Creepshow (1982)

Inspired by the pulpy horror fiction of EC Comics, 1982’s Creepshow pairs director George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead) with first-time screenwriter Stephen King. If that combination of talent wasn’t enough to make a horror fan happy, make-up artist Tom Savini contributes his skills as well. King penned five short stories and an additional wraparound narrative. Keeping with the spirit of the film’s comic origins, the stories all have a twisted sense of humor.

The film opens with a young boy being berated by his father for reading a horror comic called, appropriately enough, Creepshow. The father, played by Tom Atkins, tosses the comic in the garbage. As the camera follows the magazine into the trash, the pages become animated and the first story’s panels appear.

“Father’s Day” tells the story of a family gathered to celebrate an annual dinner date at the Grantham estate. Sylvia Grantham (Carrie Nye,) tells her remaining family members, including her nephew, Richard, niece, Cass, and Cass’ new husband, Hank, about their Great Aunt Bedelia (Viveca Lindfors.) Apparently, Bedelia murdered her father after being driven to madness by his endless badgering. Fittingly enough, she killed him on Father’s Day, which they’ve marked with the dinner for the last seven years. This year, however, a new guest attends the party.

The second tale, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” is based on King’s short story, “Vines.” King himself plays country bumpkin Jordy Verrill, who discovers a meteor has landed on his property. Inspecting the crash site, Jordy imagines that he can sell the remnants of the meteor to pay off his $200 bank loan. Unfortunately for Jordy, touching the meteor sets off a chain reaction that he didn’t see coming.

Leslie Nielsen and Ted Danson star in “Something to Tide You Over,” a story of a jilted husband who gets revenge on his wife’s lover in a slowly torturous way. Nielsen plays Richard Vickers, the millionaire who always gets what he wants. Danson plays the other man and the victim. Vickers, however, may not have the last laugh.

“The Crate,” the longest of the five stories, revolves around the discovery of a hidden box stored in a university basement. When a janitor finds the crate, which is marked as being from 1834, under a stairway, he summons Professor Dexter Stanley (Fritz Weaver.) The pair of them open the box and find its contents to be very hungry. Professor Stanley’s best friend, Professor Henry Northrup (Hal Holbrook,) uses this information to his advantage.

The final story is “They’re Creeping Up on You!” in which a germaphobe, played by E.G. Marshall, has to contend with an ever-growing invasion of cockroaches in his hermetically-sealed penthouse.

Anthology films depend on each of the stories to keep a forward momentum going and, thankfully, those found in Creepshow are entertaining, moderately grisly, and appropriately goofy enough to be worth watching. It’s a hoot to see early performances from Ed Harris and Ted Danson. The stylized visuals fit with the comic book aesthetic and the acting suits the campy atmosphere.

Creepshow may not be wholly memorable but its combination of horror and humor makes for good Halloween party viewing.