Creepshow

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.

This was after Tales from the Crypt, however, Romero and King both where heavily influenced by these comics that they developed a movie that was sort of a satire/parody of Tales but in the same time a tribute to that comic book. In this movie there are four scary stories being told some written by Stephen King from his short stories and some written by Romero and SK. These stores, for that time, were pretty scary and freaked me out when they came in theaters. There are many great things about this movie that I enjoyed but there was, however, one huge things that I did not like about this movie. Regardless, it's about time for two horror geniuses to team up and do something good for a change.

First off, the movie itself is about a comic book similar to Tails and the four stories in the movie come directly from the Creepshow comic books. The reason why that this idea works in not only the principle of bringing a comic book to life but the way it was shot, edited and lit. The camera angles had very defined and geometrical angels, similar to those that you would see in a comic book. The lighting when something horrible happens turns red, or if somebody is screaming the background turns to a shattered red background, thereby giving each scene a more comic book-like feel to visual picture. It had choppy edits and quick cuts, which we all know that comic books have. So we have a visual perspective of a comic, the overall pattern and texture of a comic and now we have the quick stimulus of a comic.

Between each story there is a sub-story dealing with a young boy who finds the Creepshow comic book and how little by little he becomes more possessed by it. These intermissions also incorporate The Creep or our host for the evening. This character is by far the Crypt Keeper or the Vault Keeper to our mockup of Tales. Like the Crypt Keeper in the actual comic, he begins each segment with a scene setup and a conclusion, however he does not talk, he just blows around in the wind. With the beginning of each new story it starts out with a still scene of that story with heavy rotoscoping to make it look as if it is a comic book page, then fades out to a real-life still image and then begins. The same could be said about the ending. The clever technique gives the viewer a further illustration that this is a comic book come to life.

Though this movie strikes it rich on my scare-o-meter there is just one thing that took me out of the movie just a little. I know what they where going at when they decided this concept and I understand it was a good idea but it doesn't work when it gets put on film. The campy one-liners, the cheesy sub-story and the lame screams. Of course its predecessor did the same thing, I don't think that it works as well on film as it does on paper. I think it was a nice try though.

Overall I do believe that this is a horror/parody classic and that many horror fans, if not cult horror fans, would like this movie for what it is. I certainly enjoyed it, even now; I recommend this movie to anybody who loves the zombie king and the horror king. A movie worth buying a ticket for.

"Creepshow" is a unique, funny, and creepy horror anthology from Stephen King and George A. Romero. The film centers around five stories - consisting of a murderous revenge tale of a father on fathers day ; a redneck (played by Stephen King himself) who begins growing a green substance on his body after coming in contact with a meteor ; a man who buries his wife and her lover up to their heads on the beach as the tide begins to come in ; a strange monster that lives in a crate that was discovered beneath a stairway ; and a Scrooge-like businessman who lives in a purely sanitized apartment that can't get rid of pesky cockroaches.

Each of the stories displayed in this movie are a little bit corny to a certain extent, but they are still well done and are quite amusing. There is a very good cast, including Ed Harris, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, Adrienne Barbeau, and E.G. Marshall, whom all give good performances in the movie. The whole movie is tied in with the classic E.C. comics from the 1950s, each story as if it were from a comic book. I thought that whole comic aspect was pretty unique, and I liked the stories in the film ("The Crate" is by far the best of them all, the one with Leslie Nielsen is my runner up for second place).

Bottom line - if you are expecting some serious, intense horror movie, this is not for you. This movie isn't scary at all, I watched it when I was very young and it failed to even scare me then. "Creepshow" is a comical, campy, and well-done horror anthology. I only recommend it if you like this sort of thing, because it is more comic than horrific. Otherwise, it's really quite good for what it is. 8/10.

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!

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.