Night Of The Creeps

Directed by Fred Dekker

The debut feature by writer/director Fred Dekker, Night Of The Creeps wears its B-Movie status proudly on its sleeve. Dekker borrows elements of all his favorite horror and sci-fi movies and blends them together creating one of the most enjoyable and underrated films from the 80′s. Paying homage to everything from plots, themes and to those that have created them, Night offers you creepy crawlers, alien parasites, zombies, extra-terrestrials, sorority/fraternity scenarios and a 50′s opening prologue involving an axe murder. Dekker goes so far as to pay tribute to his idols by naming every character after a famous filmmaker. There is the love interest, Cynthia Cronenberg, a police sergeant named Raimi, three other characters named Miller, Carpenter, Landis and of course, Detective Cameron, played by Tom Atkins.

Atkins steals the show, delivering the film’s most memorable lines including the classic: ‘I got good news and bad news girls. The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is they’re dead.’ Atkins perfectly embodies the hardboiled detective Cameron, mixing a worn out tough-guy attitude with cynical humor. Jason Lively’s likable lead Chris Romero, and Steve Marshall, his sidekick J.C. (James Carpenter) share some sharp and witty dialogue and the two display great chemistry. The two actors work well off each other, particularly in a couple of scenes that prove quite unexpected and touching (one involving a message on a tape recorder), given the deliriously tongue-in-cheek tone of the film.

Working on a shoestring budget, Dekker and award-winning make-up artist David Miller (of Thriller fame) manage to deliver some quality effects and enough gore and blood to please horror aficionados. Visually, the film is a treat, from the opening grainy black and white photography to the vintage ’80s neon hues to the dolly tracking shots and the period detail. Although never considered a genuinely scary horror film, Night of the Creeps was a film that caught attention for its witty screenplay, its special effects and its campiness. Dekker succeeded in making a horror movie that has it all: a dash of romance, scares, lighthearted comedy, nostalgia, camp, a touch of drama and a bit of gore.