Night of the Creeps
Steve Marshall...J.C.
Jill Whitlow...Cynthia
Tom Atkins...Ray Cameron
Chris is the red-headed stepchild of the college campus. Geeky and awkward with no confidence and no social skills, he of course falls for popular sorority president Cindy Cronenberg. In order to get her to take him seriously, Chris convinces his one and only friend J.C. to join him in pledging a fraternity.
Sounds like your typical late-eighties teen sex romp so far, doesn't it? Well, hold onto your knickers, because things take a quick left turn from ordinary before long. Part of their initiation is stealing a medical cadaver and leaving it on the steps of a rival frat house, during which they unintentionally release a nearly three decades-old corpse from deep freeze, one infested with an alien slug-like parasite that breeds within the brain and controls the body like a puppet. In short order, there are legions of these slugs crawling about and a multitude of the dead stalking Sorority Row.
This cult classic of 80s drive-in fare has (relatively) recently been released in a director's cut DVD, and can now be seen as it was meant to be seen. Full of traditional 1980s character tropes (hard-nosed cop, douchebag frat brat, lovable loser, etc.), old school gore gags, a plethora of priceless dialogue, and a delightfully delectable cheese factor, this is not one to be missed, whether you've seen it before or watching it for the first time.
It's obvious who the influences here were, as they're all named openly as characters. Typically I don't like those cutesy in-jokes when done so blatantly, but I let it slide here. There were some subtle strokes of genius in the direction (the 1959 scenes and Detective Cameron's dreams among them). It's not one of my favorite horror flicks, but it had been many, many years since I first saw it, and was pleasantly surprised by how well it held up.
1986
Rated R
88 Minutes
Color
English
United States
"Thrill me."
--J/Metro
