The eighties were the era of horror comedies Many serious genre critics decried their existence, but I loved most of them. They weren't all winners, of course. I'm still cringing over Haunted Honeymoon, Transylvania 6-5000, and Teen Wolf.
They were everywhere, and most fans loved the mix of laughs and scares. The Lost Boys, The Return of the Living Dead, Vamp, Maximum Overdrive (perhaps not intentionally a comedy, but none the less a very funny movie), Fright Night, House, Beetlejuice, Gremlins, An American Werewolf in London, Evil Dead 2, Night of the Demons, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and on and on. Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street are frightening films, but the many sequels were out-and-out comedies.
None were better, more enjoyable, or downright lovable than Night of the Creeps.
Why, oh why? Why didn't Fred Dekker have one of the biggest careers in horror? No one deserved it more. Rob Zombie flourishes, Saw movies go on ad nauseam, and good Stephen King books continue to be wrung creatively dry, but Dekker couldn't get another movie off the ground after his Creeps followup, The Monster Squad.
As the story goes, Tristar put a considerable amount of money and effort into promotion for The Monster Squad. When the movie flopped, the industry wiped Fred Dekker off its shoes like dogshit. Never mind how good a movie it is.
Thankfully The Monster Squad found its audience over the decades and it is now regarded as a milestone in the field. Most fans came to the movie when they were children, and almost all of them have the fondest memories of The Monster Squad.
Same with Night of the Creeps. I can't imagine any fan disliking it. Some do, though, I have have cast aside nonfiction genre books when an author insults Night of the Creeps. I try to be open-minded about individual opinions, but it's nearly impossible in this case.
Night of the Creeps has everything. Invading aliens, an axe-wielding maniac, zombies, parasitic brain invaders, a disheveled private eye right out of a Gold Medal novel, frathouse hijinx, and endless references to horror movies. More importantly, Creeps has charm, genuine wit and lovable characters. Production values are way above most direct-to-video horror of its day, and the dialogue is unforgettable. Just mention the phrase, screaming like banshees, to anyone who has seen the film and watch the reaction.
Self referential horror movies like Scream were still a decade away. Night of the Creeps was perhaps too ahead of its time.
I cannot count the times I've seen Night of the Creeps. At least twenty. I watched it again last night, and the movie still makes me laugh, still thrills me, and I even get a little teary-eyed. This is a movie to grow old with.
And never forget: Stryper Rules.
Written by Mark Sieber
They were everywhere, and most fans loved the mix of laughs and scares. The Lost Boys, The Return of the Living Dead, Vamp, Maximum Overdrive (perhaps not intentionally a comedy, but none the less a very funny movie), Fright Night, House, Beetlejuice, Gremlins, An American Werewolf in London, Evil Dead 2, Night of the Demons, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and on and on. Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street are frightening films, but the many sequels were out-and-out comedies.
None were better, more enjoyable, or downright lovable than Night of the Creeps.Why, oh why? Why didn't Fred Dekker have one of the biggest careers in horror? No one deserved it more. Rob Zombie flourishes, Saw movies go on ad nauseam, and good Stephen King books continue to be wrung creatively dry, but Dekker couldn't get another movie off the ground after his Creeps followup, The Monster Squad.
As the story goes, Tristar put a considerable amount of money and effort into promotion for The Monster Squad. When the movie flopped, the industry wiped Fred Dekker off its shoes like dogshit. Never mind how good a movie it is.
Thankfully The Monster Squad found its audience over the decades and it is now regarded as a milestone in the field. Most fans came to the movie when they were children, and almost all of them have the fondest memories of The Monster Squad.
Same with Night of the Creeps. I can't imagine any fan disliking it. Some do, though, I have have cast aside nonfiction genre books when an author insults Night of the Creeps. I try to be open-minded about individual opinions, but it's nearly impossible in this case.
Night of the Creeps has everything. Invading aliens, an axe-wielding maniac, zombies, parasitic brain invaders, a disheveled private eye right out of a Gold Medal novel, frathouse hijinx, and endless references to horror movies. More importantly, Creeps has charm, genuine wit and lovable characters. Production values are way above most direct-to-video horror of its day, and the dialogue is unforgettable. Just mention the phrase, screaming like banshees, to anyone who has seen the film and watch the reaction.
Self referential horror movies like Scream were still a decade away. Night of the Creeps was perhaps too ahead of its time.
I cannot count the times I've seen Night of the Creeps. At least twenty. I watched it again last night, and the movie still makes me laugh, still thrills me, and I even get a little teary-eyed. This is a movie to grow old with.
And never forget: Stryper Rules.
Written by Mark Sieber
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