Night of the Creeps (1986) User Reviews

So much better than the title suggests

[bowmanblue · 8/10 · 1 December 2020]

I'm guessing that if you like 'B-movies' then the title will tip you off towards everything you really need to know about this film. It's cheesy as hell... but great fun (if you like that sort of thing).

For what is effectively a teenage zombie black comedy horror, it starts off squarely in the 'science fiction' territory as some revolting aliens (with unreadable subtitles!) eject a pod of - er something - out into space, which then ends up in a small American town. Guess what... this intergalactic goo doesn't go down too well with us humans and, before long, the town is infested with alien zombies and mutant brain-slugs.

So, if you've seen one horror B-movie then you probably have a rough idea of what to expect here. The acting isn't that great. The plot is daft and the gore is plentiful. So, if you like that sort of thing, you'll have a blast here. Especially as the characters are actually pretty good fun. You often get cardboard cut-outs who you have to force yourself to follow through the story, just so you can get to the next special effects-laden splatterfest, but here they're well-written and rather humourous. Tom Atkins is about the most famous name on the cast - he plays the cop in charge of investigating the weird sightings/murders on campus, but the younger cast-members are all very watchable, too.

Because this was made in the eighties, all of us who like 'practical' effects, rather the computer-generated ones will have a blast at the fact that the brain slugs are beautifully animated and the aliens (for their albeit too small on-screen appearance) are up there with anything featured in 'Star Wars.' It's also quite a 'knowing' kind of film. Like 'Scream' did in the nineties, it - lovingly - mocks the genre it sits in and often nods towards the clichés you'd normally expect from film of this nature.

If you like films full of ridiculous, cheesy black comedy horror, then definitely check this one out. I can't believe I've only just discovered it in 2020 (at least something good has come out of this year!).

Wonderful, silly comedy/horror!

[l5rgm · 8/10 · 18 March 2004]

Viewing this particular film as a straight horror movie is a mistake. When I first saw this film (in 1989 or so) I thought it was a terrible horror movie and shut it off about half way through. I was under the impression it was a straight up zombie movie from the box art. There where some attempts at humor that fell flat. My problem was I was expecting "Dawn of the Dead" (or at least Day). On second enconter (around 1995) I laughed myself silly. I got the joke. The script is actually a joyous tribute to 50's-80's "B-Movies", Mad science, aliens, couples necking in a convertable (in black and white no less) and a catchphrase spewing hard boiled gumshoe. With out the preconceived notions I found this film quite charming. While not the best of the comedy/horror mix (Scream, American Werewolf in London...) this is a decent attempt at the cross-genre and best enjoyed with freinds.

"The Good News Is Your Dates Are Here, The Bad News Is THEY'RE DEAD!"

[gwnightscream · 6/10 · 29 February 2012]

Tom Atkins, Jason Lively, Jill Whitlow and Steve Marshall star in Fred Dekker's 1986 horror film. This begins with an infected alien releasing a dangerous experiment off a spaceship into space. In 1959, A college couple go on a date and run into a cop, Ray Cameron who is actually the girl's ex-boyfriend. They're told that an escaped killer is on the loose and should go home. Instead, they try to find a shooting star and the girl gets hacked up by the killer while her boyfriend gets infected by the alien experiment in the woods that's really the shooting star. In 1986, Two college buddies, Chris Romero (Lively) and J.C. Hooper (Marshall) attempt a pledge prank and find the infected teen who has been frozen for 27 years. Chris also meets Cynthia Cronenberg (Whitlow) while detective Cameron (Atkins) investigates the bodies. He thinks they might have something to do with the killer who murdered his ex-girlfriend and shot years ago. J.C. doesn't make it, but Chris learns that the slugs infect their hosts turning them into zombies. Soon, Chris, Ray and Cynthia fight against them and the zombies. I finally watched this a few years ago and liked it since. Atkins is great as usual and steals the film. I also like how the film makes references to famous directors and has a nice little mix of sci-fi & B-movie elements added. I recommend this fun, campy 80's horror flick.

Definitely one of the better B-movies!

[NathanielAOliver · 8 August 2004]

"Night of the Creeps" is definitely one of the better B-movies that are out there. Granted, like all B-movies it's a bit hokey at times, and also follows along the trademark lines with films of this caliber (obligatory boob shot, corny dialogue, poor camera techniques, etc.).

But give "Night of the Creeps" its due. First of all, it is fairly original for a B-movie. Alien slugs that infest the brain and turn you into a zombie may seem like a typical B-movie theme, but it's portrayed in a fairly unique manner. Given the time period of this movie's release, and it's obviously small budget, I'm quite impressed with the special-effects of the alien slugs as they race along the ground throughout the film. They're so simple, that it makes them look realistic and somewhat unnerving. In horror films, it is often the most simple effects that are the most discomforting to the viewer. I put these alien slugs along that line.

I really like Tom Atkins ("Lethal Weapon") as Detective Cameron too. He's the perfect actor for this particular role as the washed-up detective. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for Tom's career, it seems that he often got type-cast to play the depressed, on-edge characters. Atkins is one of the bonuses in this B-flick.

