The Creeps (1997)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Charles Band

Writer:

Benjamin Carr (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

Undersized. Undead. And angry.

Plot:

Mad scientist brings Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy, and Frankenstein's Monster to life... but there's a problem and they end up three feet tall.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Mummy | Frankenstein's Monster | Vampire | Dwarf

Cast

Rhonda Griffin	...	Anna Quarrels
Justin Lauer	...	David Raleigh
Bill Moynihan	...	Winston Berber
Kristin Norton	...	Miss Christina
Jon Simanton	...	Wolfman
Joe Smith	...	Mummy
Thomas Wellington	...	Frankenstein's Monster
Phil Fondacaro	...	Dracula
J.W. Perra	...	Video Store Customer
Andrea Harper	...	Stella, Video Store Clerk (as Andrea Squibb)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:MA | USA:PG-13

Company:

Full Moon Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in Genuine Field-Sequential 3D: The movie was shot in 35mm using Chris Condon Stereovision lenses. These lenses utilize a 3-D filming technique called "over and under." During filming, a normal 35mm film frame is exposed by two lenses (one for each eye view) instead of one. The top half of the film frame is exposed by one lens and the bottom half of the frame by the other lens. Hence, the name "over and under."

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: The Creeps" (2003)

Reasonably entertaining B-movie.

A monster movie, but with little people. The front cover pretty much sums it up ... dwarf versions of the classic Universal horror monsters groping a half-naked busty young woman (who, incidentally, doesn't appear in the movie). Tasteless? Well, that goes without saying ...

Considering it's short overall length and it's fun tongue-in-cheek approach, this movie does take quite a while to get going. In the story, a nervous mad scientist is stealing first editions of various great horror books, in order to bring the archetypes to life with an ingenious machine. He wants to bring back Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Werewolf and the Mummy, and so needs to get first editions of the definitive books on these monsters. He succeeds, but something goes wrong during the creation and they end up around four feet tall. Ha! Anyway, a librarian and a wannabe detective become mixed up in this plot, and decide they must foil his plans.

For a low-budget B-movie, the acting isn't that bad here. Most of the cast appear to be very competent comedic actors, and that of course helps to make the whole thing more enjoyable. As for the monsters, a couple of them appear to have been cast right off the street which works okay because there's only one speaking role -- Dracula. Dracula is played by Phil Fondacaro, who like Warwick Davis got his start playing one of the ewoks in "Return of the Jedi", and since then you might have recognised him in films like "Willow" and "Meridian". He plays the part very well, acting it completely straight and letting the other comedians play off against him.

"The Creeps" was put out by Full Moon Pictures, a horror studio that makes puts out these great little trashy low-budget B-movies (check out their website). It was originally released in 3D, which explains some of the rather odd camera angles. The production values are actually very good -- the monster makeup for the most part looks really great, and in fact for genre fans that alone almost makes this movie worth watching. And in keeping with the Laws Of The B Movie, there is of course one brief scene of nudity.

It's silly and campy and a bit lame, but if you enjoy a good bit of light-hearted B-movie trash then this really isn't that bad at all. And yes, it is a bit creepy.