Creepshow (1982) – movie review

Creepshow (1982)

Directed by George Romero
Written by Stephen King
Effects by Tom Savini

Hal Holbrook
Adrienne Barbeau
Fritz Weaver
Leslie Nielsen
Ted Danson
E. G. Marshall
Viveca Lindfors

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Creepshow picked up where Amicus Films had left off, honoring the 1950’s horror comics in an anthology format film. Though Creepshow wasn’t a particular horror comic from the past, they did a splendid job at portraying it as such. It opens with a young boy who likes to read horror comics being berated by his father, who takes his latest comic and throws it in the garbage. The cover opens and we are treated to the stories held within its pages. There is some wonderful animation in the beginning titles and at the end of the film, and the comic book style is weaved throughout the film as live action frames turn to comic art frames and visa-versa. There are some comic style narration titles and during certain scenes, the backgrounds turn colorful, as they would in frames in the pages of the comics. These are some wonderful aspects of the film and added with the tongue-in-cheek, dark humor, the film is genuinely original in its creativity. We are treated to 5 stories here and they are fun horror stories which I think stand the test of time.

Father’s Day
Viveca Lindfors plays a wonderful part in this segment as Bedilia, the great aunt who murdered her nasty old miser Father with a heavy stone ashtray from the mantle. Now it’s many years later and the family is getting together on Father’s Day to celebrate what the old patriarch had left them. However, this year their dead uncle is going to want something from them…his cake. I can only tell you that the question, “Where’s My Cake?!” became a quote used often in my household on any birthday or celebration.

The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill
Stephen King himself plays Jordy, a backwoods, country bumpkin who finds a meteor crashed on his property. When he touches it, he becomes infected with “Meteor shit” which springs up into a grassy fungus. The dopey character makes a dozen wrong decisions and actions, the biggest being, jumping in the tub to relieve the itching of a plant. Guess what plants like? Water!

Something to Tide You Over
Leslie Neilson plays a wickedly awful character in this short which finds, Richard, a wealthy businessman, finding out about his cheating wife and her lover while at his beach house. He tricks them, at separate times, into getting buried up to their necks in the sand. He’s not going to cover them over, he’s just going to let the tide come in. Drowning is one of my least preferred ways to die if I had to pick one. This film does a splendid job at portraying how nasty and awful it is. Moments before the big wave is about to wash over Harry (Ted Danson) he turns to the closed circuit camera and promises revenge. Later that evening, Richard is confronted by Harry and Becky, now water zombies, in some creepy scenes. The water zombies are brought to life (death?) with excellent make-up effects.

The Crate
Henry (Holbrook), a college professor is constantly berated by his miserable and often drunk wife, Billie (Barbeau). When another professor tells him about the discovery of a Crate from the early 1900’s in the college stairwell, He finds it appropriate to get his wife to come along for a visit. Now if only the hibernating beast inside will wake for another feast on human flesh. It has a voracious appetite. This is probably everyone’s favorite story from the film. The beast creation by Tom Savini is an excellent example of old school practical effects.

They’re Creeping Up on You!
This segment with E.G. Marshall will surely give you the creeps as it was filmed with millions of live cockroaches. A germ-a-phobic, living in his germ-free penthouse is overrun by these pests and engages in a battle he can’t win.

I will also have to mention the perfect moody soundtrack music comprised of Moog Synthesizer sounds and piano melodies by John Harrison. Harrison also did music for Day of the Dead and Tales From the Dark Side TV show (for which he also directed some episodes). Don’t forget to look for a Tom Savini cameo as one of the garbage men that find the Creepshow Comic book at the end of the film. Creepshow is a wonderfully made film with great stories, perfect for Halloween viewing!

 

Fun Facts:
Creepshow 2 is almost as good as this one so I‘d recommend it. 

but Creepshow 3 left a lot to be desired – not recommended.

They would later release a Creepshow comic book series with stories from the films.

A friend in need…

Need that poster!

Where’s Twisted Sister when you need them?

Aurora T.Rex in the kid’s room

Where’s my cake?

Comic book style!

Meteor shit…

If you can hold your breath

love’s the beach

water zombies

footprints in the sand…suspicious

Comic book style!

the claw!

Makes some quick plans

another bad blind date…

What big teeth you have…

best scream in the movie!

watery depths

Savini on the set…

The Theatre Bizarre – (2011) – movie review

The Theatre Bizarre – (2011)

The Theater Bizarre is a modern anthology, not aimed at a PG-rating or casual horror fan. These stories are loaded with sex and violence, yes, but also with something you’ll never get from American studios; the freedom of not having to capture the widest audience possible ($$$$) to please the conglomerate company. What we have is six short films by six different directors, who were not pressured into keeping it tame.

