Creepshow Has Some of the Greatest
Talent in Horror
Creepshow demonstrates what happens when gather together some of the greatest talents in horror, Stephen King and George Romero, and leave them alone to do what they do best.
Written by The Zombie Master Lee Roberts
January 26, 2007
Release: 1982
Directed by: George A. Romero
Written by: Stephen King
Starring:
Hal Holbrook as Professor Henry Northrup
Adrienne Barbeau as Wilma “Billie” Northrup
Leslie Nielsen as Richard Vickers
E.G. Marshall as Upson Pratt
Ted Danson as Harry Wentworth
Ed Harris as Hank Blaine
EC Comics, to those who do not know, was a force to be reckoned with in the 50’s. They had such titles as Crime Illustrated, Weird Fantasy, and Shock Illustrated. What they were best known for though, and ended up getting in trouble for, were such titles as Tales from the Crypt, Crypt of Terror, and Vault of Horror. It is within these horror comics that Stephen King (Carrie, Firestarter, etc.) and George Romero (Night of the Living Dead, etc.) found the inspiration for the film Creepshow.
Creepshow is an anthology of five short horror episodes from a fictitious comic book entitled Creepshow (coincidence, I think not). So let’s turn the page and see what eerie tales lay within the pages.
Father’s Day: This first story is about a woman who feels guilt for bashing her abusive fathers head in with a marble ash tray. And she should feel guilty because she killed him on Father’s Day. She has stopped by her father’s grave and during conversation he decides it is time to wake up and leave his underground abode. Yeah!! We see a young Ed Harris in this one as well. Good story.
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill: This installment in Creepshow is where we see Stephen King himself in the role of Jordy Verrill, a backwoods redneck who happens to see a meteorite land on his farm. He is contemplating the money he will get from the museum when it breaks and he gets “meteor s**t” on him. What follows is the slow transformation of a man into a plant. Not bad but not great either. Good thing that it is short.
Something to Tide you Over: This is actually my favorite of the five Creepshow stories and is the one that we can learn from. First, we learn that if we are going to have an affair, make sure that the unknowing spouse isn’t insanely jealous to the point of vindictive murder. Second, we learn that if we happen to be the vindictive, murdering, insanely jealous, unknowing spouse we must be absolutely sure that the unfaithful duo is dead. I mean hole in the head dead. Not able to come back as a zombie dead. This Creepshow installment has a great story, with great acting from Leslie Nielsen.
The Crate: Classic actors Hal Holbrook, Fritz Weaver, and the lovely Adrienne Barbeau make this story my second favorite Creepshow short. Weaver and Holbrook are professors at the local college. A crate is found underneath some stairs that is unbelievably old and upon further investigation is holding something living inside. Carnage, blood and laughs follow. Both cheesy and funny in a twisted sort of way, this is a great story.
They’re Creeping up on You: How can you go wrong with E.G. Marshall. In this Creepshow short Mr. Marshall plays a mean old businessman who happens to have a slight case of OCD. Being a clean freak, he cannot stand bugs and bugs are getting into his super
clean hermetically sealed penthouse. How are they getting in? Where are they coming from? You will have to watch the movie.
Creepshow will go down as one of the best horror anthology films of all time. When you put Stephen King and George Romero together and leave them alone to do what they do best then the result has got to be good. The stories and execution are well done and the nature of an anthology of horror shorts prevents any one story from going on too long before resolution. If you have not seen this classic, go find and watch Creepshow. As a matter of fact, buy your own copy of it - Creepshow is one to have in your horror library and watch repeatedly. Questions or comments about Creepshow? Contact us!
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