Night of the Creeps

Director - Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad, Tales from the Crypt)
Starring - Jason Lively (National Lampoon's European Vacation, ABC Afterschool Specials), Steve Marshall (21 Jump Street, Night Heat), and Jill Whitlow (Weird Science, Porky's)
Release Date - 1986
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "If you scream...you're dead"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was middle school I had a lot of movies that I loved.  I would always find a way to watch them even if I didn't think I had the time.  Most of those films were kids movies like Heavyweights, Space Jam, and The Monster Squad.  My love for The Monster Squad opened me up to Fred Dekker.  It was around this time that I rented Robocop 3 and Night of the Creeps for the first time.  I absolutely loved these movies and Night of the Creeps is one that would stick with me for sometime. I watched it all the time through high school and college but The last decade or so I have skipped on this one.  Recently Scream Factory released the film on blu and I was lucky enough to land a review copy.  Thank you guys for sending this one my way!

     The film follows two college students J.C. (Marshall) and Chris (Lively) who float under the radar for the most part.  That changes when Chris falls for Cynthia (Whitlow) who is dating one of the frat guys.  Chris talks J.C. into pledging and the two attempt to join.  They are told to drop a corpse on a rival frat's steps so they visit the university's medical lab in hopes of finding one.  They succeed when they find a body in cryogenic-ally frozen.  They thaw the body and inadvertently release intergalactic slugs that were hybernating in the brain.  Now they are on the loose looking for brains to infect and incubate in.  Before long the entire college campus is infected and it's up to Chris, J.C., and Cynthia to stop them.

     I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it.  It was in for maybe 15 minutes and I had already confessed my love for it.  I had watched this movie so many times over the years but the last 8 or so years I have lacked this movie in my life.  After revisiting it I still love it but I can't tell if it's because the movie is good or just nostalgia taking over me.  The movie is goofy as fuck but so damn fun.  The acting in this one makes the movie what it is but no one is winning awards.  Jason Lively and Steve Marshall work together perfectly.  Their characters really feel like close friends and their interactions with one another feels genuine.  With that being said, Jill Whitlow has been a crush of mine forever.  Her performance is far from amazing but for the longest time her smile just melted me.  I love seeing her in these random 80s releases and her character here fits right at home in this film.  The story for this one combines horror, sci-fi, and oddball comedies.  We get zombies that gives us a bit of a different take on the undead creatures.  In this film the zombies can be living or dead.  The addition of the outer space slugs really makes this one stand out from other zombie flicks especially in the 80s.  The humor works very well but the dialogue at times is extremely cheesy.  I love my 80s cheese but this one does push it a little too much.  Also, most of the main characters are named after famous genre directors which is cringy if you ask me.  I'm a dork and even I think this is too far.  Finally, this one has some top notch practical effects and memorable moments but does have a few gags that just wasn't as good as the rest of the film.  I love the way the infected look.  Their lifeless eyes and sunken cheeks is extremely creep to me.  It works for the film.  We also get some very memorable kills with some great practical effects for the most part.  I enjoyed everything threw at me with the exception of the exploding heads.  They have always looked a little on the bad side to me.  Overall, Night of the Creeps is a classic 80s cheesefest that is difficult to place in one genre and never disappoints.  I highly suggest grabbing this gorgeous blu from Scream Factory and it to your collection now!