Zombies

 

Creepshow (1982) 

A five story anthology film, plus a wraparound segment about a father (Tom Atkins) who finds his son’s creepy comics and reacts abusively.  The stories:

• Father’s Day—A family reunion on Father’s Day looks grim when a long dead relative shows up.

• Lonesome Death of Jordy Verill—A country bumpkin (Stephen King) finds a meteorite and foolishly touches it.

• Something to Tide You Over—A possessive husband (Leslie Nielsen) confronts his wife’s lover (Ted Danson).

• The Crate—At a small college, submissive professor (Hal Holbrook) dreams of ridding himself of his obnoxious wife (Adrienne Barbeau) while a colleague opens a mysterious crate.

• They’re Creeping Up on You—A cruel corporate executive, living in a germ-free apartment, finds his home infested by cockroaches.

A collaboration by Director George A. Romero and writer Stephen King, Creepshow captures the gruesome, darkly humorous flavor of the EC Comics of the '50s.  Now, more of a historical curiosity, comics like Crypt of Terror, Shock Illustrated, Vault of Horror, and Tales from the Crypt, captivated kids and dismayed their parents.  A congressional investigation and the creation of The Comics Code Authority killed off these magazines and kept the world a wholesome place.  Gosh the '50s were keen.

Like those old comics, the stories in Creepshow tend to be simple revenge tales—far too simple.  Romero puts a bit of fun in each segment, using transitions reminiscent of a comic book, but there isn’t enough meat.  Short films can be very effective at conveying a single idea, but several of these stories lack even a solitary concept.  The first is a good example.  Father’s Day has no story.  It’s just a zombie walking in and killing some people.  That’s it. 

The second, while more fun due to King’s overacting (the writing world doesn’t need to fear him switching careers), simply has a man become infected from a meteorite.  He doesn’t do anything about it nor does anything happen beyond the growth of the infection.

The third section, at least, has a story, even if every second of it is obvious from the start.  It also varies from the first two which were in the “good fun” category.  Something to Tide You Over is serious and nasty.  It’s too cruel to be much fun to watch as it marches to its inevitable climax.

The Crate is the best of the bunch, though it is yet another revenge story.  There is a touch of tension, some well placed laughs, and real satisfaction.  It doesn’t amount to much, but it’s worth the time.

The final story is as insignificant as the first two as a man who hates bugs finds a lot of them in his supposedly sterile apartment.  Bugs appear and he yelps and squishes them. That’s it.  No more meaning or point than that.

Since Creepshow was released, a number of similarly toned, comic book inspired, horror, anthology TV shows popped up and died off.  The most successful of these was Tales from the Crypt, though I was always partial to Monsters.  Creepshow feels like a pilot for these shows, but makes for a slightly better viewing experience due to the brevity of the segments.

The film can fit on several of my lists, but with two of the tales involving shambling undead, it belongs first with the zombies.

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