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 Fritz Weaver Carrie Nye Ed Harris Jon Lormer Tom Atkins 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. (USA) Laurel Entertainment (non-USA) Republic Pictures (current international rights holders) |
| Release date(s) | August 20, 1982 (limited release); November 12, 1982 (wide release; USA) |
| Running time | 120 min (original cut: 130 min - workprint) |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8,000,000 |
| Followed by | Creepshow 2 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Stephen King's Creepshow is a 1982 anthology horror movie directed by George A. Romero (of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead fame), and written by Stephen King (Carrie, The Shining, Misery, The Stand).
It was considered a sleeper hit at the box office when released in November 1982, earning over $21 million domestically,[1] and remains a popular film to this day among horror genre fans. The film was shot on location in Pittsburgh and the suburb areas. It consists of five short stories "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's short horror tales. The segments are tied together with brief animated sequences. The film is bookended by scenes, featuring a young boy named Billy (played by Stephen King's own son, Joe King), who is punished by his father for reading horror comics. The film is a homage to the E.C. horror comic books of the 1950s such as Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror and The Haunt of Fear.
In later years, the international rights of the film would be acquired by Republic Pictures, which today is a subsidiary of the Paramount Motion Pictures Group, itself owned by Viacom.
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[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. Seven years later, as his relatives get together for their annual dinner on Father's day, Nathan Grantham comes back from the dead and returns the favor in a quest for his beloved cake, and is killing off his relatives one by one.
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill (Second story, originally titled "Weeds", adapted from a previously published short story): A dimwitted backwoods hick thinks a newly-discovered meteorite will provide enough money to pay off the arrears $200 as his bank loan. Instead, he finds himself being overcome by a rapidly spreading plant-like organism that comes off 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 doom for his unfaithful wife, Becky (Gaylen Ross) and her lover, Harry Wentworth (Ted Danson) by burying them up to their necks on the beach, below the high tide line. But the tide sometimes secure a power of reviving things back...
The Crate (Fourth story, adapted from a previously published short story): A mysterious, extremely lethal creature is unwittingly ransomed from its crate in this supenseful and gory monster story. Hal Holbrook stars as college professor Henry Northrup, who sees the creature as a way to get rid himself of his emotionally abusive wife, Wilma, played by Adrienne Barbeau. The monster in the crate was nicknamed "Fluffy" by the film's director, George A. Romero.
They're Creeping Up On You! (Fifth and final story, written by King expressly for the film): A cruel, miserly and ruthless businessman, Upson Pratt (played by screen legend E.G. Marshall), is disgusted by germs and insects, but finds himself helpless to stop them when Mr. White, his put-upon employee, allows his apartment to be overrun by endless hordes of cockroaches. His hatred of cockroaches was seen by some as a metaphor for prejudice. Scenes with giant cockroaches were filmed in the basement of Carnegie Mellon's Margaret Morrison Hall. Some of the bizarrely large, flying roaches escaped after the filming, bred there and still inhabit the basement classrooms.
The film ends when the boy's father experiences neck pains, transmitted by a voodoo doll ordered from the comic by the young boy, Billy, whom we see being chastised by his father in the beginning of the film.
[edit] Sequels and adaptations
The film was adapted into an actual comic book very soon after the film's release, illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, an artist fittingly influenced by the 1950s E.C. Comics. A sequel once again based on Stephen King's stories with a screenplay from Creepshow director George A. Romero, Creepshow 2, appeared in 1987. The film contained only three tales of horror, as opposed to the original's five stories.
[edit] Unofficial sequels
A further unofficial (that is, no involvement from Stephen King, George Romero or anyone else involved in the production of Creepshow & Creepshow 2) sequel, "Creepshow III", appeared in 2007 (though it was finished in 2006), direct-to-video, to mostly negative reviews. This film, in a fashion similair to the original Creepshow, features five short comedic horror stories. The company behind the film was Taurus Entertainment, also responsible for the in-name-only Romero sequel, Day of the Dead 2: Contagium, a follow-up to 1985's Day of the Dead.
It was rumoured another unofficial sequel ("Creepshow IV", again from Taurus Entertainment) was in production, however this has now been cancelled. Taurus say they currently have 'no plans' to develop a "Creepshow IV".
[edit] Creepshow-spawned television series
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 (which later spawned a film adaptation very similar to Creepshow, entitled "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie" (1990) directed by John Harrison (filmmaker), Creepshow's composer. Creepshow make-up artist and Creepshow 2 actor, Tom Savini, has said that the film is the real "Creepshow 3". 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] Upcoming "remake"
Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the companies currently involved in developing a 'remake' of the film, Creepshow. Though strangely, the film is said to have all-new stories.
[edit] Rumored web-based "Creepshow" series
In a statement, Taurus Entertainment (rights holders of the original Creepshow) are said to have licensed the rights to Burbank, CA based company, HD Films, to produce "Creepshow Raw" - a web-based series based upon the original film. Whether or not this will come to fruition is yet to be seen, though it is in the pipeline.
[edit] UK 2-disc special edition
A Special Edition DVD release of Creepshow was announced in early March 2007 exclusively for the United Kingdom. It was released 22nd October, 2007. The discs feature a brand new widescreen transfer of the film sourced from the original master, a making-of documentary running 90 minutes (titled "Just Desserts: The Making of Creepshow"), behind-the-scenes footage, rare deleted scenes, galleries, a commentary track with director George Romero and make-up effects artist, Tom Savini and more. Owner of Red Shirt Pictures, Michael Felsher is responsible for the special edition, the documentary and audio commentary in particular.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- 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.
- This film (and particularly the segment "They're Creeping Up on You!"), was #99 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments for the scene when the cockroaches pour out of Upson Pratt's body.
- Select excerpts from the score were used for the music in Eli Roth's faux trailer Thanksgiving in Grindhouse.
- On their 2004 split album with "Gruesome Stuff Relish", the deathgrind band "Engorged" recorded songs about the five short stories, complete with the original titles.
[edit] See also
- List of Stephen King films
- Creepshow 2
- Creepshow III
- Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
- Creepshow (2008) (upcoming 'remake')
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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