HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2019: Creepshow (1982)

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Today our sponsor are Jim and Theresa Moon, who maintain a number of ongoing projects over at Hypnogoria, including the podcast of the same name, the Commentary Club podcast, various writings and musings and a store with lots of neat t-shirts (I am sorely tempted to buy that ‘Stay Calm and Cancel The Apocalypse’ one).

It turns out today is Theresa’s birthday (Happy birthday, Theresa!  I’m happy you found Jim and Jim found you, because we need more happy people in these dark times.), and they’ve decided to celebrate this event by choosing for me the George Romero/Stephen King portmanteau Creepshow.  I wonder if that’s a gift for me, as I am pretty up front about my love for horror anthologies like this one.

Now Creepshow is a little different from other anthologies in its tone.  It’s designed specifically to evoke a very particular esthetic, namely that of EC comic books.  It wasn’t the first time we had an attempt to recreate that style--there were two Amicus anthologies--but it was the first time where director George Romero and writer Stephen King attempted to make the film fit the inspiration rather than forcing the inspiration to fit the medium it was being adapted to.  It does not look like any film of its time because of this, with its abrupt changes in color palette, literal frames around key shots, and sometimes consciously cheesy special effects (part of the genius of Tom Savini’s work on this film are those make-up effects that look consciously artificial but still uncomfortably creepy, like the ‘Father’s Day’ zombie or the Crate Monster).  Oddly enough, it owes more to Italian cinema of the 60‘s than it does to the anthology films that were its contemporary.

I’ve always said horror anthologies should start strong and end strong.  Creepshow is structured more like it’s building to a crescendo.  The weakest stories are actually front loaded, but I do think one of them, ‘Father’s Day’ is there to get us acclimated to the style shift we’re about to be immersed in.  The simple tale of a very, very crotchety murdered man who wants his cake is easy enough to follow that we can get used to all the stylistic choices...including those of the actors.

You see, I don’t know if they were told to do so, but I am convinced after this rewatch that the actors were told to specifically make their performances ‘comic booky.’  That works in most cases, even with some people like Ed Harris refusing to indulge in that level of unreality in the first story.  But one of the biggest flaws in the second story, ‘The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill’ is that you’re asking a non-actor to act in a hyperstylized way, which results in a painful segment of Stephen King mugging his way through a hick version of ‘The Colour From Out of Space’ that makes actual hick stereotypes go, ‘Man, that’s a bit much.’  It’s impossible to concentrate on the story with King’s grade school pageant theatrics....

But then the worst is behind us, and we get Leslie Nielson showing everyone how it’s done with ‘Something To Tide You Over.’  Nielson is playing his character as a comic book super villain, but his confidence and self assuredness in his portrayal makes this segment.  This tale of sadistic revenge and undead retribution is a little complex, which is why those first two stories were key to normalizing ourselves to the narrative choices.  This is one of my favorite stories in the film--on some days it might be my favorite--and my only complaint about it is that Gaylen Ross doesn’t really have anything to do unlike Nielson and Ted Danson.

I think the “The Crate,” which I’m sure is the only segment adapted directly from a King short story, is a bit overrated, but it doesn’t mean it’s not great thanks to the wonderful double act of Fritz Weaver and Hal Holbrook.  Like Nielson, these acting vets know how to be both over-the-top and credible in the world Romero and King have created.  I particularly loved Holbrook’s performance, which milks the stereotype he’s supposed to be and uses it as a mask for the cold, calculating and somewhat monstrous person he truly is.  While I understand the thought behind the fluffiness of the Crate Monster, it sometimes looks a little too cute for its own good.  But it’s excellently paced and constantly engaging.

(Yes, I know some people will point to Adrienne Barbeau’s Wilma 'Just call me Billie’ as a check in the plus column for this story, but I found her performance follows the tenets set forth more by Stephen King than by her co-stars, resulting in something that breaks the coherence of this filmic world rather than enhances it.)

I know a lot of people who don’t like ‘They’re Creeping Up On You,’ but I have always had a fondness for this story not just because I understand the futility of fighting a cockroach infestation in New York City but also because of E.G. Marshall.  Marshall was the narrator and host of CBS Mystery Theater, a radio program that ran here in New York in the 70's and early 80's.  It was integral to me learning to love the audio drama format, and this is basically Marshall performing a kind of monologue as a millionaire who is consciously meant to be a parody of Howard Hughes.  Marshall knows how to use his voice and his body language to tell a story that leads up to arguably the biggest gross-out in the film, and I felt a whole lot of affection for this segment.

I should mention the wrap around segments.  I’ve always felt that the wrap arounds are simultaneously one of the most integral parts of a horror anthology and the part most creators think the least about.  Romero, with an assist by Ron Frenz, avoids this pitfall with animated transitions that recall classic comic book ads, which in turn feed into the pay off of the live action segment featuring the great Tom Atkins as an overtly strict dad and Joe ‘Joe Hill’ King as his son.  I thought it managed to nimbly avoided the pitfalls all too many anthology films crash right into.

This is a bubble gum film in the most glorious sense of the word.  It is purely here to have fun, and it succeeds on that level.  Its intent is to scare us on a carnival ride level, and it works in its efforts to do so.  I certainly recommend it in spite of the shaky start of its first two segments.

Tomorrow, our sponsor is my Domicile of Dread Patreon (and suspected long-lost sister from my beloved Boston) journalist Angie Bulkeley.  Angie has chosen 2017‘s Tragedy Girls for my viewing pleasure, and I have avoided learning anything about it in preparation.  Will I be surprised by a new gem of the grotesque or a turd of terror?  See you on Saturday so we can find out together!

If you want to join the Moons, Nicholas Kauffman, Chauncey Robinson and other great Horror Luminaries in getting me to watch a movie of your own choice during the Halloween Horrorfest, please consider joining the Domicile of Dread Patreon at the $3 Tier or greater.  Each new patron gets a free slot in this Gauntlet of Ghoulishness!  There are still three open slots, so act fast!