Another "acting bonus" would have to be our two young heroes played by Jason Lively ("European Vacation") and Jill Whitlow. Lively as always plays the young, likable clod. Somewhat bashful, somewhat moronic, somewhat accident-prone, but you can't help but like the guy. And Whitlow is just plain cute. I sometimes think that 80's flicks didn't have enough cute girls in them, but Whitlow is definitely one of them.

All in all, "Night of the Creeps" is good for a B-movie. It'll entertain you for sure, and you won't get sick of it while you're watching. It's definitely one to watch if you're into the B-movie thing.

Aliens, Slugs and Zombies

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 9 September 2015]

In 1959, an alien throws an experiment from his spaceship to the space and the capsule crashes on Earth. The college students Pam (Alice Cadogan) and Johnny (Ken Heron) are dating in a parking area nearby the location and believe it is a falling star. Steve decides to investigate, but they are warned by Pam's former boyfriend, the police officer Ray Cameron, that a maniac is killing people in that area with an ax. However Steve leaves Pam and walks in the woods looking for the star and a slug-like creature jumps into his mouth.

In 1986, the college students Chris (Jason Lively) and the disabled J.C. (Steve Marshall) are best friends and Chris has a crush on Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow), who is the girlfriend of the cocky Brad (Allan J. Kayser). They decide to join Brad's fraternity to impress Cynthia and Brad tells that they need to bring a corpse and leave in front of another fraternity. They go to the Med School Laboratory of the Corman University and find Johnny's body in a cryogenic chamber. They remove the corpse from the chamber but get scared and leave the body on the floor. However, Johnny leaves the laboratory and releases slugs that transform people into zombies. Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins) is in charge of the investigation and initially believes that it is a prank. But soon he realizes that the campus is crowded of zombies.

"Night of the Creeps" is a cult-movie by Fred Dekker with a funny story of aliens, slugs and zombies. This movie is a sort of comedy and tribute to the zombie, slasher and sci-fi genres. There are good performances, the make-up is great and the lead actress Jill Whitlow is cute. This film follows the formula of B-movie inclusive with many beautiful legs and breasts in the sorority house. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Noite dos Arrepios" ("The Night of the Creeps")

"What is this, a homicide or a bad B movie?"

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 5 December 2014]

College freshmen Chris and J.C. (Jason Lively, Steve Marshall) are trying to join a fraternity and are given the initiation challenge of stealing a body from the morgue. In attempting to do this, they unfreeze a cryogenically-frozen body that was inhabited by parasitic alien slugs in 1959. Now the alien slugs are free and attacking the college campus, turning people into zombies. After his friend is killed, Chris tries to stop the slugs & zombies with the help of a detective (Tom Atkins) whose tragic backstory ties into the alien attack in 1959.

This terrific '80s horror comedy from Fred Dekker is one of the most underrated movies from that decade. Steve Marshall is great fun as the handicapped best friend of 'the hero.' He gets many of the movie's best lines. Jason Lively and beautiful Jill Whitlow are both good. Allan Kayser (Bubba from "Mama's Family") is the Zabka-esque jock villain. The movie's highlight is Tom Atkins, who gives a memorable performance as the tough and sarcastic detective. The movie's filled with in-jokes and references that genre fans will enjoy. The movie itself is a sort of homage to classic B sci-fi/horror flicks of the '50s. By the way, in one scene Jill Whitlow is making cookies or something in the kitchen with her sorority sisters. She drops a wooden spoon and kicks it under the refrigerator. Then she picks it up and proceeds to put it right back in the bowl. Eww, how gross is that? That made me want to vomit far more than any of the movie's special effects! Give it a shot and I'm sure you'll agree it's great fun and years ahead of its time. Any movie with a Dick Miller cameo can't be that bad.

Underrated, too little known comedy horror gem

[BrandtSponseller · 10/10 · 21 February 2005]

After an "experiment" is accidentally released from a spaceship in a tube, it crashes on Earth where it infects a youth in the 1950s. Flash forward to the mid 1980s, and the youth is now cryogenically frozen in a university lab for study. At least until Chris Romero (Jason Lively) and J.C. Hooper (Steve Marshall) release him, and he begins infecting countless members of a small college town.

Director and writer Fred Dekker, who has had a lamentably short career as a helmer, wrote Night of the Creeps in seven days. He told himself that if he did not get to the end of the script by that self-imposed deadline, the whole thing would go into the garbage. If this is what one can come up with in such a flurry, maybe more scripts should have time limits. We should also be glad that he sold the script with a caveat: if he wasn't allowed to helm the film, he wasn't going to sell it. He's said that he didn't care if it sold or not at the time.

Why Dekker has received so little recognition and respect in the industry is difficult to say. Night of the Creeps didn't have the wide release and promotion that it deserved, especially given its $5 million budget (it's curious that TriStar didn't push more to make its money back). Both this film and Dekker's 1987 effort, The Monster Squad, are currently only available on bootleg DVDs in the U.S.

