mockfilmsblog
I sat long and hard these past few days trying to come up with a gimmicky angle that could boost readership by at least a couple dozen. But all I could muster up was a play on the whole Throwback Thursday phenom that the internets has grown to love so dear. It's a new twist on an old fav and I have decided called this new blog segment, get ready, Throwback Thursday. Still with me? God bless you.Now allow me to elaborate. Every Thursday I review an older film from when we where more impressionable (stupid and liked pretty colors) and give it another watch. Look forward to the reviews of such classics as The Goonies (1986) or the other Corey filled romp, The Lost Boys (1987). We will explore more than just Corey laden 80's fair. Don't fret. They were just the first two movies I could muster up.For this, my inaugural edition of Throwback Thursday, I have chosen a rarely watched gem of "schlock for schlock's sake" entitled Night Of The Creeps (1986). Now this particular film had missed my radar until college when one of my roommates, Vinny, decided that we had no choice but to scour the local video stores (ask you parents, kids) and find this almost unknown piece of 80's gold. After a long, exhausting search of what had to be at least three rental establishments, we finally hit pay dirt. There on the dusty shelf laid in wait, a copy of my friend's beloved tongue-in-cheek horror classic in all of its VHS glory.
gavin6942
Alien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.So, in retrospect, it seems a bit cheesy to name characters Romero, Hooper, Raimi, and so on. The references are far too obvious. And this same thing would be repeated in "Dead Next Door" and probably other films. That can probably be excused. And, of course, there is the slightly less obvious reference of Dick Miller as "Walt", a nod to his character in "Bucket of Blood".There is a nice blend of fun, humor and horror here, and Tom Atkins is at his finest. Most probably think of him as the guy from "Halloween III", but this is the movie where he shines. Well, this and "Lethal Weapon".
Robert W.
The 80's for the horror genre was vital. It essentially gave birth to the slasher genre, low budget film making, gore and campy fun. There are as many classics as there are horribly done knock offs. Night of The Creeps is generally considered one of those campy classics so I eagerly decided to watch it. All I can say is...womp womp...there was very little likable about this. I can handle campy, I love a good classic campy film but this was just dumb. Its part zombie, part monster and part downright ridiculous. The characters are completely empty and forgettable and you never feel like the heroes are heroes at all. The romance is ridiculous and does nothing to further the story. It just doesn't make you feel anything. The special effects are okay and the story is certainly simple enough. Maybe part of the problem is that we have seen this premise before and so much better.Jason Lively, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow are our three "heroes." I'm not sure I blame them on really bad performances or just the empty writing of their characters. They aren't likable at all and they have no chemistry with each other. I suppose Lively is redeemable as the geeky, reluctant hero but barely. The one character that they could have done something with was Ray Cameron played by Tom Atkins. He's the tough as nails, grizzled cop type that could have been focused on as the hero but he is played as a joke and too campy so he is wasted in the story.Fred Dekker seems to have some sort of cult following due to this film and Monster Squad but outside of that and basically making the worst Robocop film he doesn't seem to have a whole lot of experience of vision as a director. I think this was an opportunity for them to make a violent, goofy, zombie/monster flick for next to nothing and turn a profit. I really had to push myself to get through this and with the exception of a few, a very very few watchable moments, this was barely acceptable. Definitely wouldn't bother with this when there is so much better 80's Horror fare out there. 3/10
loomis78-815-989034
Two students named Chris (Lively) and J.C. (Marshall) pledge a fraternity so Chris can make points with his dream girl Cynthia (Whitlow). The fraternity jocks have no intention of letting the geeks join them, but set them up for a prank that results in them freeing a cryogenic ally frozen zombie from 27 years ago that has alien slugs still alive in it. The slugs quickly multiply on campus as they enter the victim's mouth and incubate in their brains until their hatched. A radical police detective named Cameron (Atkins) who has connections to the case from years ago is called in to get to the bottom of it. It isn't long before students are turned into zombies and our rag tag team must figure out how to stop and kill them. This fun film is a great mix of Sci-Fi and horror done with tongue in cheek from first time Writer/Director Fred Dekker. Dekker fills this movie with everything a fright film fan can want. He starts by making his characters very real. The friendship between Chris and J.C. is real and believable and credit has to be given to the actors for pulling this off in such a fashion. When Chris discovers slugs may have taken over his best friend we truly believe and feel his pain. The over the top smart talking detective played by Tom Atkins is a delightful mix of attitude and humor, and is probably Atkins best genre roll. Atkins shines in a role he seems born to play as he answers to anyone with the memorable line "Thrill me". The film has a fun campy side that is purely intentional, but boasts some excellent make up effects and delivers some great gore moments. Not overly scary, but well made and executed with genre fans in mind, Night of the Creeps will keep a smile on your face throughout and you will have a ton of fun watching it.
AD
