Review of Creepshow (1982) by Gary S — 25 Feb 2009
A work of great style and good humor. What we have here is a perfect balancing act of humor and horror, each working in tandem to throw the other off. This is played for laughs just as much as it is played for creeps and gross outs.
Most of the stories are as weak and predictable as one would generally find in the EC comic books of the 1950s (Stephen King obviously knew this stuff by heart and it shows). But what the film also gets right is the sheer delight of a disgusting, violent payoff.
Nobody can throw a shock at you like George A. Romero and Tom Savini. Everything is poised in a drawn-out moment of suspense, something we're all used to... and then BAM! someone's neck gets turned completely around seconds earlier than it would in any other horror filmmaker's hands.
The film sags horribly during Stephen King's own starring role entry. He is actually a delight onscreen but there is nothing scary about Astro-Turf, even if its from space. The true chills come in by the time Leslie Nielsen is burying Ted Danson up to the neck on the beach.
That story still makes me very uneasy. The Crate is a fun centerpiece to the film and the cockroches ran away with the whole show. A classic. Bring the kids.
This review of Creepshow (1982) was written by Gary S on 25 Feb 2009.
Creepshow has generally received positive reviews.
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