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Review (Contains Spoilers)

The one and only collaboration between celebrated horror director George A. Romero and legendary chiller writer Stephen King, Creepshow has over the last twenty-six years enjoyed an ascent from critically shunned minor box office hit to fully fledged cult classic.

The seventies had proven to be a decade of mixed fortunes for Romero. Whilst his more bold and experimental work such as Season Of The Witch (aka - Jack's Wife) (1973), The Crazies and Martin (1976) had only succeeded in finding minor cult acceptance, the Pittsburgh native finished the decade on a high with his zombie classic Dawn Of The Dead. Therefore, with Romero still relatively fresh off the commercial and artistic success of the classic second instalment in his "living dead" series, his collaboration with King on Creepshow seemed like a dream ticket for all concerned.

As it turns out, one thing Romero and King had in common was that as young men their love for horror and all things gruesome and macabre was fuelled heavily by the many hours they spent with their heads stuck in the famous E.C. horror comics of the fifties. Therefore, Creepshow was conceived by the duo as a direct homage to these infamously lurid comic books, structured in a horror anthology format with five short tales (all penned by King) wrapped up into one whole. King's stories (two of which were adapted from his previous short works) were firmly rooted in the familiar E.C. tradition with disagreeable characters encountering sticky, horrific ends. Meanwhile Romero handled directorial duties with assistance from a clutch of his regular collaborators, including perhaps most notably special make-up and gore effects maestro Tom Savini.

Upon its original release Creepshow for the most part met with cool, indifferent reactions from critics, but nevertheless proved to be a surprise sleeper hit at the box-office, raking in an estimated total of around $20,000,000 in the US alone. The unexpected success of Creepshow would lead to an inferior but worthy sequel Creepshow 2 (1987) and the largely ignored, unofficial sequel Creepshow III which crept out minimally in 2007. The popularity of Creepshow would also lead to the popular Romero created syndicated television series Tales From The Darkside (1983 - 1988), which spawned its own respectable film spin-off Tales From The Darkside: The Movie (1990) and was followed by the less fondly remembered television series Monsters (1988 - 1991).

Creepshow begins with an enraged father (played by an uncredited Tom Atkins) chastising and beating his son after discovering in his possession a particularly lurid horror comic. In a fit of rage the father banishes his son to bed and throws the offending comic book out into the trash. However, something strange is afoot on this particular night as the comic is blown into the windswept street unleashing the five blood-curdling tales of terror contained within its pages.

In the opening tale Father's Day the wealthy Grantham family meet at a vast country estate on the anniversary of the day family matriarch Bedilia (Lindfors) murdered her wicked, tyrannical father Nathan Grantham several years previously. However, the festivities are horrifically gate crashed when the rotting Nathan rises from the grave and embarks on a killing spree in search of his Father's Day cake. The second story The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill sees simple natured bumpkin Jordy Verrill (played by Stephen King) undergo a terrifying transformation into a plant following contact with fluid from a meteor which lands on his property. In the third tale Something To Tide You Over cold, calculating closet sadist Richard (Nielsen) takes a horrific revenge upon his attractive wife Becky (Ross) and her lover Harry (Danson) by burying them up to their necks on the beach and leaving them to drown. However, Richard gets more than he bargained for when his victims return from their watery grave in search of vengeance. In the penultimate story The Crate college professor Henry Northup (Holbrook) leads a miserable life, constantly abused and berated by his alcoholic wife Wilma (Barbeau). Meanwhile a crate from a 19th century Arctic expedition is discovered in the basement of the college campus. When the crate is opened by womanising professor Dexter Stanley (Weaver) a terrible monster emerges and proceeds to mutilate and kill both a hapless janitor and smarmy member of the campus staff. A terrified Dexter confides in his close friend Henry what has happened and Henry sees in the monster a novel (if macabre) solution to his marital problems. Finally in fifth story They're Creeping Up On You obsessive, evil natured entrepreneur Upson Pratt (Marshall) lives a life of seclusion in his clinically clean, upmarket apartment. When his spotless, sterile living quarters is invaded by hundreds of cockroaches, Pratt's initial anger turns to horror when he realises he is helpless to quell the creepy crawly invasion.

From the opening minute it becomes clear that Creepshow is a very obvious labour of love for both George A. Romero and Stephen King. Clearly intended as a macabre yet blackly comical ode to the notorious E.C. Horror Comics, Creepshow certainly succeeds in giving gloriously vivid cinematic life to the lurid comic book frames which furnished it with its inspiration. A decade earlier the horror anthology films Tales From The Crypt (1972) and Vault Of Horror (1973) produced by British horror specialists Amicus had directly drawn upon original E.C. tales, however, Creepshow had one up on its British fore bearers in that Romero was able to secure the services of veteran comic book artist Jack Kamen who had worked extensively upon the original E.C. comics during the fifties and was only too happy to knock up all of the plentiful, original E.C. style comic book artwork seen in the film. To his credit Romero makes visually startling and highly memorable use of Kamen's work, crafting a wonderful cartoon opening credits sequence and using fleeting yet effective shots which blend live actors with Kamen's comic book art or shift seamlessly between the two in order to lend the film the wonderful sense of having sprung to life straight from the pages of an authentic fifties horror comic. In addition the films striking visuals are well complimented by John Harrison's excellent, highly evocative score.

