Creepshow

Creepshow is an anthology of five tales, with a fun wrap around story starring Tom Atkins (The Fog & Night of the Creeps fame), all linked by the opening pages of a comic book, harking back to the EC comic books of the 1950's.

When I first saw it, I was expecting a “serious” horror film and was taken aback at it’s black humor. On a subsequent viewing I really warmed up to it and now it’s one of my favorite, fun, horror flicks! The lighting captures the feel of old pulp horror and the performances are really pretty good... Well, all except for maybe Stephen King's “Jordy”!

The first story, entitled "Father's Day,” is really good. It seems a woman killed her father seven years before for his crime of killing the old spinster’s only lover (the lover himself an older man). The outraged and emotionally battered woman finally snaps while making her father a Father’s Day cake, and in a fit of rage she whacks her pappy over the noggin with a large marble ashtray. Daddy was rich, so the rest of the dysfunctional family cover for the crime and revel in the $$$ afforded them by dear daddy’s demise.

So, an annual ritual of the Father’s Day “accident” has been created whereby the women visits the grave (in this most recent case intoxicated) and then the surviving family members sit down to nice baked ham dinner. Only this Father’s Day will bring an additional guest to the festivities! Dear ole dad comes back for his never-served Father’s Day cake and croaks nearly everyone in the process!

"The Lonely Death of Jordy Verril" features King himself as a goofy farm boy who finds a meteor in his backyard. Being an idiot, Jordy touches the meteor and you can guess the rest - something terrible happens, but nothing as terrible as this story. In the Italian version of the film this story was deleted. I wish it had been for the US release. Anyway, Jordy finds that large, glowing rock from space contained a weird glowing fluid and causes a strange moss to start growing. It eventually takes over Jordy and his farm, and so on…

"Something To Tide You Over" really is a creepy tale about adultery, greed and OCD. Leslie Nielson plays a rich selfish jerk (named “Richards”) that exacts his revenge upon Ted Danson because Ted is playing naughty with Richards’ wife.

Richards buried both his wife and Danson’s character in beach sand so the tide will drown them. It does, but they come back from the sea to return the favor and dear ole Richards is reluctant to join the party. This part of the film has some genuine shocks and laugh-out-loud comedy.

One story of Hollywood legend (or myth possibly) is about the shooting of a beach scene in this tale. There had been a lot of takes and when it was finally right an overhead airplane busted the shot and Mr. Nielsen went running down the beach firing the blank pistol at the plane!

"The Crate" has a really good creature that eats people. In a small college a janitor found an old crate underneath a dusty staircase. The wood box contains an evil monster of unknown origin (the crate is stamped with “Arctic Expedition”) and the beastie has been living there for decades. Hal Holbrook is browbeaten by a truly obnoxious wife (performed to perfection by Adrienne Barbeau) and he decides to let it loose on her. Of note in this story is Fritz Weaver’s incredible freak-out performance.

The final chapter, "They're Creeping Up On You!" has E.G. Marshall with a phobia for roaches. Marshall plays a rich, old codger who lives in a sterile, all white high-tech apartment. He's fastidious about cleaning and also about cruelty.

Pay-back by the roaches is both hard to sit through and hilarious at the same time...