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.
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.