Creepshow Rating: Release Date: 03 February, 2004 Retail Price: $9.98 OUR Price: $9.98 You SAVE: $0.00! Cast: Hal Holbrook Adrienne Barbeau Leslie Nielsen E.G. Marshall Complete Cast (15 total)

Creepshow Reviews

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Enter the Creepshow!!!!! Tickets Please!!!!!
It is perhaps best to initially take a glance at the comic books that inspired this collection of creepy tales, pulps published throughout the 1940s and 1950s by E.C. Comics and boasting such titles as TALES FROM THE CRYPT, HAUNT OF FEAR, WEIRD SCIENCE and VAULT OF HORROR. Television was still in its early stages and it would be a few years before quality horror made its way onto the screen. Horror fans, then, targeted the news stands for their fix of the unreal and the unnatural; they were introduced to tales of rotting corpses and ghouls rising from the grave by The Crypt Keeper and his fiendish friends The Vault Keeper and The Old Witch. There were adaptations of Poe and Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury (see THE OCTOBER GAME) frequently contributed stories, further enhancing E.C. Comics popularity. Two young readers of 'Tales' during the 1950s would have been horror icons Stephen King and George A. Romero, the comics having a considerable influence on their own future works. Sadly censorship laws meant that E.C. Comics were taken off the market, but they would not be buried forever ... which brings us to CREEPSHOW.

Released in 1982, CREEPSHOW is a homage to E.C. Comics. The film is directed by George A. Romero and is based upon short stories and a screenplay written by Stephen King (there would follow an actual comic book titled CREEPSHOW featuring cover art by legendary E.C. artist Jack Kamen and interior art by Bernie CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF Wrightson).

In total there are five tales and a wraparound story. Each tale begins with a comic book-style animated segment; the wraparound story features a young boy (Stepehen King's son, Joe) whose Creepshow Comic is confiscated by his abusive father (Tom HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH, THE FOG Atkins).

And so begins the first tale:

FATHER'S DAY
Nathan Grantham is killed by his own daughter after years of mental abuse and an apparent murder. He returns as a hideous corpse, exacting revenge on the entire Grantham family. Stars ED HARRIS.

THE LONESOME DEATH OF JORDY VERRIL (aka WEEDS)
Backwoods hick Verril (Stephen King) witnesses a meteor crash-land into his own backyard. Before long the entire property is turning green and Verril has to fight for survival against an alien plant life.

SOMETHING TO TIDE YOU OVER
Another revenge story featuring TED DANSON and LESLIE NIELSON and arguably the best of the five tales. Nielson plays a wealthy, jealous and unhinged husband who buries his wife and her lover up to their necks in the stretch sand that is his private beach, Comfort Point. But the tide has a way of returning the past.

THE CRATE
While cleaning the student halls of a Maine University one evening, the janitor discovers an ancient crate buried beneath the stairs. Chained within is a bigfoot-like monster, that has been locked away for over a century ... Meanwhile ... Local college professor, Henry, has been subjected to years of humiliation from his overbearing and obnoxious wife; his only solace is a weekly chess game with co-professor, Dexter Stanley ... It is now time for the creature to feed and Henry has a plan that might well solve all his problems. Starring HAL HOLBROOK, ADRIENNE BARBEAU (both of THE FOG) and Fritz Weaver.

THEY'RE CREEPING UP ON YOU
A selfish and miserly tycoon with a tendancy towards hypachondria finds his supposedly bug-proof and germ-proof apartment infested with cockroaches. Check out King's F-13 computer game, which includes the bug-splat game taken right from this tasteless tale. Starring E.G. MARSHALL (TOMMYKNOCKERS)

And so ends the show. But before we leave the auditorium, lets return to the wraparound story where little Tommy has taken to practicing voodoo in order to exact revenge on his bad tempered father.

So what's the verdict? Five excellently written and directed shorts from two of the Masters of Horror. CREEPSHOW, moderately successful at the time of its release, has maintained cult status ever since - it will undoubtedly stand the test of time. The special effects are top notch, having Tom Savini at the helm (he also plays a small acting role in the wraparound story) and the acting is first rate. Sadly there are little-to-no extra features, but the film itself makes up for this. Perhaps there will be a special edition in the future - it would be nice to see some original interviews and deleted scenes.

CREEPSHOW was followed by CREEPSHOW 2 and TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE before the TALES FROM THE CRYPT TV series emerged. Out sometime this year is CREEPSHOW 3.

5/5


Scary movie AND funny!
I think parts of "Creepshow" were made in Pittsburgh. George A. Romero was a Pittsburgher. I should know - I`M a Pittsburgher too! Steven King did the screenplays and he plays "JodyVerrall" in this movie. It is a great movie to have in my collection! Great graphics for a 1982 film.

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