Creepshow (1982)

Tagline: The most fun you’ll ever have BEING SCARED!

Curiosity: It’s a mash-up from Stephen King and George A. Romero (You might know him from a zombie movie or two or three).

Plot: Set up as a tribute to the horror comics of yesteryear, Creepshow opens on a little boy (King’s own son Joe, who now writes the pretty awesome Locke & Key series) getting yelled at by his dad (Tom Atkins, Night of the Creeps. He’s also one of several cast members to show up from The Fog) for reading trashy comics like, well, Creepshow. After Atkins throw out the first issue, the film jumps into a series of horror vignettes.

Thoughts: While it could never be considered a major work from any of the cast or crew, Creepshow is still a charming little horror movie. Compared to today’s standards, ’80s horror movies, or even just Romero’s work alone, it’s tame in the gore ‘n’ violence area. But King’s script crackles with humor, lending the film a lot of extra appeal. He also turns in a hilarious performance as a yokel who finds a meteor. Much has been written about King’s acting being subpar at best, embarrassing at worst, but I honestly thought his bug-eyed overacting actually suited the material. Plus, it’s Stephen freaking King. If the author of Carrie, Cujo, and The Eyes of the Dragon wants to ham it up, so be it.

Despite running two hours, Creepshow keeps moving at a fine pace, jumping from one macabre tale to the next. The strongest of the bunch is clearly “Something to Tide You Over,” in which Leslie Nielsen takes revenge on Ted Danson for stealing his wife. It comes right after King’s bit, so it’s a refreshing antidote to all the overacting. The two thespians strike a nice balance between drama and humor, which is exactly what the film overall set out to achieve. Of course, I’m fond of the closing skit, “They’re Creeping Up on You,” in which Romero’s good friend Tom Savini gets to cut loose some creepy effects.

Reflection: Honestly, I could see myself using this to ease my kids into the horror genre.