Criaturas Arrepiantes

THE CREEPS was shot in widescreen and 3-D but released most widely on video, where it is presented flat and panned and scanned. It has been shown in 3-D in a few theatres, mostly during 3-D festivals.

Director Charles Band also directed two earlier 3-D films, PARASITE (1982) and METALSTORM (1983).

I stumbled upon the 1997 horror comedy "The Creeps" (aka "Deformed Monsters") by random chance here in 2022. And never having seen it, and it being a horror comedy, of course I had to watch it. Now, it should be said that I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to watching it, so I didn't know what I was in for here.

And when I saw that this was a Charles Band movie I have to admit that I was a bit ambivalent about it, as some of the Full Moon movies from Charles Band have been some duds and swings and misses, while others have been campy and cheesy but still watchable.

Luckily, then "The Creeps" was actually one of the more enjoyable and fun to watch movies from Full Moon, so that was a pleasant surprise. And I have to say that the storyline and the whole concept of having iconic literature (and movie) monsters come to life at half size was as much fun as it was creative. So writer Neal Marshall Stevens definitely managed to churn out something interesting with "The Creeps".

The storyline was good, campy and cheesy for sure, but it just worked out on a satisfying level, and that made the movie all the more enjoyable and watchable.

Of all the cast that performed in the movie then I was only familiar with Phil Fondacaro (playing Dracula). But I will say that the cast they had for this movie actually put on good performances and carried the movie quite well.

As for "The Creeps" being a horror comedy, then you have to bear in mind that the comedy is not the type that will make you laugh. Nay, the comedy here is subtle and sort of just is there as a layer pulled over the horror aspect of the movie. So if you are expecting a movie full of laughs and funny situations, then you will be disappointed.

I was actually genuinely entertained by this movie, and as such then I am rating "The Creeps" a six out of ten stars. This is definitely one of the better movies from Full Moon.

The premise of midget monsters and people being afraid of them had tremendous promise and could have been really funny. Of course they failed hard and it's just boring. There is constant background music to let you know when you're supposed to laugh or be scared because there's no other way of knowing. It's like a Spike Lee movie only more realistic. To make it even worse, the entire story makes no sense. They frequently find themselves trying to explain what has just happened and it still doesn't make sense. They even have the guy work at a video store just to mention the other terrible movies these people have made. Don't waste your time.

A goofy mad scientist who havs created a machine that's capable of bringing famous monsters from worlds of literature into reality, does so and he of course screws it up and they come emerge from the smoke half-sized! Isn't that hilarious.. This film is like total garbage it's not even good enough to be classed as trashy fun, it's clearly made on a micro budget and it shows, I'm sure that what little budget there was went on the pretty good monster makeup, but the acting was, apart from one person, absolutely terrible and it's one of the worst efforts by Full Moon that I ever seen, their earlier horror movie output was so much better, the Subspecies movies are a fantastic saga, but the ones this bad were just moronic and irritating. I didn't like the idea of small people actors playing the monsters and how it's playing off the way they are, it just seemed tacky and fundamentally off to me. The part that really made me go "nah" and decide I didn't care for this movie was when the mini Frankenstein and Mummy were 'chasing' the girl around the library, it just seemed awkward and in poor taste as they were floundering after her, all the monsters apart from Phil Fondacaro had virtually nothing to do but shuffle around awkwardly in place, but he kind of wrangled and spoke for all of them and he really made this movie worthwhile, or at least he almost did as the one bright spot in a terrible mess. Fondacaro was by far the best actor in it and I really bought him as a Dracula who happened to be small in stature, he had the dignity he had the imposing glare, the pathos, and I thought he was a great Dracula, he's a great actor I've always thought so in movies like Troll and Willow and even in Ghoulies 2 he played one of the most interesting characters, I'm a big fan I've never looked at him and seen his condition, to me his personality and talent has always shined through, he's always took every part seriously and gave it his all, and it was great to see him in a substantial role that allowed him to chew the scenery like a villain. For what it was it seemed to have genuine love for the Universal Monster movies and for me the best part of the story was nothing action-related, just some dialogue, it was when the captive sacrificial girl gives this really great little speech about why we need monsters and how they live forever as monsters in the original tales and in the imagination, how she spoke it wasn't the best and it comes from out of nowhere but I thought it was a really sweet little moment that was sincere and was written by someone with a real love of scary things and monsters. Very playful and I like the concept but this is a complete cheesefest and unfortunately for me it's good points don't nearly outweigh its shortcomings..oh well, there we go! Sorry.. That's The Creeps, not the most shining gem in the Full Moon repertoire by a long shot but hey a monster mash is always fun X

The Creeps is a perfect low budget film. The whole picture looks like it was made for less than $200. But lacking in set and money, the crew seems to have a fun time. A lot of fun is poked at the library system, notably in a feminist having sex with a first edition book of "Jane Eyre." The midgets are the stars of this. When an experiment bringing literary characters to life goes wrong, the real fun kicks in. The lead star as Dracula gives a great performance. The acting seems a bit off once in a while, but if you like a B-movie that doesn't take itself seriously and could make you laugh, tune in to "The Creeps" at your nearest specialist video shop!