The October Zombie-Thon 2009 - Day 30: Night of the Creeps
Posted by Trevor Snyder on 10.30.2009
At long last...it's Miller time!
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)
Written & Directed by: Fred Dekker
Country: USA
I've actually wanted to review Night of the Creeps since starting the Zombie-Thon back in 2006, but have always refrained because of its official unavailability on DVD. I didn't want to talk up a movie only to then have readers unable to find it (that's not to say the movie was impossible to find on DVD, if you knew where to look – but I would never ever condone that sort of behavior….nu-uh, not me). Thankfully, Sony's brand new Special Edition release has righted one of the all-time horror DVD wrongs. Night of the Creeps is back, and I can finally take a look at easily one of the best – and most under-appreciated – zombie comedies of all time. And that's not just the alien slug in my brain talking.
Seeing as how much of the film is a loving tribute to the corny sci-fi and horror films of the ‘50s, it's only appropriate that the story kicks off in 1959, when a couple of college students out for a night of heavy necking are interrupted by both a strange canister falling from outer space and an axe-wielding maniac. Worst…date…ever. I'm not really sure who gets it worse – the girl, who is chopped to pieces by the maniac, or the guy, who has a strange alien slug jump into his mouth. Let's just agree that neither meet pleasant fates.
The story then jumps to 1986, during pledge week at Corman University. Fans of ‘80s fashion, ‘80s music, and ‘80s everything else will probably have a ball with this film, which from here on out serves as a nice time-capsule of that particular era. Anyway, amidst all the on-campus partying, two lovable losers named Chris (Jason Lively) and J.C. (Steve Marshall) are out and about, looking for fun. When Chris notices Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow), he is instantly convinced she is the girl of his dreams. But, given that she's a sorority girl, he believes the only way she will even give him the time of day is if he joins a frat.
Showing the true mark of a good, patient friend, J.C. agrees to join Chris in pledging the Beta fraternity. The frat, knowing two gullible nerds when they see them, sends the boys out on a mission to dump a cadaver onto a rival frat's doorstep. This sends Chris and J.C. to the school's medical building, where they happen to discover a cryogenic chamber holding the corpse of the young man killed in the prologue. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that this is going in a bad direction. Sure enough, the corpse is soon also out and about and looking for fun. That's pretty bad, but it gets even worse when he winds up outside Cynthia's window, where his head explodes, spilling out hundreds of those little parasitic alien bastards. It isn't long before the entire sorority house is under attack by slug-controlled zombies. Luckily, Chris, J.C., Cynthia won't be alone in battling these undead fiends. They're joined by the eternally grouchy, world-weary Detective Ray Cameron (the show-stealing Tom Atkins), who's got to rank up there with Ash as one of the coolest heroes in cult-horror history. That his reoccurring "thrill me" phone greeting didn't become a huge catchphrase is just more proof that this film never got an audience the size it deserved.
A lovingly campy send-up of and tribute to B-movies, Night of the Creeps is willing to throw absolutely everything at you to ensure a good time. Aliens, alien slugs, exploding heads, creepy corpse-filled basements, axe-murderers, gratuitous T & A, gratuitous David Paymer…heck, it even has a Dick Miller cameo! And if that not only means something to you, but actually gets you excited, then you're exactly the right kind of person to enjoy this movie. But even those less versed in the genre will probably find something to like in a movie this crammed-full of ideas and genuinely funny moments.
The majority of the credit goes to writer/director Fred Dekker, who just one year later would give us another memorable horror-comedy with The Monster Squad - and would then piss away all of the goodwill earned with those two by directing the woeful Robocop 3, a movie so awful it effectively ended his directing career. But, let's not bring the mood down too much - Night of the Creeps still stands as an awesome reminder of what Dekker could deliver when dealing with a gory, over-the-top horror film instead of cyborg law-enforcement agents.
If there's a word that best sums up Night of the Creeps, it's just "fun." This is a damn fun movie. It's not trying to be anything else. Like the best horror-comedies, it doesn't take itself too seriously. It knows how ludicrous it is, and has no problem pushing the absurdity to glorious, and disgusting, heights. And it's certainly not above a stupid joke whenever it needs one. At the same time, the somewhat shocking death of a main character is actually quite heart-breaking, so you've got to give it credit for also remembering the "horror" part of the horror-comedy equation. Even as ridiculous as the story is, we still like the characters (even Chris, which is surprising given Jason Lively's…well, let's call it "questionable" skills as an actor). Those who are only here for the gore, meanwhile, will love the film's climax, which sees a gaggle of undead frat boys taken apart by shotgun, flame-thrower, and even lawn mower (perhaps Peter Jackson was a fan?).
A part of me wants to go all "grumpy old man" and complain about how they just don't make movies like this anymore…but that's not exactly true. Both James Gunn's Slither and (to a lesser-known extent) Damon Lemay's Zombie Town have kept the alien-slugs-turning-folks-into-zombies torch burning, which is good news for fans who like their horror-comedies to come with a substantial side order of gooey grossness. Gunn's film, in particular, seems like a sort of tribute to Night of the Creeps, even in Gunn denies having seen Dekker's movie when he wrote and directed his. Whether he's telling the truth or not is irrelevant – it's just nice to know that we've got two truly hilarious movies that feature this similar idea. Still, as good as Slither is, it can't compete with Night of the Creeps, which reigns supreme as the ultimate slug-zombie-comedy, but is in fact one of the best zombie-comedies you'll ever see, period.
