I’m unsure how many of y’all may be familiar with this movie series. But it’s certainly a favorite of mine. The first one came out in 1982, to be followed by sequels in 1987 and 2006, and is not to be confused with 1990’s Tales From the Darkside, The Movie, though Steven King did write the short story, Cat From Hell, that one of these “tales” share, as he also wrote two of the stories featured in Creepshow.
Creepshow was George Romero and Steven King’s homage to the EC horror comics of the 1950s, such as Tales From the Crypt, The Vault of Horror and The Haunt of Fear. That was a little before my time but in my era came some of the same with the publication in 1966 of Eerie, followed by Creepy and Vampirella. But those comic books of the 50s and 60s, as well, were so cool with their advertisements. For those of you who remember, in these comics there were ads for X-Ray Specs, Charles Atlas body building courses, Voodoo Dolls, Electro Hand Buzzers, Disappearing Ink! and Meat Eating Plants, and the movie nostalgically displays these ads.
But the main thing of these comics were the creepy stories. And in watching this movie, if released now, it could claim an all-star cast for not only did it feature well-known actors and actresses such as Fritz Weaver, Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, E. G. Marshall, and Carrie Nye, it also cast young up-and-comers like Ted Danson, Ed Harris, Richard Gere and Adrienne Barbeau. And in one of the weirdest episodes, Steven King appears as a country bumpkin.
“Father’s Day”
The prologue features young Joe King, Stephen King’s actual son, having issues with his dad concerning a comic he’s reading, called Creepshow, which is dad tosses in the trash. That leads to the first episode, “Father’s Day” with Carrie Nye and a young Ed Harris, a piece with a gruesome ending.
“The Lonesome Death of Jody Verrill”
Next is “The Lonesome Death of Jody Verrill”, starring Stephen King, based on his story “Weeds”, as a rube who witnesses the landing of a meteor, not realizing it would lead to a creeping growth beyond his farming imagination.
“Something to Tide You Over”
That’s followed by “Something to Tide You Over”, a true play on words once you see the plot to the story. And this story, featuring Leslie Nielsen with a young Ted Danson and Richard Gere, will give new meaning to the phrase “I can hold my breath for a long, long time!”
“The Crate”
That leads to “The Crate”, another King story. This is truly the goriest and most horrifying of the tales, showing the lengths a bullied, hen-pecked husband, Hal Holbrook, will go to to exact revenge on his alcoholic, obnoxious and mentally abusive wife whom he constantly dreams of killing, portrayed to excellence by Adrienne Barbeau. This particular tale has a truly O’Henry type of ending.
“They’re Creeping Up on You”
The finale, “They’re Creeping Up on You”, stars E. G. Marshall who has a pathological fear of contamination and germs and bugs, and actually stars 20,000 cock roaches supplied by an entomologist from the American Museum of Natural History. If you don’t like bugs and have such a fear, this episode will totally ‘bug” you to death!
And the epilogue is a pay-back, just as in “The Crate”, where the little boy from the prologue gets even with his dad for throwing his comic book away. That’s where you see that the ad for a voodoo doll has been cut out of the comic book, leading to dad paying the price for censoring his son’s reading pleasure.
Though this type of movie might not be in everyone’s book, being a Stephen King fan, I couldn’t help but love it for not only was two of his stories used, he also wrote the screenplay. And in this instance, you might as well say scream – play!
Melissa Chapman says
That series seems amazing and the cast of characters would be so much fun to see. Stephen king is a genius so anything he is a part of needs to be taken seriously
Jeanette says
Nope, no way , NOOOO!! I love that you can do this I wish I could, but there is no way I can. I freak out so easily LOL. I am more than happy to say that I am a chicken.
Melanie says
This is definitely the time of the year for all things creepy! My kids are still too young for anything too terribly creepy. We try to keep it on the lighter side for them.
Brianne Tursi Manz says
I don’t remember watching Creepshow, but this time of year sounds perfect to see it. It sounds like a fantastic horror flick!
Amber Myers says
I hadn’t heard of this before. My daughter would want to watch it. She’s into all things creepy.
GiGi Eats says
Oh gosh, I can’t do anything creepy or else I will have nightmares! I am still having nightmares about IT (the first one)… But seriously, I am… I had one last night!!
Roch says
These movies are perfect to binge on this Halloween and especially this long weekend with the family. I haven’t watched any of it.
Tasheena says
This is my first time hearing about this movie. I’m not big on scary movies though.
Betty @ Mombrite says
Oh my, I haven’t watched horror films in awhile, though I did used to enjoy them. They are all in good fun, but I don’t know about binge watching one after another! Haha.
NYC Single Mom says
Sorry, I think I will be happy with your descriptions because I do not do creepy, scary or horror movies or shows. And Romero is the king… To those who love scary movies, enjoy and Happy Halloween.
Rena says
I’m looking forward to seeing all of our scary trick or treaters this evening. I love all of the costumes.
Ruth I says
Not exactly the movie I want as I am always scared of creepy things. But I think it’s classic!
1stopmom says
This brings back some memories. I love scary movies and shows. I have not watched Creepshow or Tales From The Crypt in years!
Terri Steffes says
I just can’t. I don’t like scary movies, even Hocus Pocus kinda freaks me out!
Swathi says
I haven’t watched any horror movies. Since it is Halloween I would like to watch some horror movies though.
Catalina says
Yes! Thank you! These shows are awesome. We are looking for something to watch tonight!
Gervin Khan says
That movie sure is creepy, but what caught my attention is the kid wearing a mask, cute.
Amy H says
I’m not typically a Horror fan. I’ve actually never heard of Creepshow. I may have to check it out
Monica Y says
I love all things Halloween, this looks so cool. I always decorate for Halloween with creepy stuff