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Creepshow (1982)

Growing up, I loved reading horror comics and magazine- "Vampirella", "Weird War Tales", and EC's "Vault of Horror, "Tales From the Crypt," and "The Haunt of Fear".  I also loved watching horror anthology shows like "The Twilight Zone".  This means I also enjoy horror anthology movies.

"Creepshow" features five short horror stories present to us as stories from a comic book being read by a young teenager:

  1. "Father's Day":  During the annual family get together, a family's deceased patriarch decides to drop in for cake;
  2. "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill":  After finding a crashed meteorite, Jordy Verrill watches as his farm- and himself, go through some changes;
  3. "Something to Tide You Over":  There are some people you never get on the wrong side of, because you'll wind up to your neck in deep water.  Of course... there are some people you never take revenge on either...
  4. "The Crate":  A professor finds a mysterious crate that holds a deadly secret... and the answer to his marital problems;
  5. "They're Creeping Up on You":  A ruthless, bug fearing businessman finds his sterile apartment under siege by cockroaches during a blackout.
Watching this movie is as fun as reading the old classic horror comics of my youth.  The stories were well written by Stephen King, with interesting characters, dark humour, and even some genuine creepiness.  Of the five stories, I would have to say that the weakest one would be "Father's Day", with "Something to Tide You Over," and "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" being the strongest ones.

The acting was great.  Stephen King, John Colicos, Leslie Nielson, Ted Danson, Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook, Fritz Weaver, and E.G. Marshall all turn in great performances in their respective stories.  I especially enjoy King's role in "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill".  He'll often have a cameo role in his movies, and it was nice to see him actually having a star turn.

While some of the effects for the transitions between stories could have been better, overall, they really captured the feel of the old EC horror comics, and added a nice variety to the movie.  George A. Romero did a fantastic job directing this movie.

I would LOVE to see King and Romero collaborate on a movie like this again.  "Creepshow" really brought back memories of my youth, the comics that helped shape the person I am, and makes me want to collect them again.  This movie is really one of "The Good".
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Comments

  1. Kev D.March 20, 2014 at 10:18 AM

    Oh man, this movie is SOLID GOLD. I really need to get around to reviewing it one of these days.

    I'd love to see more team ups of writers and directors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael StewartMarch 20, 2014 at 10:32 AM

      Another great King anthology movie is "Cat's Eye". "Night Shift" isn't too bad either, actually.

      Delete

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