RETRO MOVIE REVIEW: CREEPSHOW, 1982

Lance Lucero

6 years ago

I“m going old school on this review, heading waaaay back to the days of yore! Well, not that far back, just to 1982, which is still a couple of lifetimes ago”¦Â Â SHEESH!Â Anyway, I want to take a retro look at the classic horror film CREEPSHOW. A film based on a comic book, which is really a comic book based on the film.

Confused? Don“t be. Just follow me on this. It“s a fun and witty horror film made by masters of the macabre in the 20^th century, both cinematically and literarily. I“m talking about George A. Romero (1940-2017), yes, the Father of the Zombie Film genre, creator of the NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, 1968, and literary giant Stephen King. Enough said there, right? Not to mention a great cast of amazing actors ”” Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010), E. G. Marshall (1914-1998), Fritz Weaver (1926-2016) Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Ted Danson, Ed Harris, Stephen King, and a quick cameo by the make-up effects pioneer Tom Savini. Wow! From classically trained stage actors of yester-year to a new generation of actors, who are now the old guard of today!

The masterminds of horror, George and Stephen combined their forces in order to create a great little campy horror flick, gloriously influenced by horror comics produced by the likes of Entertaining Comics (commonly known as EC Comics) from the 1940s and 1950s. You might remember or recognize such horror titles from EC Comics such as TALES FROM THE CRYPT and THE VAULT OF HORROR.

Five stories span the film, all of which were written by Stephen King. Two stories are adapted from Stephen King“s existing short stories and three original stories were scripted for the film. Here they are:

FATHER’S DAY

Family intrigue ensues with this creepy tale about a murdered father who rises from the dead not only for revenge, but to claim the birthday cake that he was denied before his untimely demise.

THE LONESOME DEATH OF JORDY VERRILL (based on the short story WEEDS)

Mr. Stephen King himself plays the dim-witted, Jordy Verrill, a country bumpkin who decides to poke at the wrong meteorite that has fallen on his homestead. Stephen King is hilarious in this segment!

SOMETHING TO TIDE YOU OVER

Another tale of revenge on top of revenge! Adultery! Camcorders and VCRs! People buried up to their necks on a beach as the tide comes in! Funny, watching this segment will involuntarily cause you to hold your breath. That“s great filmmaking!

THE CRATE (based on the short story THE CRATE)

My favorite segment of them all, and they“re all great! What can satiate the hunger of a beast that“s been trapped in a crate for over a hundred years? How about a loud-mouthed wife? There is plenty of gore, humor, and twists and turns in this wonderful story.

THEY’RE CREEPING UP ON YOU

A megalomaniac, germophobic business mogul gets his when he goes up against an army of cockroaches. Truly a skin-crawling tale of terror!

George takes a wonderful visual approach to the film. He combines cool stage effects of the day and blends them with optical effects that give the illusion of a comic book panel. He also employs real illustrations and animation of film frames and uses them as cool transitions, as though you are reading an actual comic book. Pretty neat for its time!

One of the best things about the film is the humor. To me, “true horror”“ can be so serious that it makes me laugh because it takes itself way too seriously. George and Stephen perfectly blend shock with humor. You will flinch, squirm, and laugh at all of the right moments in the film.

Yeah, it“s an old film, and modern moviegoers might think it“s extra cheesy and goofy, but it“s a classic that stands the test of time. There“s nothing pretentious about it; it“s just pure entertainment. Plus, any cinematic fan of the horror genre will see how this film has influenced modern movie-makers of today.

Go retro and check out this classic comic book horror film!