Night of the Creeps is one of the better horror/comedies of the 1980s. The script is clever, paying homage to everything from 1950s sci-fi horror to the zombie craze started by George Romero to 1980s slasher films and even John Hughes. Just in case one couldn't catch the homage angle, Dekker has a lot of character and place names that are tributes to various genre directors. Dekker's dialogue is witty and memorable--there are a few classic diatribes in the film that would be worthwhile and a lot of fun to memorize. Dekker's writing is self-conscious and self-mocking, predating Scream (1996) by 10 years (there is actually a whole class of 1980s and early 1990s flicks that were doing everything Scream was credited with revolutionizing). Dekker is not afraid to be joyously silly, as with genre character actor favorite Tom Atkins' response when asked if he's Detective Cameron--"No, Bozo the Clown". Dekker even gives us the 1980s high school classic of the hand-cranked middle finger.

But Night of the Creeps isn't just a comedy. The serious horror aspects of Night of the Creeps are extremely well done. The film is suspenseful, the effects are good, and there is plenty of gore for fans. Dekker could have easily made an effective retro horror film--most of the first five minutes are set in the 1950s, shot in black and white, and have an authentic feel, with just a dash of tongue in its cheek. He smoothly transitions from The Blob (1958) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)-styled sci-fi (with heavy Alien (1979) touches) to early 1980s slasher material, then to a more complex and fantastic collage of zombies, slugs and detectives seeking revenge.

While the film isn't likely to be appreciated by those who dislike mixing their horror with comedy, and especially won't be appreciated by viewers who don't even realize that it's supposed to also be a comedy, neither type is very likely to watch it in the first place--at least not for long. For those with the appropriate mindset and love of horror (it's a lot more fun if one is familiar with everything being referenced), Night of the Creeps is a gem that deserves better recognition. We should at least be able to buy it on an official DVD (and please put both endings on the disc).

It Came from the Lab - Frozen!

[BaronBl00d · 6/10 · 12 March 2005]

Fred Dekker directs this somewhat forgotten, low-budget horror spoof from the 80's. Dekker treats the material liberally and never tries to make the movie anything more than a fun B movie going for laughs. Although not always an easy thing to do, Dekker and his virtual cast of unknowns pulls it off rather nicely. The story begins with a wonderfully filmed flashback in the 1950's where we see something fall from the sky passing overhead the boys and girls parked at a "Lookout" type place. Unfortunately whilst this goes on, an ax murderer has escaped the asylum in that very vicinity. Now you might think what do these two things possibly have to do with each other, but Dekker the screenwriter pulls that off as well as the film jumps to the present 1980's and we meet two lovable(OK, maybe not so lovable) losers, one with a pair of crutches and cracking wise constantly and the other newly lovesick with a young lady he has just seen from across the street. To spin a long tale short - these two want to join a fraternity to impress the girl, are asked to throw a cadaver on another fraternity's lawn, find a cryogenetically frozen body(from the 50's that had met with what fell from the sky), and all havoc breaks out as parasites in the brain begin to throw themselves from the cadaver's mouth to the mouths of others. Aside from mentioning Night of the Living Dead by name, Dekker's use of his walking dead pays on obvious homage to horror-meister George Romero. The film creates some interesting characters while again never taking anything serious. Tom Atkins, the Carpenter guy, plays a police detective that lost his girl back in the 50's to the ax murderer, and while I initially felt like he was over doing things early on with his over-blown performance, I found it working shortly after and realized the B movie 50's style effect he was going for. He carries it off wonderfully, and for me was easily the brightest spot in the film. While Night of the Creeps does have humour throughout, there are some genuine scares, lots of gore, and sustained pacing and suspense. For a little budget movie like this, it appears a lot of TLC was put into it - and it shows. As for the rest of the cast, Jason Lively plays romeo and Steve Marshall the sidekick. Both are pretty decent, and female lead Jill Whitlow, while not a particularly good or bad actress, is a banquet for the eyes.

I think thats the Morton Salt Girl

[Cristopher_Jeorge · 10/10 · 21 November 2003]

For the genre, this film is outstanding. It has absolutely everything a horror film should. This includes a performance by Tom Atkins that is worthy of serious recognition. Zombies, exploding heads, creepy crawlies and a date for the formal. Like I said this ones got it all. Alien experiment is jettison from space and lands in Anytown USA where it releases a slug like creature that wants to get in your mouth and lay eggs in your brain. The movie begins black and white set in the early 60s, which is an awesome touch by the way, and then jumps ahead to the mid eighties where were treated to a sorority gals, frat nazis, a couple of pledge geeks(our heroes), Tom Atkins cop on the edge(who delivers some of the best lines in cinema history,i.e."Duck! It's Miller Time!" Exploding heads aplenty, flamin'zombies, a great lawnmower kill, zombie cat, zombie dog, a parapelegic whos faster on crutches then his able friend, and a hilarious janitor who has only one repeating line. NOTC is everything you want from a film, a perfect 10!

This movie has everything!

[damianphelps · 7/10 · 6 September 2020]

What a classic sci-fi, zombie movie. A fun story with pretty good special effects and some genuine laughs.

This is a really good movie that should entertain most B movie fans. The scariest part of the movie was watching 80's dance moves (gave me chills)!!

Have a great time with this one!

