NIGHT OF THE CREEPS-The Hughes Verdict: A Short Review

Why?

Is the only word that pops in my brain when I see a list of great horrors and this is sadly missing from many fan’s choices.  Reasons being? I can not possibly fathom, but if you scan the title of this film across the Internet, you will see many if not all reviews that lavish praise in what was one of 80’s great gems that has the unusual stigma of being a film loved by critics, but ignored by the horror crowd!  If you call yourself a horror fan and not even clapped eyes on this then three words……shame on you!!! and if just one person decides to track the title down, then I have succeeded in what we want at HCF and that is bringing unknown quality to a new face!So what is it all about, I hear you cry at the back?  Well its a spoof, and please do not follow that cry with a groan, its a great one, probably one of the best and fans of Slither will find much to enjoy.  Starting off in 1959 and onboard an Alien Spaceship, where two Aliens are fighting off a third to stop an experiment from being released, too late, the canister they are so desperate to get their hands on, falls from the deep space and lands in one place where you expect–Earth!  A young man and his girl are making out when they see a glimpse of a falling star.  Rushing to discover this remarkable find, they come across an axe-wielding manic who kills the girl in which the boy runs off and comes across the canister that contains a small slimy leech type creature that jumps into his mouth…….and all of this happens in a crazy first fifteen minutes…

The action then cuts to 1986 where we become to know a boy called Chris whose determination to join a Campus Fraternity brings a chain of events that not only link the incident in 1959 to the present, but also bring Zombies to the very core, and a heck of a lot more……..

Director Fred Dekker clearly has a blast.  Its very rare to watch a film where so much energy has gone into the making of the film.  His love for the genre shines through and it gives the film a massive boast with his wonderful knowledge of the field even the names of the characters are nods to greats like Raimi, Romero to Cronenberg.  There are scenes that not just spoofs the likes of The Blob but disgusts you as well and ts also damn funny at times, honestly, if the likes of Scary Movie can become such a franchise mega busters, then it makes me upset that this which is head and shoulders above that film, can be so criminally ignored!

Tom Atkins steals the show in what must be on of his finest performance.  His battle cry “Its Miller Time!” still brings a smile to my face but the side characters also give their all, all memorable in their own ways.  I really do not want to say anything to spoil it for anyone who decides to check this one out.  There are many moments that will surprise you….yes even the hardcore fans.  There are some scenes that will make you gasp, only for the fact that better directors have “borrowed” some very images.  They had to have….it is to uncanny for them not too, lets just say, a use of a Lawnmower, brings back some memories of one certain film!

With nudity, gruesome moments, wonderful effects and from Aliens,to Slasher and back to Zombies, this is A rated B movie stuff, a film that has so much heart that it needs to be seen.  Its better than Slither, in fact I go far and say its probably one of the greatest spoof horrors, its just a shame that no-one apart from a few of us realise that!

Its avaliable on DVD, which lucky contains the original ending which was originally changed due to the usual studio interferance….

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