Creepshow (1982)

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

Stephen King (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 November 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The Most Fun You'll Ever Have... BEING SCARED!

Plot:

Inspired by the E.C. comics of the 1950s, George A.Romero and Stephen King bring five tales of terror to the screen.

Plot Keywords:

Stephen King | Terror | Meteor | Creature | Death

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Hal Holbrook	...	Henry Northrup (segment "The Crate")
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Wilma Northrup (segment "The Crate")
Fritz Weaver	...	Dexter Stanley (segment "The Crate")
Leslie Nielsen	...	Richard Vickers (segment "Something To Tide You Over")
Carrie Nye	...	Sylvia Grantham (segment "Father's Day")
E.G. Marshall	...	Upson Pratt (segment "They're Creeping Up On You") (as E. G. Marshall)
Viveca Lindfors	...	Aunt Bedelia (segment "Father's Day")
Ed Harris	...	Hank Blaine (segment "Father's Day")
Ted Danson	...	Harry Wentworth (segment "Something To Tide You Over)
Stephen King	...	Jordy Verrill (segment "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill")
Warner Shook	...	Richard Grantham (segment "Father's Day")
Robert Harper	...	Charlie Gereson (segment "The Crate")
Gaylen Ross	...	Becky Vickers (segment "Something To Tide You Over")
Jon Lormer	...	Nathan Grantham (segment "Father's Day")
Don Keefer	...	Mike the Janitor (segment "The Crate")

Also Known As:

Cuentos de ultratumba (USA: Spanish title)
Stephen King's Creepshow (International: English title) (long title)

Runtime:

120 min | USA:130 min (approx.) (Original Workprint)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1984) | Norway:(Banned) (video) (1986) | Norway:(Banned) (1983-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Creepshow Films Inc.

Trivia:

The marble ashtray (which plays a major role in Creepshow's first story, "Father's Day") is featured in all five of the film's stories if you look closely.

Goofs:

Continuity: In "They're Creeping Up On You," Upson Pratt smashes a cockroach with the butt of his gloved fist (in a close-up), and in the next shot his white glove is clean as he looks at it.

Quotes:

Wilma Northrup: What are you doing creeping around down there? Where's Dex? What kind of a mess has he gotten himself into?
Henry Northrup: Well, it's easier if I just show you, I think. Come on down.
Wilma Northrup: [grabbing Charlie Gereson's smashed glasses] What's this?
Henry Northrup: Oh, I found them on the...
Wilma Northrup: Oh, Henry. Did he beat her?
Henry Northrup: Well...
Wilma Northrup: How bad is she? Is she conscious?
Henry Northrup: [begins laughing] It's easier if your just see for yourself, Wilma.
Wilma Northrup: What are you laughing about? Your best friend gets in a scrape with a girl and you're laughing?
Henry Northrup: [continues laughing] But there's a funny side to it, Wilma! Wait'll you see! You'll think so yourself!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in WildCat (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Gaudeamus Igitur

It's pretty good

Despite some major problems (mainly contained in Stephen King's uneven and often heavy-handed script), this is still a pretty fun attempt to bring 1950s EC horror comics to the big screen. One of the best things about it is director George ('Night of the Living Dead') Romero's creative, vivid direction, that captures the bright color schemes and comic book framing to a tee. Each tale has a different horror theme usually tempered with some comedy and ranging from a rich patriarch returning from the dead to get revenge on his obnoxious family to a meteor that causes an outbreak of vegetation to a fanged, ape-like creature that's been locked away in a crate for decades. All five of the tales presented, despite some missteps, offer up good gory fun. Some of the acting is good, too, particularly Adrienne Barbeau as a heavy drinking, obnoxious faculty wife who gets what she deserves, Hal Holbrook as her hen-pecked husband and E.G. Marshall as a wealthy, obsessively clean old jerk who is savaged in his futuristic apartment by a legion of cockroaches. Talk about flesh crawling! Tom Savini's special effects are great, as usual.