A very empty 80's horror dud

[Robert_duder · 3/10 · 1 September 2015]

The 80's for the horror genre was vital. It essentially gave birth to the slasher genre, low budget film making, gore and campy fun. There are as many classics as there are horribly done knock offs. Night of The Creeps is generally considered one of those campy classics so I eagerly decided to watch it. All I can say is...womp womp...there was very little likable about this. I can handle campy, I love a good classic campy film but this was just dumb. Its part zombie, part monster and part downright ridiculous. The characters are completely empty and forgettable and you never feel like the heroes are heroes at all. The romance is ridiculous and does nothing to further the story. It just doesn't make you feel anything. The special effects are okay and the story is certainly simple enough. Maybe part of the problem is that we have seen this premise before and so much better.

Jason Lively, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow are our three "heroes." I'm not sure I blame them on really bad performances or just the empty writing of their characters. They aren't likable at all and they have no chemistry with each other. I suppose Lively is redeemable as the geeky, reluctant hero but barely. The one character that they could have done something with was Ray Cameron played by Tom Atkins. He's the tough as nails, grizzled cop type that could have been focused on as the hero but he is played as a joke and too campy so he is wasted in the story.

Fred Dekker seems to have some sort of cult following due to this film and Monster Squad but outside of that and basically making the worst Robocop film he doesn't seem to have a whole lot of experience of vision as a director. I think this was an opportunity for them to make a violent, goofy, zombie/monster flick for next to nothing and turn a profit. I really had to push myself to get through this and with the exception of a few, a very very few watchable moments, this was barely acceptable. Definitely wouldn't bother with this when there is so much better 80's Horror fare out there. 3/10

"...Screaming like, Banshees!!"

[Sommerset · 10/10 · 17 November 2003]

Wow! I must say that I grew up in the 80's, and had never before heard of this film when it came out, initially. My guess would be that it played in very brief, limited release, or was a product of a "straight-to-video" release. In either case, a tragedy. I discovered this film, late one night, while watching Cinemax. I saw that it was from 1986, and starred Jason Lively, who I vaguely remembered from National Lampoon's European Vacation. I never gave much of a second thought to his performance in that film, but he was surprisingly decent here. Since I am an avid Horror film fan, and this was a product of the 80's that I was not at all familiar with, it picqued my curiosity. So, I decided to give this one a try, and am so glad that I chose to do so. What a refreshing little gem this was to discover. I can't believe I had never heard anything about it before, one way or another. A great little "B-movie", that does not take itself too seriously. This film has it all: terrific writing, impressive acting, (especially Tom Atkins), zombies, creepy slugs, an ax-murderer, aliens, fraternity studs, sorority babes, as well as, lovable lonely dorks. This would make an excellent double feature, along with Re-Animator. I only hope that this film will, one day, get to see the light of day, and be given a royal DVD release, (hint, hint, Anchor Bay). Do not miss an opportunity to see this one, if you can.

It has aliens, zombies, ax wielding maniac, creepy creatures, mutated pets, flame throwers n an officer obsessed with his 12-guage.

[Fella_shibby · 7/10 · 2 December 2018]

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs. Revisted it recently. Found the creatures creepy then but now found the effects towards the end scene shoddy n laughable. Wonder wher the actress, Jill Whitlow disappeared man. She was attractive in this film n her nude scene was only ther for a few secs man. The plot is about some stuff landing on the earth from the alien spacecraft. The era is black n white n while a couple is hanging around in their car, we get to hear that some ax wielding maniac is on the loose. The things from the fallen object enters a person's mouth n they lay eggs inside the brain causing the person to become a zombie. Sounds creepy uh but I wud have preferred the ax wielding maniac anyday for horror effects. One fella with the creatures inside his brain is cryopreserved for almost 20 years n once the cryopreserved guy is taken out from the cryogenic engine, things turn ugly. The silly thing is that the creatures once they enter the brain r able to revive dead people as zombies but the burnt police officer jus lays dead n emits the creatures. Why he didn't revive was a bouncer to me. Nonetheless, it was a good horror flick for those days n currently nostalgic for fellas like me who grew up in the 80s n 90s.

Thrill me!

[paulclaassen · 5/10 · 9 July 2020]

The 80's brought us the horror films titled 'Night of the Comet' in 1984,'Night of the Creeps' in 1986, and 'Night of the Demons' in 1988. The movies are not related, despite the similar titles. Of the three, 'Night of the Creeps' is by far the better of the three - but that's not necessarily saying much.

All the stereotypical characters are here: the nerds, the hunks, the bullies, the love interest girl, the ignorant security guards, the silly humor... There's also the scared by a cat cliche. They try so hard to be funny, it's laughable - and that's not funny! The Americans like to laugh when they watch a movie - even horrors (I'll never understand Americans...). Maybe I should lighten up, right, and enjoy a comedy horror. But, if I want to laugh, I'll watch a comedy.

On a positive note, I really enjoyed the bond between friends Chris and J.C. and I enjoyed Chris' character development. The final act delivered some thrills and suspense, and I enjoyed all the chaos. So, wait, is this an alien movie or a zombie movie? Is it sci-fi, comedy, or horror? And you'd better watch out for those slugs...!

'Night of the Creeps' should be viewed lightheartedly, then you might be entertained. This will go down well at a movie night with a bunch of creepy friends...

Would I watch it again? Probably not.

