When George met Stephen
Summer is officially here; and for a special breed of horror aficionados, that means the time to revisit certain titles which really come to signify the hottest season of the year in one way or another. For me, no movie does this more than Creepshow with its tales of horror that are overflowing with the kind of irony and panache which could only come from the minds of masters like George A. Romero and Stephen King.
Few other movie collaborations, especially in the world of the genre, have provided more fruitful rewards than the teaming of two horror masters for Creepshow; a movie tribute to the popular E.C. Comics which helped define the horror movie anthology. Romero directed King’s original screenplay (which the author later turned into a graphic novel) of a comic book which showcased a collection of tales seeped in terror and suspense. I first encountered a copy of the graphic novel in the library while plodding through a summer school geometry class and found it to be my salvation during those hellish three weeks. My reward for making it through the summer term was getting ahold of the movie itself; and with its comic book feel, pop colors, wildly eclectic cast, fun effects and macabre humor, Creepshow became one of my favorite horror films of all time and bonafide summertime tradition.
Although not typically regarded as such, most of Creepshow’s storia prove it to the perfect kind of horror fodder that’s ripe for the summertime when the waterparks, movie theaters and airports are the last place anyone wants to be.
Father’s Day
Only King and Romero could pay tribute to dads with this tale of a wealthy family gathered together to celebrate the anniversary of the death of their old rich uncle who died a mysterious death at the hands of his bitter spinster daughter (Viveca Lindfords). All is well, good and bitchy until it appears the old man has returned from the grave wanting his Father’s Day cake. There’s a lot of fun within Creepshow’s first story, from the Dynasty-level campiness to the highly Freudian undertones. “Father’s Day” depends on shocks to keep it going, all of which come off thanks to Romero’s skilled hand and some great scoring choices. The atmosphere goes from soapy to menacing almost imperceptibly, while the segment’s ending captures the right kind of black humor that’s so unmistakingly King.
Something to Tide You Over
An isolated stretch of beach on a quiet island town makes up the setting for Creepshow’s third story which features a sadistic millionaire (Leslie Nielsen) who traps his wife’s lover (Ted Danson) in the sand challenging him to escape before the tide rolls in. A day at the beach has rarely been so life and death as the tension mounts watching Danson try and avoid his inevitable fate. Nielsen has a blast playing the baddie here, making his character all the more fearsome by refusing to chew the scenery. When “Something to Tide You Over” turns midway through, Romero’s zombie background comes into play leading to a brief, but effective cat-and-mouse chase and some of the best makeup effects of the era. However, no story within Creepshow could have screamed 80s for fans more than “Something to Tide You Over” thanks to the sight of watching Frank Drebin torture Sam Malone.
The Crate
The emptiness of a college campus in late summer was never a more dangerous place than in Creepshow’s penultimate story, “The Crate”. When a mysterious crate harboring a bloodthirsty creature is discovered in the basement of the anthropology department of a local college, a frustrated professor (Hal Holbrook) sees it as an opportunity to get rid of his abusive, hard-drinking wife (Adrienne Barbeau). There’s no denying that “The Crate” is the true centerpiece of Creepshow thanks to the way that it treats its characters as people as opposed to cartoons the way the other stories do. Holbrook gives a real depth to the poor shell of a man he is playing, while Barbeau steals all her scenes as a somewhat witty lush. Her moments allow the actress to play a brand of comedy she’s never been afforded before. But it’s the terrifying creature itself which is the star here thanks to Tom Savini’s still-impressive design work and strategically timed appearances. The perfect mix of character and horror comprise what is Creepshow’s most beloved segment.
If the remaining two segments of Creepshow don’t exactly fall into the summertime motif, they’re still plenty of fun. “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” starring King himself as a farmer who comes into contact with a fallen meteor, is straight out of Doctor Who, while “They’re Creeping Up on You” features a tour-de-force turn from E.G. Marshall as a miserly agoraphobe whose ultra-sanitary penthouse becomes overrun by cockroaches. Although not as suspenseful as the rest of the crop, both stories add plenty of dark humor, social commentary and differing takes on madness that adds to the variety and overall fun of Creepshow.
While Creepshow remains perfectly in the spirit of the famed and wonderfully horrific E.C. Comics, few could have predicted its longevity as one of Romero and King’s most beloved titles. Yet the movie’s legacy continues through its official sequel (along with a couple of unofficial ones), Eli Roth’s abandoned remake and the upcoming TV series version from Greg Nicotero. Still the strongest testament to the movie, beyond its many incarnations, are the legions of horror nuts like myself who consider to Creepshow to be a staple of 80s horror, the definition of the quintessential terror anthology and the perfect blend of two genre masters.
Creepshow is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Scream Factory.