Of course all of this would count for nought if this canny sense of comic book style was not attached to anything tangible. Fortunately in their first and last collaboration Romero and King work wonders, crafting together five tales which whilst not without some flaws, offer a well measured blend of chills and playful black humour which drip with an obvious affection for the E.C. style and benefit immeasurably from being peppered with highly enjoyable, intentionally caricaturish performances from a great ensemble cast.

Following the excellent, tone establishing framing story in which a young boy (played by Stephen King's own son Joe) has his horror comic thrown into the trash, Creepshow begins in earnest with its opening yarn Father's Day. Having secured the viewers attention with the engaging framing story and wonderfully evocative opening credits, Romero and King astutely keep things simple, delivering a short, slight and breezy yet effectively nasty romp in which the thoroughly wicked Nathan Grantham rises from the grave seeking revenge upon his murdering daughter and her descendents. His first appearance certainly delivers a mighty jolt. The age old "rotting, grasping hand erupts out of the grave" trick may have been recycled more times than horror fans would care to remember in the wake of Carrie, but seldom has it been utilised to such jumpy effect as it is here. From this point Romero maintains the momentum nicely as the cadaverous, evil, fathers day cake craving Nathan quickly sets about slaughtering his assembled descendents (including a young Ed Harris) en route to an outrageous final shot which emphatically proves messrs Romero and Romero have captured the pitch black humour of the E.C. comics perfectly. All in all Father's Day gets Creepshow off to a cracking start. On a side note Romero fans may be amused to learn that the role of the rotting Nathan Grantham is played by frequent Romero collaborator John Amplas, best known for playing the tortured title character in Romero's sublime, offbeat vampire opus Martin (1976).

The films second tale The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill is widely regarded by both critics and fans of the film as the least of its five segments and to be truthful it is very difficulty to really disagree with this assessment. However, having said that The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill is far from a washout and certainly doesn't disgrace the film. Believe it or not Stephen King is actually pretty good in what is essentially a one man show, registering a simultaneously comical and endearing presence as the dimwitted, perpetually unfortunate hick of the title who transforms into vegetation following contact with "meteor shit". Personally speaking, the problem I had with this particular story is that the extent of Verrill's stupidity just made suspension of disbelief impossible. When his fingers turn a gangrenous, unnatural shade of green he refuses to get help and instead loafs around watching WWF wrestling and drinking beer. A short time later when half a lawn appears to be sprouting from his face and body he still refuses to get help and instead reaches for the hard spirits! While I realise that Romero and King are trying to bring the eccentricity of a horror comic to the screen and not necessarily tell a logical story, nevertheless I still to ask why I should care about the fate of a character who seemingly cares very little about himself? Perhaps I am just reaping too much into it? At any rate, The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill at least scores bonus points for its incredibly bleak ending, which despite being at odds with the stories otherwise humorous tone - this is by far the most light-hearted of the five tales - still works well.

Fortunately Creepshow kicks back into gear in glorious fashion with the superb Something To Tide You Over in which a vengeful, psychotic husband takes a cruel, sadistic revenge upon his wife and her lover. Perhaps we are all so familiar with the over the top, slapstick persona which Leslie Nielsen projects in farcical comedies such as the Naked Gun series that we forget that when he plays it (relatively) straight the man much loved for his role as Detective Frank Drebin is actually a pretty decent actor? Certainly Nielsen steals the show here, giving a compelling, larger than life performance as a genuinely nasty piece of work whilst retaining a welcome hint of his trademark, laconic humour. To his credit Ted Danson is also a riot, chewing the sand as Nielsen's simultaneously enraged yet terrified love rival and the interplay between the two is well worth savouring. Meanwhile the sheer fiendishness of Danson's predicament, left buried up to his neck in the sand, certain to be drowned by the rapidly incoming tide generates a brief but welcome tension up until its predictably grim pay-off. Following this the story quickly segues into an even better second act in which Nielsen's protagonist is menaced by the vengeful, ocean sodden resurrected cadavers of his two victims. Thanks to a typically excellent make-up job by Tom Savini, scenes of the convincingly sea-ravaged walking corpses stalking Nielsen through his plush residence possess a genuine eeriness and the final shot which sees Nielsen - by now totally crazed - buried up to his neck on the beach as the tide rolls in ends the tale of a deliciously ironic note. In another bit of trivia horror fans should note that the role of Richard's ill-fated wife Becky is played by the lovely Gaylen Ross, who had previously assumed leading lady duties in both Romero's classic Dawn Of The Dead (1978) and Joe Giannone's underrated woodland slasher effort Madman (1982).