Now This - Is Something To See

[XFA · 1 September 2003]

This movie is so super cool. I love this movie. Even though the stars are like second - billing , this movie is still like no other - its original all in it's own right. Had to be a drive - in film from the looks of the release date. Wish I seen it there! If you have a slug in you , on you or around you - to say the least - you're totally bumming. 80s comedy - horror at its best. Makes you laugh and scares you into jumping out of your seat. Spooky. Funny and different make this a favorite of mine...and maybe yours! I rate this 9 / 10

Fun horror comedy for B-movie fans

[tomgillespie2002 · 6/10 · 31 December 2018]

Fred Dekker's Night of the Creeps is only of many 80's horror movies that failed to find much of an audience upon its initial release, but has gathered a cult following over the subsequent years through scuzzy VHS tapes passed between fans and late-night showings on cable TV. It's now available on near enough every format, so you have no excuse not to check out this endearing little gem, especially if you're a fan of genre film-making and movies of the 80s in general. Dekker, who made his debut here and would go on to direct The Monster Squad and Robocop 3, is clearly a fan of horror movies and blends many of his favourite influences into the increasingly gory events. The result is a blast for fans, who'll enjoy spotting the name-drops amongst the various characters and the way it sticks closely to the rules of the genre. Yet Night of the Creeps can also feel like a bunch of your favourite movies re-arranged and plastered together to form an admittedly fun 90 minutes.

In the 1950s, an alien craft carrying slug-like creatures crashes down to Earth. At a nearby lover's lane, a boy heads out into the woods to investigate and comes across a canister, which naturally explodes in his face and unleashes the squirmy extra-terrestrials, one of which makes its way inside the unsuspecting boy orally. The girl, who is left behind in the car, meets an unfortunate demise at the hands of an escaped serial killer before a rookie cop blows the mad man away. Fast-forward to 1986, and teenager Chris Romero (Jason Lively) wants desperately to hook up with sorority girl Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow). Backed by his best friend J.C. (Steve Marshall), the clueless twosome figure that the only way to impress Cynthia is to join a fraternity. To enter the Beta Epsilon fraternity - which is headed by Cynthia's douchebag of a boyfriend - Chris and J.C. are tasked with stealing a corpse from the nearby medical centre and placing it front of a sorority house. They break in easily enough, but what awaits them is the cryogenically frozen body of the unfortunate boy from the opening scene. Naturally, the cadaver escapes, and soon enough the town is overrun with zombies and giant slugs looking for a host.

There's a real energy and spirit to Dekker's film that is lacking from many low-budget horror movies from the same era, but what drags the movie down is a lack of any original ideas of its own. While there's fun to be had with spotting references to other (and better) films (Dick Miller even shows up for an obligatory cameo), this can often feel like a lazy way to patch up the lack of anything fresh. They also missed a trick by relegating beaten-down detective Cameron (Tom Atkins) to a supporting character. He has all the best lines and Atkins is clearly enjoying himself in the role, so you can only wonder how better the film would have been if our guide was an emotionally-scarred and wise-cracking old dog rather than a couple of sad-sack horny teenagers looking to impress a girl. That said, Night of the Creeps delivers exactly what its target audience - those still awake in the early hours - requires, and manages to round-up practically everything that is charming about low-budget 80's B-movies, even touching on the teen sex comedies made popular by the likes of Porky's. It perfectly sets itself up for a sequel before its box-office returns put a quick end to that idea, but it's never too late.

Creeps and Geeks

[Warlock72 · 6/10 · 6 April 2024]

The handicapped nerd and his best friend (Jason Lively) are the lead characters. In 1992, the movie Hellmaster copied this formula, but the story there was satanic possession not alien slugs. The Hidden also had alien slugs in 1987, and that was a fun movie too.

The critters originally came to America in 1957, and the first and only infected teenager was put into cryogenic stasis. That lasted until the local fraternity wanted to do a Halloween prank, and the lab tech (David Paymer) let the zombie out of the tube.

From there is just slugs running around the campus, and infected zombies (sluggers) trying to infect more people. It is never clear what the slugs goal is, or what the point of the invasion is. They just go into people and turn them into creeps, and it is up to the good guys to burn them up with a flame thrower. Tom Atkins plays the lead detective, helping Lively and his girlfriend (Jill Whitlow) wipe out the invaders.

There is a fair amount of black humor. Most of it reflects the 1980s era, so it is kind of stale. The pace is pretty fast, so it is an easy movie to enjoy.

Fun 1980s comedy horror, a gem, watch it and enjoy!!

[joiningjt · 8/10 · 16 September 2020]

This is a comedy horror gem!! Its corny its campy its 1980s its awesome!! Dont take it serious because you can't it's a fricking comedy horror!! I laughed a lot, I saw this way back in 1988 and enjoyed it then on VHS now I own the bluray it's in my must watch once a year collection. Like I said dont over judge and you'll enjoy this 1980s romp!!

Thrill us Detective!

[gedikreverdi · 7/10 · 25 August 2021]

I'm not a huge fan of zombie horror comedies and this films has a few flaws to be honest but I enjoyed watching the fraternity members turning into zombies with the slugs in their brains and going to the sorority house to meet their dates for the formal night. Chris and JC was fun and JC was definitely the better actor so I wish he was the one who got to date Cindy (who's also a quite bad actor). The detective whose lover was killed by a lunatic on the very night her boyfriend got killed by the slugs. The detective went after the deranged killer with an ax and killed him and buried him in a lot where the sorority mother's cottage is now. He revived and killed the old woman and the detective killed him again. Cindy and Chris went on a zombie hunt with a gun and a flamethrower. The detective sacrificed himself to blow up the huge slug heap in the basement of the sorority house.

