“Creepshow” isn’t just a horror movie, but it’s also the gold standard for what most anthology horror movies strive to be. While there have been anthology horror films before it, “Creepshow” popularized the genre for a new decade and helped redefine the idea of the sub-genre. Not just that, but “Creepshow” is also a rebuttal to the golden age of horror comic from EC. Once upon a time the comics label that produced violent horror based comics were shut down due to their controversial nature. “Creepshow” is a movie that combines immense talents from folks like George Romero, Stephen King, and Tom Savini to provide something of a rebellious middle finger and show a new audience that these tales were as fun as they were violent.
“Creepshow” is a classic anthology fueled by the masterminds of Romero, Savini, and Stephen King, all of whom bring with them an ensemble cast to unravel four tales of immense creeps and terror. “Creepshow” sports a still very charming novelty and luster that hasn’t faded since its release, and injects every bit of irony and morality lessons that the minds behind EC celebrated. Among the tales, there’s a greedy brand of offspring who celebrate their greedy rich father’s birthday, but undead daddy is intent on having his cake. Stephen King stars as a farmer eaten by his farm after a mysterious meteor crashes on his land, a wealthy man gives his wife and her lover a water bound death only for them to come back for revenge, a man in a horrific marriage discovers a monster worse than his abusive wife, one that lives in a crate, and finally a wealthy old man who views his tenants as pests gets terrorized by the ultimate pest.
Romero and co. devise a very beautifully crafted and darkly comic horror film that always manages to get under the skin, no matter how many times you’ve seen it. Romero and cinematographer Michael Gornick do a bang up job crafting specific scenes to look like panels right out of an EC comic. It’s brilliantly complimented by the memorable score by John Harrison whose moody theme of pianos and orchestra injects a ton of atmosphere. Romero is at his absolute best combining talents with his contemporaries, offering a sense of originality and loyalty to the EC Comics that previous films like “Tales from the Crypt” and “Vault of Horror” didn’t quite master. Tom Savini’s special effects are still as impressive as they ever were, as he creates some of the most iconic monsters in horror history. From the water logged zombies, to the crate monster, Savini’s detail and penchant for realism is fantastic.
You also have to love the cast, from folks like Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook, EG Marshall, and Tom Atkins, respectively. With the re-emergence of anthology horror cinema in modern film, “Creepshow” is still the grand daddy of them all that revels in the inherent charm of the EC Comics as well as their importance to the horror genre.
Scream Factory gives fans a wonderful new Collector’s Edition that comes in a hard shell case, and reversible cover art. There’s also a small booklet with an essay from Michael Gingold with full color stills. There’s an audio commentary with George A. Romero and Tom Savini, an audio commentary with Composer/First Assistant Director John Harrison and Construction Co-Ordinator Ed Fountain, and an audio commentary with Director of Photography Michael Gornick. There’s an audio interview with Director of Photography Michael Gornick, Actor John Amplas, Property Master Bruce Alan Miller and Make-up Effects Assistant Darryl Ferrucci. There’s “Terror and the Three Rivers” a thirty minute round table discussion with Tom Atkins, Tom Savini, Marty Schiff and John Amplas, all of whom candidly discuss how they were involved with the film, including some funny anecdotes.
“The Comic Book Look” is a twenty minute interview with costume designer Barbara Anderson, who first worked with Romero on “Knightriders.” She discusses working with the costumes, and how the actors were like to work with. “Ripped From The Pages” is a fifteen minute interview with animator Rick Catizone, who worked on the animated segments for the film, and shows a lot of the art and sketches made for the film that he still owns. “The Colors of Creepshow” is a ten minute look at the restoration of the film for this release with DOP Michael Gornick, who improves the lighting continuity he couldn’t with the original theatrical release of the film. “Into The Mix” is a thirteen minute interview with Chris Jenkins, who was the re-recordist for the sound on the film, and discusses how he distorted vocals and got a foley effect.
“Mondo Macabre” is a nine minute discussion with Rob Jones and Josh Curry from Mondy, who discuss their love for the film and the various posters they’ve made. “Collecting Creepshow” is a twelve minute segment with Dave Burian, a big collector of the film, and a colleague of Tom Savini, who shows off his props and his love for the film. “Tom Savini’s Behind-the-Scenes Footage” is a twenty five minute reel of raw VHS footage with effects shooting and tests of the effects for the film. “Horror’s Hallowed Grounds” is another classic trip with Sean Clarke, who takes us through various locations for the film and show how they look today. There’s even a cameo from Tom Atkins. There are fifteen minutes of Deleted Scenes, with text introductions, as well as the HD trailer for the film, followed by a foreign language version of the trailer. There is a TV Spot, Radio Spots, Still Galleries, Posters and Lobby Cards galleries, Movie Posters galleries, Color Stills, Special Effects Make up Galleries, and finally Behind the Scenes Galleries.