Thursday, October 11, 2018

30 THEATRICAL TERRORS: Night of the Creeps (Day 9)





Written and directed by Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad), Night of the Creeps pays homage to the B Movie of the 50s by becoming one. Including every genre cliche he could think of, he even wanted to shoot it in black and white.



An alien experiment crashes to Earth and takes over the mind of a teenager in 1959.



In 1986, college student Chris Romero pledges a frat to impress a girl that he likes. He is tasked with stealing a corpse from the college’s medical center. And, of course, the body they take is the one from the alien controlled teen from the 50s. Thawing him out, it figures, was a bad idea. The pledge freaks out and abandons the body, which, zombielike, begins a killing spree and reproduces the alien slugs, which each go out seeking a host.



This is when the haunted detective is called in—Ray Cameron is called upon to bring sanity back to the situation.



A fine tribute to the paranoia-inducing films of the 50s and a fresh and funny take on the alien invasion picture at the same time pulling off elements of romatic comedy with ease.



And, as an added bonus, most post-theatrical versions of the film have an extended/alternate ending that hints at a possible sequel. More proof it’s high-quality light viewing for the fan of classic sci-fi/horror.

Thrill me…

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