A Brilliant,Entertaining Sci/Fi/Horror/Comedy And A Wonderful Cult Classic.

[jcbutthead86 · 10/10 · 10 July 2013]

Night Of The Creeps is a brilliant and very entertaining Horror film that Sci-Fi/Horror/Comedy that combines great direction,a wonderful cast,a well-written screenplay,great special effects and a memorable soundtrack. All of those combinations make Night Of The Creeps one of the best Horror films of the 1980s and a Cult Classic.

Night Of The Creeps tells the story of two college students Chris(Jason Lively)and J.C(Steve Marshall)who are asked to pull a prank by a college fraternity by taking out a cadaver,that's been frozen since 1959,and put it on the ground of a rival fraternity. Unfortunately,the Cadaver is still alive because it contains Alien Zombie slugs from outer space that are let loose on the college campus and posses people one by one. Now Chris and J.C with the help of Chris' Dream girl Cynthia(Jill Whitlow)and Police Detective Ray Cameron(Tom Atkins)the four have to the stop the possessed zombies and save the campus.

Night Of The Creeps is easily one of the best,most memorable and entertaining Horror films of the 1980s that unfortunately wasn't a big hit when it came out in 1986 because Night Of The Creeps didn't get a nationwide theatrical release but instead got a limited release grossing $591,366 not even making back it's 5 million dollar budget. But thankfully Night Of The Creeps has become a Cult Classic and for a good reason it's a great genre film. One of the reasons Night Of The Creeps is such a great Horror film is because writer-director Fred Dekker has taken his love for Horror and SCI-FI B-Movies and has put in this film making a movie that is scary,funny and at times campy and not straying away from it's purpose of making a Horror film that is clever and slick. The Comedy and Humor in this film is hilarious because NOTC makes fun of the B-movie trademarks of the Horror and SCI-FI films of the 1950s and 60s whether it's the Alien Zombies,the style of the characters or the funny dialog that is quotable and memorable. The Comedy in this film Pre-dates the Post Modern Humor of Scream because like Scream would do ten years later in 1996 Creeps would do as well making fun of classic Horror films while at the same time paying homage and making reference to them. What also makes NOTC post modern is how the college and main characters are named after notable genre directors such as John Carpenter,Wes Craven,George A Romero,Roger Corman(the university is named Corman University),David Cronenberg,Tobe Hooper,James Cameron,Sam Raimi,John Landis,and Steve Miner. NOTC was so ahead of it's time in terms of it's style. While NOTC is very funny the film still remembers it's a Horror film and NOTC has a few scary and suspenseful moments done are done with great build up and surprises and shocks that will have most viewers jumping from their seats. The four main characters in the NOTC Chris,J.C,Cynthia and Detective Ray Cameron are great because while the characters archetypes(nerds,girl next door,tough police detective)all four of them have great depth and likability and you don't want anything bad to happen to them. Where most Horror films have some characters that are just waiting to get killed off and wiped off the face of the earth,Chris,J.C,Cynthia and Ray Cameron are so great to watch you as a viewer want them to survive and save the day. The screenplay by Fred Dekker is truly wonderful, fantastic,funny,well-written and quotable with Dekker giving the main and supporting characters dialog that is witty and smart with a lot great,funny moments and amazing lines. The violence,blood and gore in the film is well-done an disgusting at times but not disgusting enough to be dark and bleak because the film never takes itself too seriously. Now if there is something that will confuse viewers when they watch the film is the ending because there is two different endings. There is the theatrical release ending which is the jump scare ending and director Fred Dekker's preferred ending which is ambiguous,funny leaves an open ended conclusion. Personally,I like both endings to the film because I love jump scares at the end of Horror films but at the same time I love endings that are ambiguous,open ended and leave you with questions. Both endings are different but don't stop Night Of The Creeps from being a classic that it is.

The whole cast is amazing. Jason Lively is excellent as Chris Romero,the hero of the film,with Lively bringing depth and likability to the role. Steve Marshall is great and funny as J.C(James Carpenter Hooper),Chris' best friend,with Marshall saying funny lines. Jill Whitlow is fantastic and beautiful as Cynthia Cronenberg,Chris's love interest. Tom Atkins is brilliant and unforgettable as Detective Ray Cameron,with Atkins bringing toughness,humor and saying memorable one-liners. Allan J. Kayser is wonderful as Brad,Cynthia's jerk boyfriend. Also lookout for cameos from Roger Corman and genre veteran Dick Miller(Walt)and David Paymer(Young Scientist).

The direction by Fred Dekker is excellent,with Dekker always moving the camera with great low and high angles,zooms and close ups and bringing a great style,tone and pace to the film. Wonderful direction by Dekker.

