Night of the Creeps (1986)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Fred Dekker

Writer:

Fred Dekker (written by)

Release Date:

22 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

"The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is... they're dead."

Plot:

Alien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.

Plot Keywords:

Parasite | Fraternity | Alien | Corpse | Zombie

Cast

Jason Lively	...	Chris
Steve Marshall	...	J.C.
Jill Whitlow	...	Cynthia
Tom Atkins	...	Ray Cameron
Wally Taylor	...	Detective Landis
Bruce Solomon	...	Sgt. Raimi
Vic Polizos	...	Coroner
Allan Kayser	...	Brad (as Allan J. Kayser)
Ken Heron	...	Johnny
Alice Cadogan	...	Pam
June Harris	...	Karen
David Paymer	...	Young Scientist
David Oliver	...	Steve
Evelyne Smith	...	House Mother
Ivan E. Roth	...	Psycho Zombie

Also Known As:

Homecoming Night (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min | Germany:85 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) (1989) | Finland:K-18 (1987) | Germany:16 (cut) | Iceland:16 | Belgium:16 (video rating) | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1988) | Norway:(Banned) (1986-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

Grafitti on the wall of the men's room where J.C. is trying to escape a number of slugs reads, "Go Monster Squad!". The Monster Squad (1987) was also directed by Fred Dekker.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Chris and Cynthia are hiding in the little shed from the zombies, there is a scene were a zombie grabs Cynthia and pulls her outside of the shed and she screams "Brad, Brad" a few times. Brad was her boyfriend whom was killed a few scenes earlier. But she was with Chris so why would she be screaming for Brad? She should be screaming for Chris.

Quotes:

J.C. Hooper: Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Do you think it's taking the Lord's name in vain to say "oh my God" a whole bunch of times really fast like that?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Angst (2000)

Soundtrack:

Blue Kiss

Wonderful, silly comedy/horror!

Viewing this particular film as a straight horror movie is a mistake. When I first saw this film (in 1989 or so) I thought it was a terrible horror movie and shut it off about half way through. I was under the impression it was a straight up zombie movie from the box art. There where some attempts at humor that fell flat. My problem was I was expecting "Dawn of the Dead" (or at least Day). On second enconter (around 1995) I laughed myself silly. I got the joke. The script is actually a joyous tribute to 50's-80's "B-Movies", Mad science, aliens, couples necking in a convertable (in black and white no less) and a catchphrase spewing hard boiled gumshoe. With out the preconceived notions I found this film quite charming. While not the best of the comedy/horror mix (Scream, American Werewolf in London...) this is a decent attempt at the cross-genre and best enjoyed with freinds.