Night of the Creeps – 1986 – Comedy; Sci-Fi; Horror
Directed by: Fred Dekker
Written by: Fred Dekker
Main Players: Tom Atkins; Jason Lively; Jill Whitlow; Steve Marshall
Fun, silly and creative, Night of the Creeps is a great time. While technically having some ‘horror’ elements, in reality this is a harmless movie with funny lines which leans into its silly elements. The self-aware nature ads some clever touches.
As a rambunctious alien runs through a gigantic spaceship hallway, it protects a large tube. Eventually it jettisons the experimental material into space. This will be harmless of course, with no bad outcomes.
Next, we see Earth and a campus sorority row, 1959, and some classic cars. As college kid Johnny pulls up to Kappa Delta Sigma turning off the important radio newsflash, he gets the attention of his girl Pam with small rocks at the window. They sneak out to make out hill and star gaze. A cop interrupts the couple to explain some nut broke loose from the local asylum and tells them to head home.
The couple muses about the brightest star in the night sky, and a meteor goes tearing by overhead. Cleary going directly towards the crash site is the most intelligent move, so our couple heads off with the smart girl begging the dipshit dude to reconsider.
Everything goes oh so well, and then we take a quick 25-year time jump to the mid-80s and pledge week, still set on Greek row and party times galore. Chris Romero (Lively) and J.C. Hooper (Marshall) wrestle with local meathead frat fucks to find a way to woo major league babes and fit in.
Chris wallows, lonely despite the college setting. He eyes hottie/vision/angel/goddess Cynthia Cronenberg (Whitlow), looking for a way into her heart, but unfortunately, she went inside the Beta Epsilon house, and everyone hates the Betas. Will Chris man up, save the night, and get the girl, or will the multitude of creeps win out?
Night of the Creeps truly is fun. It mixes awkward college kids with a crazy disaster scenario, and is rife with 80s humor and vibes. The story and characters are surprisingly strong. Many lines are clever, and the comedy is weighed much heavier than any danger. Steve and J.C.’s friendship is entertaining and everyone could use a crutch, I mean clutch wingman. Thrill me!
See This If You Liked:
Slither; Re-Animator; Night of the Living Dead (1968; 1990); An American Werewolf in London; The Blob (1958; 1988); The Cabin in the Woods; The Evil Dead; They Live; Night of the Comet; The Return of the Living Dead; Tremors; Feast; Zombieland; Warm Bodies
Score:
8.0