The score by Barry De Vorozen is fantastic,creepy and intense and matches the tone of the film. Great score,De Vorozen. There is also great songs from The Platters(Smoke Gets In Your Eyes),The Diamonds(The Stroll),Sandy Nelson(Teen Beat),Paul Anka(Put your Head On My Shoulder),Preston Epps(Bongo Rock),Stan Ridgeway(The Big Heat,Drive,She Said and much more. Great soundtrack.

The special make-up effects by David B. Miller are outstanding,bloody and very realistic and add to the film. Fantastic effects by Miller.

In final word,if you love Horror Films SCI-FI films,Cult Films or genre films in general,I highly suggest you see Night Of The Creeps,a scary and funny Horror film and a wonderful Cult Classic that deserves to be in every Horror and genre fans collection. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

What is this? A homicide, or a bad B-movie?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 20 October 2015]

Not exactly what you would call an unknown horror comedy, but there is the distinct feeling that it should be better known. As its cult fan base will attest, this is blast of a movie, a homage to the "B" schlockers of lore. Directed by Fred Dekker, the premise sees some alien beings eject a flask of alien slugs down to earth, which lands at a fraternity campus, something which cause mayhem some years later when a frozen body is disturbed at the medical lab and the slugs are unleashed. Cue infestation that turns people into zombies!

The pic plays up to the clichés of fraternity based movies, with nerds and nudity on tap, all smothered in a gooey horror comedy sauce. One-liners are ripe, the characterisations also, the latter of which fronted by a glorious Tom Atkins as a hard drinking hard - boiled detective with issues and quips ready to be poured out. It's not genius film making, but given the low budget it deserves its cult status, because it never pauses for breath and it's very aware of what it wants to be - and crucially who its target audience is. 7/10

A night like every other.

[Jacques98 · 1/10 · 6 April 2009]

With about 70% of older horror films, it's honestly hard for me to tell what "horror" films were meant to be comedy, and which were meant to scare me. Because the 70s were loaded with laugh-out-loud unintentional cheese films like Phantasm and The Omen, it's certainly not hard to see the natural evolution of horror films in the 80s. The 80s shifted from horror films intending to scare to horror films intending to make people laugh. Instead of trying to scare people with clichés, 80s horror took clichés and made people laugh at their predictability. Sadly, after you've seen this laugh-at-the-thing-that-would-have-scared-you-in-the-70s formula repeated over and over again, it stopped being funny really quickly, not to mention became as predictable as the movies it parodied. I've literally seen hundreds of 80s horror-comedies, and of them all, I can only pick out one or two that was genuinely funny or entertaining. The Evil Dead, for example, understood how to be genuinely comedic and still retain the horror elements. Night of the Creeps, however, is just . . . the same thing.

If you've seen any 80s horror comedy, you've seen Night of the Creeps. Yes, it has a few comedic moments that set it apart from the crowd for a few seconds, but they're few and far between. The Star Wars parody in the opening was pretty clever, but after that Night of the Creeps just becomes like all the other 80s horror-comedies. It repeats the same lines, same pseudo-scares, same jokes, same clichés, same plot, same EVERYTHING.

The main character is romantically challenged—really, who would have guessed? Have you ever seen an 80s horror-comedy where the main character is anything BUT a romantically/sexually challenged male? Over 90% of the movie is absolutely nothing but this cliché kid trying to figure out his pathetic relationship problems. It isn't funny, it's boring. I've seen the plot before in everything from 60s sitcoms to Dear Abby columns in the local newspaper. I can really care less.

When the action starts, it's just a bunch of generic head-shots, then the movie goes right back to the boring, cliché dork drama. The "gore" is all done in PG-style cut-off scenes, so don't even expect any on-screen blood to make the movie more enjoyable. It starts out as a painfully forgettable movie, then quickly turns into a movie that I literally could not force myself to watch again.

What else is there to say? If you grew up in the 80s, I can understand how this film may be nostalgic to you. I won't rain on your parade. If you watched this with youthful innocence as a kid, I'm not going to rain on your starry-eyed nostalgic parade. However, if you didn't grown up in the 80s, you'll have seen this material literally thousands of times in other 80s films and in the countless return-to-fun-horror films of the 2000s. By today's standards, Night of the Creeps is little more than a TV-PG-rated Disney Channel movie.

0/10

A MASTERPIECE OF 80'S PULP HORROR! WATCH IT IF YOU DARE!

[Analog_Devotee · 10/10 · 28 April 2021]

Fred Dekker's NIGHT OF THE CREEPS is seriously some top shelf 80's pulp horror. Great characters across the board, an exciting and unique premise, some snappy one-liners and an all around great time. Funny, charming, and utterly terrifying horror flick. It doesn't get much better than this.

Hilarious Zombie Comedy

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 7/10 · 10 September 2009]

Fred Dekker's "Night of the Creeps" of 1986 is a hilarious Zombie satire that enjoys an enormous cult-status among many Horror fans. The film is regarded by some as an absolute cult-favorite of the 80s and sometimes even compared with highlights such as "The Evil Dead" or "Re-Animator". While my personal opinion is that this little gem cannot possibly compete with "The Evil Dead" or "Re-Animator" (Both personal all-time favorites of mine), it is beyond doubt that any Horror lover with a sense of humor will have a blast watching this.

