“Just tell him to call you Billy!”
The one, two, three punch of George A. Romero, Stephen King, and Tom Savini is one of best, if not the best example of the horror anthology to date. While many have come before it, “Creepshow” really set the bar high in 1982. “Creepshow” (and its sequel) were basically the Boomer generation snapping back at the censors and government that helped bring down EC Comics and destroy what was a pretty excellent institution that was almost obliterated by puritans and the like. Thankfully “Creepshow” celebrates the whole spirit of EC Comics with a series of stories that practice in the formula of EC with themes about karma, revenge, poetic justice, and crime.
From favorite to least Favorite, there’s the great “Something to Tide You Over” about a violent millionaire who punishes his wife and her lover (Ted Danson, and Gaylen Ross). Leslie Nielsen is great in a rare villain role. “The Crate” is arguably the best, about an inexplicable crate discovered in a science hall that houses a blood thirsty monster. After witnessing its appetite, Henry (Hal Holbrook) uses the opportunity to “fix” his abusive marriage to wife Billy (Adrienne Barbeau). “Fathers’ Day” finds a group of petulant heirs celebrate the death of their demanding wealthy father who wants his “birthday cake” no matter what.
“They’re Creeping up on You” finds a reclusive millionaire (E.G. Marshall) being stalked by pesky roaches that consume his ivory tower when the lights go out. It’s a nice, gross bit of comeuppance. Finally, “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” stars Stephen King as a traumatized farmer who is consumed by mysterious alien vegetation that consumes him and everything around him. “Creepshow” still is a stellar horror masterpiece, one filled with dark humor, genuine scares, and mesmerizing effects from Tom Savini.
If you’ve yet to see it, now’s as good a time as any.
Creepshow is transferred on 4H Ultra HD from Scream Factory with a brand new 2023 4K scan from the original camera negative aided by a new HDR10 Dolby Vision color-grading. The Atmos helps the John Harrison score pop. It’s presented in 2160p 4K Ultra HD and framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. There’s WCG color grading. Audio on the disc includes a new Dolby Atmos remix that is full-bodied, we also get the previous English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 and Surround 5.1 mixes from the previous release with optional English subtitles.
Sadly there are no new extras for this 4K UHD which is disappointing considering Scream could have really drawn some more buyers at least including “Just Desserts – The Making of Creepshow.” That is nowhere to be found. Archival extras include an Audio Commentary With Director George A. Romero And Special Make-Up Effects Creator Tom Savini, a second Audio Commentary with Director Of Photography Michael Gornick, and a third Audio Commentary with Composer/First Assistant Director John Harrison And Construction Coordinator Ed Fountain. We Terror And The Three Rivers, and The Comic Book Look – Interview with Costume Designer Barbara Anderson. There’s Ripped from the Pages is a sixteen minutes interview with animator Rick Catizone who worked on both Creepshow and Creepshow 2.
There’s The Colors of Creepshow a ten minutes interview with cinematographer Michael Gornick, and Into the Mix – an interview with sound re-recordist Chris Jenkins who goes into creating the sounds of Creepshow. There’s the ten minutes Mondo Macabre – a look at Mondo’s various Creepshow posters with Mondo co-founder Rob Jones and Mondo Gallery Events Planner Josh Curry, the thirteen minutes Collecting Creepshow, and Horror’s Hallowed Grounds with host Sean Clark who revisits some of the notable locations used in the film, along with “Creepshow” star Tom Atkins. Atkins reenacts a few of his most memorable lines from the film. There are sixteen minutes of Deleted Scenes that didn’t make the final cut, as well as a Trailer with illustrated graphics, TV and Radio Spots, and a ton of Image Galleries.