The films outlining premise is a theatre puppet-show of sorts. The puppets represent real people and as their section of the stage lights-up, we are treated to their story. It is all hosted by the ringleader, Udo Kier,  whose marionette-like movements exude a general sense of foreboding. He walks stage-right, holds out his hand like a model on a game-show and the film begins.

In ‘The Mother Of Toads’ A young couple’s purchase of a pendant while traveling the back roads of France lead to a conversation with an old woman with a wicked glean in her eye. There is a brief Cthulu reference to “The Old Ones” by the old woman and the boyfriend goes to learn more about the pendant’s symbol and origin at her secluded cottage in the woods. There, he is seduced by a beautiful woman and when he tries to escape the next morning, he is assaulted by generations of her offspring emerging from the swamp. This segment exudes great mood and atmosphere but holds back at the end as we don’t see the actual attack on the girlfriend or the main character. Next, in “I Love You”, we get a bitter look at love gone awry, a hostile break-up and violent end to a relationship. Although a familiar story, it is an entertaining segment as the woman talks about her secret trysts, and we see them in flashback. The kitchen scene even made me chuckle.

Third, we have the Tom Savini directed story, Wet Dreams. A couple locked in an acidic relationship, attack and torture each other in their dreams. There is one really bizarre scene in this episode, that I will not totally spoil, but it’s a real ‘doozy‘…, when the sexy dream-girl drops her panties past her ankles and…oh, boy! The husband wakes up screaming and immediately stuffs both hands in his shorts to take inventory. The film is worth seeing for this segment alone. There are three other stories, not as good as these first three but not bad. As with all anthologies, there are segments you’ll like better than others. I will mention the story, Vision Stains, about the young woman who has found a way to see what other women see at their moment of death and is addicted to that rush.

The Theatre Bizarre is an entertaining horror collection with solid storylines and plots, graphic violence and a strong ‘R’ rating for the true horror enthusiast. If you are a fan of anthologies, this is one of the better ones; it’s a keeper for me.
 

The Remake Scoreboard / Horror Icons

The Remake Scoreboard – Horror movie remakes – the good and bad list. Thumbs up or thumbs down and two or three sentences why.
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The Horror Icons: Freddie, Jason, Michael, Leatherface, the Deads

Night of the Living Dead (remake – 1990)
(original 1968)
Directed by Tom Savini, this remake is most noted for exceptional performances by Tony Todd (as Ben) and a much more heroic Barbara played by Patricia Tallman. Sure it doesn’t have the same creepy vibe as the 1968 classic but the zombie details are stunning and it provides a great little twist at the very end. I own both versions and watch them both often.

Dawn of the Dead (remake – 2004)
(original 1978)
This action-packed remake provided some of the scariest zombies and zombie sequences to be seen on film to date. Gore FX, character development, and plot twists were all top notch. We got some classic Zombies in this film; the hungry little girl, the twitcher, the fat lady, the zombie baby… it doesn’t get much better than this. Dare I say it (please hold all hate mail) I like it better than the original.
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 Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake – 2003)
(original 1974)
As much as I loved the original I have to say that this was a great remake. The original had shock value and sheer terror for its time, as well as a bizarre weirdness to it. The new one is a great all around movie in plot and character, intense horror, and dark visual mastery. The action and the pacing were perfect, keeping you engaged ’til the nail-biting end. Love the detective/police investigation, bookends, too!

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Halloween (remake – 2007)
(original 1978)
Once you get over the fact that this is a different movie than the original and director Rob Zombie decided to (or perhaps was smart to) go somewhere completely different with the story, this isn’t a bad flick. One of the major differences is the original John Carpenter classic scared us with knuckle-wrenching suspense, creepy mood and atmosphere, while the Rob Zombie version shocks us with brutal violence (which is Rob Zombies forte’). Purists may scream ‘foul’ but this was still much better than all the Halloween sequels, most of which were pure rubbish.

Friday the 13^th (remake – 2009)
(original 1980)
This was not really a remake but rather an attempt to revitalize the franchise for a younger generation. If you remember, Jason, the killer in the hockey mask, was not even in the original “Friday” until the very end of the movie (and even then was portrayed as a child). With all Its slick visuals and modern FX, this “new” movie using the character of Jason Vorhees, was forgettable to me as I do not remember one character, one murder, or who the survivor was, if there was one at all.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (remake – 2010)
(original 1980)
There was no reason for this movie to be made considering the recent Freddie Vs. Jason movie had already re-introduced the franchise to a younger generation. Not only did this remake add nothing to the allure of the original Freddie Kruger movie but it actually diminished and watered down the intensity and mysteriousness of Wes Craven’s original masterpiece. Hated it.

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