The film begins with a hilarious opening sequence in space (and the funniest-looking aliens I've ever seen) and continues with a black-and-white prologue set in 1959. At the same time that a murderous psychopath is on the loose, a part of an alien experiment falls out of a spaceship and hits earth. Near Corman (!) University, a guy is befallen by extraterrestrial slugs and hence turned into a zombie. In 1986, two nerds break into a scientific facility and accidentally unfreeze the poor fellow, releasing the zombie-making slugs... The film is great fun to watch from the beginning to the end. Some people seem to regard this as one of the rarities that are funny AND scary at the same time. Well, scary is something different, in my opinion, but the fun-part is hilarious, and the film enjoyably relies on cool make-up, nicely-done gore effects, a nice atmosphere, eccentric characters, macabre humor and memorably funny dialog. The performances are good, legendary B-Movie star and super-badass Tom Atkins shines as the tough cop, Jill Withlow is yummy in the female lead. Jason Lively and Steve Marshall are very believable as the nerdy protagonists, and the film even features a cameo appearance by Horror/B-Movie legend Dick Miller ("A Bucket of Blood",...). Many of the characters have a tribute as their name: Detective Landis, Ray Cameron, Cynthia Cronenberg, Sgt. Raimi, Corman University, etc. Overall this is a hilarious and extremely entertaining little film that every Horror fan should enjoy. Highly Recommended.

Mildly entertaining 80's horror trash...

[Aussie Stud · 6/10 · 6 March 2001]

This movie has all the right elements and themes for an 80's horror movie. It combines semi-naked girls, bad hairstyles, hilarious fashions, a college prom (mind you, we never get to see this) and a hilarious soundtrack that seems to have gathered Men At Work-sound-a-likes and the main theme which appears to have been recorded directly from a synthesizer!

The movie starts off in the 1950's where a young man and his date decide to investigate a grounded unidentified flying object which has come to rest in the middle of a forest. While the boyfriend investigates, he leaves his girlfriend in the car who manages to get herself hacked to pieces by a recent asylum-escapee wielding an axe (complete with a strait-jacket!). If this sub-plot doesn't sound formulaic already, the boyfriend investigates the UFO where a 'slug-like' creature shoots into his mouth (reminiscent of David Cronenberg's also-hilarious "Shivers").

Cut to the next scene and we're in the 1980s. One of the most homeliest guys ever to be passed off as a hero wants to ask this girl out who also happens to be dating the most popular boy on campus. Our hero has a funny little sidekick (complete with a set of crutches) who has a witty comment to make every 2 seconds. The two guys think that the best way to get this girl out on a date is to join her boyfriend's fraternity. The only task they have to complete to join the fraternity is to steal a corpse from the science labs. Of course, when they enter the laboratory (which is supposed to be under maximum hi-tech security), they stumble through an open door while the on-duty scientist is busy making a phonecall and discover a body in a cryogenics chamber. The laboratory has a lot of consoles and funny flashing lights (reminiscent to the consoles on the set of Battlestar Galactica). Of course, there is a big red button on the wall that says "deregulate" and whaddya know. Before you know it, the body is released from the chamber. Little do the two guys know that the body is the boyfriend from the 1950s chapter of the movie and that he is not dead at all.

Cut to the next scene, our two heroes run screaming from the laboratory and our dead friend is shooting a slug from his mouth into the mouth of the scientist, seconds before his head explodes even more slugs. The slugs apparently control the brain (much like "The Puppetmasters") and use the brain and body as an incubating chamber to breed more slug-like creatures and when manifesting, explode from the cranium in a shower of blood and gore.

The rest of the movie basically feeds off dead plots like "Night Of The Living Dead" and "The Pod People". Person runs into dead person. Slug goes into mouth. Person becomes dead person. There are a lot of plot holes. There is no explanation as to why the boyfriend from the 1950s was in a cryogenics chamber in the first place. Why he didn't attack the person(s) who found him and why being frozen stopped the slugs in his brain. According to the slugs, it doesn't matter if you're crippled from the waist down or dead even. They know how to control the body.

Some of the best scenes involve the resurrection of the asylum-escapee from the 1950s, an axe through the head of the sorority house mother, a dead dog who infects a busload of dead frathouse prom dates and a vengeful cop who takes it upon himself to destroy the slugs in the basement of a house with a drum of kerosene and his trusty cigar. (Watch what happens to him at the end!)

The film's weakest points is the story's hero. You won't find yourself sympathising with him or his sidekick much. The film's heroine is just another cardboard cut out of a ditzy brunette who doesn't know how to operate a flame thrower (like who doesn't!!). There is one scene where the story's hero and the girl he loves gets trapped in a garden shed. The scene is so pathetic, you don't know whether you should be angry at the fact that she didn't blast the zombies with the flame thrower before going into the shed, or the fact that our hero decides to run over a zombie's head with a lawnmower after he has been told that the only way the slugs will die is by fire. Neither of these two characters have much common sense.

Which brings me to the conclusion of my comment on this movie. Watch it for laughs only. If you try to treat this semi-serious like one of those "well maybe it *could* happen" scenarios, you will only be fooling yourself. Try not to rent it on video. Try to catch it late at night on television. It pops up every now and then. Just be warned that you won't see any signs of Mulder, Scully or Doggett making any cameos.

6/10