Creepshow (1982)

"Just call me Billie, everyone does.", 16 May 2006

Stephen King and George Romero combined their talents to create the 1982 horror/comedy anthology Creepshow. They do an excellent job of giving the whole movie 50s/60s pulp magazine feel to it. Short stories, vibrant colors, and a nice wrap around sequence contribute to this feeling. Like those pulp magazines, Creepshow is divided into segments or short stories – five to be exact. While some are more entertaining than others, none are unwatchable.

1. "Father's Day" – A murdered man returns from the grave to "get his cake". The special effects are the highlight of this segment. It may not be as scary as I would like, but it's reasonably entertaining. Rating – 6/10.

2. "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" – A man gets a little to close to a meteorite and finds himself being transformed into a plant. This segment is played for laughs, but unfortunately, none of them work. Stephen King stars as Jordy Verrill. This vignette might have been better with a real actor instead of King. Rating – 4/10.

3. "Something to Tide You Over" – A man uses the tides to do away with his cheating wife and her lover. If this segment weren't so predictable, it would be among the best. Tom Savini's makeup is the real star of this segment. Rating – 6/10.

4. "The Crate" – A henpecked professor uses the contents of an old, forgotten about crate to help him with his problems. This is easily the highlight of the movie and would have made a nice feature length movie by itself. Adrienne Barbeau and Hal Holbrook star and are both great. The creature effects and design are a winner. Rating – 8/10.

5. "They're Creeping Up On You" – A man with a cockroach phobia finds his home inundated by cockroaches. E.G. Marshall is good enough in the portion of the movie, but I find it dull. This vignette does have a great set design, though. Rating – 4/10

If you average the ratings I've given the individual segments, you'll come up with my overall rating of a 6/10. As you can see, I find Creepshow very hit-or-miss. If the entire film were as good as "The Crate", it would easily be on the list of my favorite horror movies.

6/10