Film Review: Night of the Creeps
Fred Dekker Directs B-Movie Horror Homage to Plan 9 From Outer Space
Jul 26, 2008
New Wave and Plan 9
For fans of campy, gory, gleeful horror movies there was arguably no better decade than the 80s. One little known example of 80s horror at its finest is Night of the Creeps directed by Fred Dekker. The film is both a giddy homage to Plan 9 from Outer Space and an influential comedy/horror mash-up that would later spawn films such as Slither and Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
Opening Screams
The movie opens with a flashback: Aliens are playing chase over the release of an experimental canister. During the melee the object is jettisoned from the vessel and lands on earth in 1959. Meanwhile, two college students are on a date in a remote location when they see a falling star in the distance. They go to investigate. An axe-wielding escapee from an asylum murders the female collegiate, and then the other student finds the canister which subsequently bursts, shooting a small leech that finds its way into his mouth.
Crosscuts and Space Slugs
We quickly cut to 1986, where nerdy Chris Romero (Jason Lively) and his crippled buddy, J.C. (Steve Marshall), are participating in college pledge week. Chris spots Cindy Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow) and he’s instantly smitten. He decides to join a fraternity in order to get Cindy’s attention. Chris and J.C. are then ordered by their pledge masters to steal a cadaver from the medical center and leave it at the Phi Omega Gamma house. Things go terribly wrong from here. The bulk of the remaining plot follows the slug-like alien parasites as they turn fraternity brothers into mindless zombies, and Chris and Cindy’s borderline romantic fight for survival. It’s a gory, satisfying mess complete with zombie dogs, gunshots to the head, and exploding leeches.
Holy Atkins
Veteran horror actor Tom Atkins (from Creepshow and Halloween III) makes a noteworthy performance as badass detective Ray Cameron. The bitter gumshoe helps Chris and Cindy in their efforts to fight off alien parasites while also getting a chance to take revenge on his sworn enemy. Atkins clearly enjoyed this role, calling it his “very favorite,” and it shows in an almost over-the-top portrayal of this hard-boiled character.
The Gory End
This film is a horror fan’s dream, a reverential depiction of what many of us love about the genre: gory special effects, borderline cheesy acting, and tons of zombies. Horror aficionados will also be quick to note that many of the film’s characters share names with famous horror directors of the era such as Cameron, Hooper, Carpenter, Cronenberg, Landis, and Romero.
