kept walking in during a particularly violent segment and made me turn it off. It was a long time before I finally saw the whole film.

If you watch the accompanying Just Desserts documentary on the double-disc DVD, you'll see how lovingly crafted this film really was. Not only so, but this truly transcends the schlock horror of its E.C. origins. The acting is first rate and the plots surprisingly thoughtful, considering how short each segment is. For example, watch Aunt Bedelia's tortured graveside monologue in Father's Day, or the curious interplay between Henry and Dex in The Crate. E.G. Marshall totally nails it in They're Creeping Up On You, the segment most loaded with subtext.

Tom Savini's make-up effects are excellent and he doesn't scrimp on the gore. The one segment I dislike is Something To Tide You Over, as it's a particularly nasty and sadistic story (despite the just desserts moral).

Overall, this has a worthy place in the annals of 80s horror and will always hold fond memories for me; a young boy who just wanted to see that crate monster tear his victims apart like sour bread.

Despite some major problems (mainly contained in Stephen King's uneven and often heavy-handed script), this is still a pretty fun attempt to bring 1950s EC horror comics to the big screen. One of the best things about it is director George ('Night of the Living Dead') Romero's creative, vivid direction, that captures the bright color schemes and comic book framing to a tee. Each tale has a different horror theme usually tempered with some comedy and ranging from a rich patriarch returning from the dead to get revenge on his obnoxious family to a meteor that causes an outbreak of vegetation to a fanged, ape-like creature that's been locked away in a crate for decades. All five of the tales presented, despite some missteps, offer up good gory fun. Some of the acting is good, too, particularly Adrienne Barbeau as a heavy drinking, obnoxious faculty wife who gets what she deserves, Hal Holbrook as her hen-pecked husband and E.G. Marshall as a wealthy, obsessively clean old jerk who is savaged in his futuristic apartment by a legion of cockroaches. Talk about flesh crawling! Tom Savini's special effects are great, as usual.