Creepshow (1982)

“Creepshow” may be one of the better horror anthologies around. It might not be the best but it’s pretty damn good! It was directed by George A Romero and written by Stephen King, this collection of short horror stories offers interesting story arcs, screenshots that resemble old time horror comic book panels, and acting that is purposely over the top so that it feels like a comic book. The cast is packed full of famous actors of the time and they all give great performances. This one of the earliest horror movies that I saw from beginning to end and it remains one of films that I have the fondest memories of, that is why I thrilled to have this movie featured as my 200^th review!

The first story, “Father’s Day”, is about a rich patriarch who acquired his wealth through unsavory deeds, who is then killed by his aged daughter who was left to take care of him on Father’s Day. On the anniversary of the murder, the surviving relatives gather to “pay respects’ but are killed off one by one by his reanimated, revenge filled corpse.

“The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” stars Stephen King as Jordy, a down on his luck farmer who has a meteorite crash into his barren corn field. Jordy touches the meteorite cracks and is immediately burned by it and is now infected by a fast growing plant “virus”. His dreams of wealth and fame are dashed when the meteorite cracks. He goes into his house and laments his loss as the infection slowly overtakes him. He only makes matters worse when he takes a bath, dooming the transformation.

The third story, “Something to Tide You Over”, is about a wealthy man named Richard who finds out that his wife Becky is cheating on him with a man named Harry. Richard coerces Harry into joining him on a drive to the beach where Richard forces Harry to dig a hole in the sand and bury himself. Richard leaves a TV set on the beach that shows that Becky is also buried up to her head on the beach and is about to be drowned by the incoming tide. Both Harry and Becky die, only to come back and have their revenge on their happy-go-lucky killer.

The fourth story, “The Crate”, is the most in depth piece of the anthology, focusing on both a mysterious crate found in the basement of a university and the vicious beast that’s trapped inside…for over 148 years, and the dysfunctional relationship with a meek professor and his overbearing wife.

The fifth story, “They’re Creeping Up on You” is the most memorable piece, about a wealthy, ruthless business man with a fear of germs who lives in a secluded New York penthouse. He watches as the city is suffering from a massive black out, as well as receiving threatening phone calls from those who he has wrong. Over the course of the story, cockroaches, one by one, begin invading his sealed environment. When the power goes out in his building, the bugs begin to take over until they drive the miser to his death.

The overlapping storyline is about a boy who loves reading horror comics but is yelled and at slapped by his disapproving father. The boy gets his revenge by ordering a voodoo doll and sticking it with a pin over and over again….

Father's Day Cake!

Poor Jordy

Sea-Zombie Becky and Harry

The Yeti from the Crate!!

 Voodoo doll

George A Romero's Day of the Dead (1985)

George A Romero’s “Day of the Dead” is a decent zombie but is my least favorite of his original trilogy. I have to admit that I enjoy the loose remake more than this version; this film is relatively slow and doesn’t have much action until the end of the third act. This movie has two main storylines, the first dealing with the growing tension between the civilian scientific team working in the makeshift research bunker and the other one dealing with the insane Dr. Logan and the zombie Bub who he is training to be human again. Tom Savini does another fine job with his make-up and special effects for the zombie genre, especially when the movie gets to the point where the victims are torn asunder by the zombie horde.

Dr. Sarah Bowman is the main character in this film that takes place a good deal of time after “Dawn of the Dead”. She is the voice of reason and one of the few people who are not succumbing to the stress of the situation although she is beginning to have dreadful nightmares. When she comes back from a recent deployment looking for survivors and supplies, she learns that the military CO has been killed has been replaced by the tyrannical Captain Rhodes. All he cares about is his men, who he treats more like possessions than as people, and is sick and tired of the antics of Dr. Logan. Captain Rhodes doesn’t think the scientists are doing anything productive and is threating to shut the operation down and take the helicopter and its pilot and leave. Dr. Logan has been busy at work but not with finding the cause or a cure, instead he has been feeding his zombie pets the dead soldiers and training them to behave as if they were alive. Eventually one of the soldiers is bit which sets of a chain reaction of events that causes the zombies to get what they want, fresh meat. Sarah and the two helicopter pilots, Bill and John, manage to escape and live to see another day.

Captain Rhodes is having a very bad day.

 Dr. Logan and his test subject, Zombie Bub.

Sarah having a nightmare.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

One of my favorite zombie movies ever is the immensely popular “Dawn of the Dead”. The original version has stood the test of time and is still chilling to watch today. These four talented actors playing strong, well-written characters trapped in a seemingly hopeless apocalyptic situation is simply unforgettable. The movie also showcases the make-up work of Tom Savani who created some memorable zombies and left his mark on future horror movies to come. What is interesting to find out is that this movie would not exist if it wasn’t for the assistance of Dario Argento, who was a big fan of Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”. With Argento’s influence and assistance, Romero was able to find the funding that he needed to film this movie, as well as a place to stay in Rome where he could write the screenplay. All of these factors played important roles in the productions values of the final piece.

