Creepshow
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| Creepshow | |
|---|---|
 Original 1982 theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | George A. Romero |
| Produced by | Salah M. Hassnein Richard P. Rubinstein |
| Written by | Short Stories & Screenplay: Stephen King |
| Starring | Hal Holbrook Adrienne Barbeau Leslie Nielsen Ted Danson E. G. Marshall Stephen King Viveca Lindfors Carrie Nye Jon Lormer Don Keefer Robert Harper |
| Music by | John Harrison |
| Cinematography | Michael Gornick |
| Editing by | Pasquale Buba Paul Hirsch George A. Romero Michael Spolan |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | November 12, 1982 (USA) |
| Running time | 120 min (original cut: 130 min - workprint) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8,000,000 |
| Followed by | Creepshow 2, Creepshow 3 Creepshow (2008) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Creepshow is a 1982 anthology horror movie directed by George A. Romero (of Night of the Living Dead & Dawn of the Dead fame), and written by Stephen King (The Shining, Misery, The Stand). It consists of five short "Jolting Tales of Horror": "Father's Day", "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill", "Something to Tide You Over", "The Crate" and "They're Creeping Up On You!". Two of these stories, "The Crate" and "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" (originally titled "Weeds") were adapted from previously published Stephen King short horror tales, while the other stories were written especially for the film. These stories are tied together by animated segments and the plight of a young boy (played by Stephen King's own son, Joe King) who is a dedicated fan of a fictitious comic book titled Creepshow, which his stern and even borderline abusive father disapproves of. The film is a homage to the EC horror comic books of the 1950s such as Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror & The Haunt of Fear.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
- Father's Day (First story, written by King expressly for the film): Years ago, Nathan Grantham was killed on Father's Day when his daughter Bedelia bashed him in the head with a marble ashtray as he screamed for his cake. Years later, as his relatives got together for their annual dinner on Father's Day, Nathan comes back from the dead and kills them in a quest for his beloved cake. In the end, he gets his cake which includes Aunt Sylvia's head. Ed Harris appears as a naive and ill-fated new in-law.
- The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill (Second story, originally titled Weeds, adapted from a previously published short story): A backwoods hick thinks his newfound discovery of a meteorite will provide enough riches to pay off the remaining $200 of his bank loan. Instead, he finds himself overcome by a rapidly spreading plant-like organism that arrives in the meteorite. Stephen King himself plays the doomed protagonist in this darkly humorous story.
- Something to Tide You Over (Third story, written by King expressly for the film): A coldblooded Leslie Nielsen stages a terrible fate for his unfaithful wife and her lover (Ted Danson), only to have them repay a supernatural revenge back upon him by burying him up to his neck on the beach just before the tide comes in.
- The Crate (Fourth story, adapted from a previously published short story): A mysterious, extremely lethal creature is unwittingly freed from its crate in this classic monster story. Hal Holbrook stars as a college professor who sees the creature as a way to rid himself of his heavy drinking, emotionally abusive wife, "Scream Queen" Adrienne Barbeau. Fritz Weaver plays Holbrook's friend and colleague who watches the monster devour two people. This story may be considered gory even by modern horror standards. The monster in the crate is often referred to as Fluffy.
- They're Creeping Up On You! (Fifth story, written by King expressly for the film): A cruel, miserly businessman (played by screen legend E.G. Marshall) is terrified and disgusted by roaches and other assorted insects that are suddenly pervading his supposedly antiseptic, germ-free apartment. For reasons unknown, but possibly involving over-sensitivity to the businessman's treatment of an underling, who happens to be black, or possibly involving the gruesome sequence involving masses of insects emerging from the businessman's eyes, mouth, and from under his skin, this last story in the film is sometimes not aired when the movie is shown on television.
The film ends with the boy's father experiencing bad neck pains. The audience later finds out that it was actually the boy with a voodoo doll (that he ordered from the comic) getting revenge on him for his controlling and abusive ways.
The movie was filmed in and around Romero's hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.
The film was later adapted into an actual comic book illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. A generally considered below-par sequel, Creepshow 2, appeared during 1987. The film only contained 3 tales of horror, as opposed to the original's 5.
The moderate success of Creepshow sparked interest in a television series in the same mold. After a few changes, Laurel Productions renamed the television version Tales from the Darkside. This series lasted four years (1983–87) before being replaced by a virtually identical series named Monsters, which lasted another three years (1988–91).
[edit] Creepshow Remake & New Sequel
Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the companies currently involved in developing a remake of the film, which oddly enough will also have a sequel, tentatively named Creepshow 3, which is set for a 2007 release. Neither Stephen King or George A. Romero had any involvement with the making of Creepshow 3.
[edit] Special Edition
A Special Edition DVD of Creepshow was announced in early March 2007 exclusively for the United Kingdom. There is no set date of release, however, it is planned to be out this year "before Halloween." [1]
[edit] Trivia
- The marble ash tray that plays a major role in "Father's Day", has a cameo in all the other stories in the movie, and even pops up in the wrap around featuring Billy.
- The music that was played on the Jukebox by Upson Pratt during the "They're Creeping Up On You!" segment originally appeared in Sam Raimi's horror classic The Evil Dead as the film's ending theme.
- The fourth story in the film, "The Crate," was partially filmed on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, in the Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall building. The remainder of the film's interiors were filmed at Penn Hall Academy, a disused facility in Monroeville, PA.
- Presumably due to running time issues, the film's third episode ("Something To Tide You Over") was completely omitted from the theatrical release in Germany. However, the segment was included in the subsequent original German video edition.
- The persistent rumor of a massive nest of cockroaches being discovered on the Carnegie-Mellon University campus is false, as the sets for "They're Creeping Up On You!" were constructed entirely in the gymnasium of Penn Hall Academy in Monroeville. Several hundred roaches DID escape from their holding area (called "Roach Motel" by the crew), however, much to the dismay of roach wrangler Raymond Mendez (who would return to Pittsburgh in 1990 to provide a variety of moths for Jonathan Demme's film Silence of the Lambs).
- This film was #99 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Films directed by George A. Romero |
|---|
| Night of the Living Dead | There's Always Vanilla | The Crazies | Season of the Witch | Martin Dawn of the Dead | Knightriders | Creepshow | Day of the Dead | Monkey Shines | Two Evil Eyes The Dark Half | Bruiser | Land of the Dead | Diary of the Dead | Solitary Isle |
