The Creeper

The Creeper is The Best Old Horror Movie that I can Think of. It is Perfect. I even Believe it Inspired Classics such as "The Fly". Of Course, the Movie is Rather Old and the Special Effects are not Something to brag about. But, All in All we Have a Classic Horror Movie which I Think should be More Famous than it is. 10 out of 10. Also Recommended: Return of the Fly.

Although the film's director and actor Onslow Stevens have done similar work for Universal, this film is more reminiscient of Val Lewton's horror thrillers for RKO. The film title itself refers to a black cat and many of the key scenes take place in dark, shadowy environments. Also, like Lewton, you don't see the monster until the very end. Interestingly, CREEPER features dream sequences that reminds me of RKO's noir films. CREEPER is from 20th Century-Fox. However, the story is typical of mid-40s Universal horror flicks while the mood is characteristic of Lewton's CAT PEOPLE films.

The Creeper is a 1948 "B" film produced by Bernard Small's Reliance Pictures. Its an entertaining little chiller clocking in at a brisk 64 minutes, with a cast of generally familiar faces such as Onslow Stevens, Ralph Morgan, Eduardo Ciannelli, and June Vincent.Romantic lead John Baragrey would go on to have a successful career as a character actor in television. The female lead was eighteen year old Janis Wilson, who as a juvenile actress had featured roles in Now Voyager, Watch on the Rhine, and the Strange Love of Martha Ivers, among other films and seemed to be building a solid acting resume for herself. The Creeper would be her last film role,however, and she would retire from the screen to take up marriage and teaching music. Director Jean Yarbrough had a reputation for dependability and getting a film out on time and under budget. Ben Pivar was the executive producer. He was in charge of Universal Studios Horror Unit during the war on could do this kind of film in his sleep. The horror cycle had slowed down considerably since the end of the war but there was still a market for Saturday matinée scary pictures at the local neighborhood Bijou and the Creeper was made to fill that market. It helped sell a bunch of popcorn

The story concerns a monster who preys on a group of scientists and researchers whom themselves are trying to develop a mysterious serum that is derived from the body fluids of cats. One of the researchers tries to put a halt to the project for ethical concerns and is brutally murdered. After that other researchers are being killed by what evidence suggests is a huge cat like creature. The daughter of one of the murdered scientists acted as secretary to the project and holds the notes that are needed to continue the project but will not give them up. A young scientist from a next door lab has fallen for her and he is aware of the events taking place. He tries to aide and protect her at the risk of his own life. At the climax of the film the identity of the murderous monster is revealed and it is destroyed. Of course the young couple appear to move on to become the Cleaver family. The Creeper was filmed by Edward Coleman. Coleman and Yarbrough used The "Cat People approach to shooting the Creeper with shadows and dim lighting to cover the cheap sets and minimal special effects This technique works and gives the film a dark and brooding atmosphere. That veteran actors know the rote and do what they can with a weak script and sometimes confusing plot line. What does not work is Janis Wilson's performance. She is , quite frankly, terrible. Without Bette Davis or Barbara Stanwyck around to coach her she chews the scenery and emotes like a high school Juliet. If the Creeper had been a longer picture she would have shot the whole thing down. It's no wonder she decided to get out of the business.

As I said, The Creeper is entertaining and won't cause emotional damage to the more sensitive members of your viewing audience, however, if your are in The Ginger Snaps or Dog Solders school of were-animal appreciation, The Creeper isn't gonna do it for you. Saying that . however, for the average old horror flick fan there are a lot worse ways to spend an hour.

Oddball horror flick about a woman (Janis Wilson) who is petrified of cats, thinks she is being pursued by a giant catlike thing, and spends most of the film in a catatonic state. Her father, played by Ralph Morgan, is engaged in research with Onslow Stevens. They have the brilliant idea that they can illuminate internal organs. Because, don't we want everyone to see what's inside our intestines? Somehow this research involves experiments on cats, which, like everything else in the film, remains unexplained. Down the hall, Eduardo Ciannelli is also working on an experiment. He is trying to prove he can do a German accent. His associate, played by John Baragrey, has fallen for Wilson, much to the chagrin of Onslow's assistant, played by the icily cold June Vincent.

Now that we have all the players, it's on to the plot. Several characters go belly up, apparently clawed to death. Is there some kind of cat creature on the prowl? Richard Lane shows up as a detective, doesn't bother to show anybody his credentials, and yet everybody answers his questions. Perhaps he should be on a Senate committee. In the finale, we learn the killer's identity, if you hadn't already figured it out 5 minutes into the film.

The photography is pretty good, with effective use of shadows. And the film is atmospheric, in the same sense that a solid waste disposal plant is.

The Creeper in the film is a black cat, actually it's a pet cat in one of the labs named Creeper that actually has little to do with the story. The female lead here has an extreme and I would say irrational fear of cats. She is perpetually on edge and usually has a bug-eyed expression on her face. She seems harmless enough but can also come across as a bit annoying at times. The doctor in the next door lab takes an interest in her and tries to console her throughout the film. The cinematography is fine and the film looks good and the seed of a story is a solid one but unfortunately it's not very well developed. The 'cat/feline' killer that kills and is intended to generate fear in the viewer is really only a hand?! That's about the sum of it, which of course is a big disappointment. For this genre of film The Creeper isn't all bad but still it is disappointing, but for those very curious it might be worth checking out just for fun.