This movie has brought me so much joy over the years. It’s amazing to think that in the 1990’s I had to leave a $200 deposit in order to rent this movie from Scarecrow Video because it was out of print at the time. It’s also amazing to remember that when my friend and I watched this film, he was actually afraid to walk home in the dark because he was so affected! And finally, how can you not appreciate the cheesy nature of the motorcycle gang? They provided comic relief, a tilt in the storyline, and numerous bodies for the zombies to eat and tear apart.

The movie opens by showing the chaos behind the scenes at a television studio. Some people are trying to stay focused and work while others are trying to flee. The world as we know it is quickly crumbling as the government is losing control over the zombie “invasion”. Stephen and Francine plan to steal the stations traffic helicopter but they need to pick up Stephen’s friend Roger. Roger, meanwhile, is a member of a SWAT team involved in a SWAT raid on a low income apartment building whose inhabitants are refusing to follow the orders of the mandated martial law. The worst in humanity is displayed by a racist and overzealous member of the SWAT team who is eventually killed. The residents are quickly killed off by the SWAT team and the zombies that they were harboring inside. Roger ends up meeting another SWAT team member named Peter, and together they go and find Stephen to escape the ugly chaos.

The four survivors eventually decide to land on top of a mall in order to grab need supplies. While inside, they realize that they can fortify the building and stay there until they think of some better plan. They manage to block the doors with semi-trucks from a nearby parking lot, but while finishing up the job, Roger is bitten in the leg. After the outside of the mall is secured, the four of them begin the gruesome work of killing off the zombies in the mall, with Roger being pushed around in a wheelbarrow and shooting. Once this task is done, they realize that they can live like kings and do whatever they want in their fancy, comfortable prison. After some time (a few days), Roger finally dies and returns as a zombie, who is quickly killed by a remorse Peter.

Before long, a mob of motorcycle bandits see the helicopter on top of the roof of the mall and realize that there are people inside. After making radio contact and announcing their intentions, Peter and Stephen prepare for the coming onslaught. The motorcycle gang breaks in, leaving a wide opening for the zombies to stumble in from. Stephen becomes greedy as he watches the gang steal random junk from the stores and begins to shot at them. They fire back and general chaos breaks out. Stephen is killed by zombies and is turned, the gang members are decimated by the zombies, and Peter and Francine are trapped. Their only option is to fly the helicopter, which is low on gas, somewhere else, anywhere. Peter chooses to stay behind and just as he is about to commit suicide, he comes back to his senses and makes it to Francine just as she is about to take off. They escape and fly off into the night.

Favorite moment – it’s impossible to choose just one or two!  

Roger turns

Stephen zombie

Time for a break

Zombies want to go shopping too! 

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

There’s no doubt that the vampires in “From Dusk Till Dawn” are not your lovey dovey type of bloodsucker; they exist to drink your blood and steal your stuff. This movie presents the perfect situation for several dozen vampires to together and feed while enjoying some great tunes from the undead band. The foul beasts give the wicked Gecko Brother’s a run for the honor of being the most vile and it looks like an even race until Seth kills his baby brother (who’s been turned) and works with the family that he had taken hostage earlier in the film. So the vampires win the honor and prove that vampires can be downright nasty. 

The screenplay was written by Quentin Tarantino who also served as a co-producer and starred as the sick Gecko Brother Richard. The film also boosts a talented cast led by George Clooney and Harvey Keitel, along with Juliette Lewis, Tom Savini, Cheech Marin, and Salma Hayek. Oh, and it was directed by the one and only Robert Rodriguez!

"From Dusk Till Dawn" is about the Gecko Brothers, Seth and Richard, who are racing towards the Mexican border after committing a bank robbery and leaving several people dead in its wake. Things go from bad to worse for the brothers when Richard gives into his violent/perveted tendancies by raping and killing their hostage. With the Law closing in, Seth and Richard kidnap a family of three with consists of a pastor who has lost his faith and his two children. By gunpoint, Jacob (the father) takes the group across the border and to a truck stop where Seth has set up a meeting with a man name Carlos. They decide to spend their time waiting for Carlos inside the truck stop/strip club called "The Titty Twister". And once inside they quickly realize that they may have made the wrong decision after finding out that the truck stop is a front for a nest of sadistic, hungry vampires.

Favorite character - Tom Savini as Sex Machine. Enough said! I love (most) chances to see him on stage as well as his famous make-up creations!

Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2006)

Whenever you rent a movie or watch one on Netflix that you have never heard of, you run the risk of picking out a horrible film or a pure gem. Sometimes you get lucky and it’s simply ok. That was not the case with “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”. I found this DVD at Scarecrow Video, a video store in Seattle that carries hard to find movies as well as the typical mainstream favorites. “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” is perhaps one of the worst movies I’ve ever tried to watch. I say try because I was unable to finish this. This particular piece of work feels like it was the first assignment of an A/V class…in high school. The acting is ridiculous, the script is worthless, but the most painful aspect of this is the editing and filming. Not even the presence of Tom Savani in a supporting role as the town sheriff brought any joy or entertainment to this disaster. Save yourself your time and money and skip this movie; Lovecraft would be proud of you.