Improbably the penultimate story The Crate manages to be even better than its predecessor. Telling the deliriously hokey tale of a dusty old crate stored in the basement of a college campus which is opened to unleash a savage, primate-like monster (nicknamed "Fluffy" by George Romero), The Crate is a bloody, beautifully acted piece laced with plenty of black humour. The Crate easily ranks as the goriest of the five yarns, Romero putting Tom Savini through his paces as the impressively ferocious looking "Fluffy" brutally drags a hapless janitor into its crate and later takes a huge, ragged bite out of the face of cocksure Charlie Gereson (played by Robert Harper). Meanwhile "Fluffy's" repeated habit of exploding out of his crate when the viewer has been ingeniously lulled into a false sense of security is liable to have even the most hardy of horror fans ejecting from their seats in fright. However, really it is the trio of terrific central performances which really make The Crate magical. Top billed legend Hal Holbrook is sublime as the meek college professor and perpetually abused husband Henry Northup and Fritz Weaver is equally strong as his suave, womanising colleague and friend Dexter Stanley, who is reduced to a gibbering wreck after witnessing the grisly results of "Fluffy's" handiwork first hand. Yet it is comely scream queen Adrienne Barbeau who really steals the show, delivering a thoroughly hissable yet hilarious scenery chewing performance as Henry's alcoholic, bullying, acid-tongued gorgon of a wife Wilma. Her numerous acidic put downs directed at her hapless husband are delivered with obvious relish and when Wilma finally gets her richly deserved just desserts the viewer is liable to be out of their seat cheering. If one insists on picking flies it must be conceded that the final shot is totally predictable, but that hardly begins to tarnish what must be one of the most riotously entertaining twenty minutes of horror that the early eighties has to offer.

Predictably the films final tale They're Creeping Up On You, in which E.G. Marshall's evil natured recluse Upson Pratt has his clinically clean apartment invaded by an army of cockroaches, does not match up to the two excellent stories which precede it. However, having said that They're Creeping Up On You hardly ends Creepshow on a bum note either. Whilst firmly routed in the same E.C. comic book aesthetic, this tale differs from the other four in that it largely favours a darker, more psychological approach in contrast to the cartoonish (if effective) horrors on display in the previous pieces. The story is held together by the veteran Marshall who delivers an authoritive turn as the aptly named Pratt, succeeding in turning this uptight, curmudgeonly cleanliness obsessive into a hateful, black-hearted bully whom the viewer longs to see get his comeuppance in the best comic book fashion. Yet despite basing the tale around a hateful central protagonist, Romero quite cleverly and subtly coaxes the viewer into sharing in Pratt's plight when his anger turns to terror as his sterile living quarters is invaded by vermin. Ultimately They're Creeping Up On You proves to be nothing more than a jittery showcase for Tom Savini's most outrageously gruesome effect. However, when that involves the jaw-dropping spectacle of Marshall's body bursting open from within in order to disgorge thousands of cockroaches it is really quite forgivable, although those sensitive about anything involving creepy crawlies are well advised to shield their eyes! This skin-crawling sequence is quite a fitting note on which for Creepshow to segue into its amusing wrap up involving the fate of Tom Atkins' cranky, comic book destroying dad.

At two full hours in length Creepshow may sound a bit of a slog on paper especially given the (deliberately) superficial nature of its particular brand of horror. However, in practise Romero and King's E.C. influenced shenanigans thrive in such an expansive setting, with each tale given room to breathe and none feeling too rushed or outstaying its welcome. While purists may favour the famous Amicus anthology horrors - the likes of Tales From The Crypt and Asylum take some beating - Creepshow still remains an exceptional example of the omnibus format. Two of its stories (The Crate and Something To Tide You Over) are truly superb short pieces, another two (Father's Day and They're Creeping Up On You are also very good and only one (The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill) registers as a misfire, and even that is not without its charm. Some eighties horror films may be scarier, some may be gorier and some may run deeper, but this reviewer would struggle to think of many others which as much pure, unadulterated, scary fun as what Creepshow does. George A. Romero may have directed several films which are more celebrated across the course of his inconsistent career, but certainly Creepshow remains his most accessible and entertaining effort to date. An absolute treat!

Also Try... Creepshow 2 / Tales From The Darkside: The Movie / Tales From The Crypt (1972, Freddie Francis) / Vault Of Horror / Asylum / Dr Terror's House Of Horrors / The House That Dripped Blood / From Beyond The Grave (1973, Kevin Connor) / Heavy Metal / Dawn Of The Dead (1978, George A. Romero) / Fright Night / Evil Dead II / Creepshow III.

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Piczo