Director: George A. Romero
Year: 1982
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Anthology
Plot:
Flipping through a comic book, a boy decides to read five tales from his favorite, Creepshow.
Review:
Father's Day-Waiting around a huge mansion, a family awaits the arrival of another to begin their Father's Day celebration together. Visiting the grave of her husband first, his zombie is resurrected and begins to go on a rampage through the family members. Learning the reason for his return, they try to stop him from unleashing it. This is a pretty good entry. The resurrection of the zombie is a really great shock jump, the gnarled and rotting hand bursting through the ground near the grave-site attendant. The main zombie has a fantastic look, with a partially decomposing face packed with dirt in the crevices and wearing tattered remains that really sell the idea of it being dead for a while. The initial confrontation is quite creepy, as the fog-covered cemetery with its quite hard-to-see headstones manages to get some fantastic mood out of it. There are some great kills, with a snapped head being the big highlight, and it's overall a really entertaining story.
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill-Witnessing a meteor crash, a lonely hermit thinks he can sell it off for lots of money. Trying to get it inside his house, he accidentally spills a blue liquid on the ground that he fails to notice. When a strange green plant grows on the ground in his yard and on everything in his house, he begins to get nervous about what was inside the meteor. When he starts changing himself, he does everything possible to reverse the effects. There are only a few things worthwhile about this one. The make-up effects on the main victim are incredibly good, looking otherworldly and managing to look good as well. The thing that ruins it is that it's neither scary nor funny. The idea of it isn't that creepy and isn't played out as such, and with there not being any real jokes beyond who the title character is, it's not that funny, making it eminently skippable.
Something to Tide You Over-Growing more and more impatient, an elderly tycoon confronts his wife's lover about his having an affair with her and spills the secrets about the relationship. Offering a chance to prove their love for each other, he puts them in a special trap on the beach before the tide comes to take them away. When he has his revenge, he believes he has finally rid himself of them. Returning to his home, he finds that their vengeance will come to play. This one is about middle-of-the-road in the film. The general concept is creepy enough, and the sequences on the beach are simply masterful. They're full of suspense and are quite different from the usual affair offered in these entries. The fact that it stays on them after being buried for so long is a great sight, making them seem more in peril than usual. The full reveal of the corpses is quite nice, as they look great and the make-up is spectacular. The revenge stalking scenes are absolutely brilliant, and the early set-ups with the monitors and shadows are excellent. The one thing that makes this drag out is that it takes a little too long to get to its payoff. The conclusion is foregone, where there's just a lot to get there before it happens. Watchable, but won't be a favorite of the entries.
The Crate-Finding an old crate, a college professor dreams of looking at it rather than spending time with his wife at a party. Believing something is alive inside, they find that it is a vicious creature stored inside. Hearing of this, he tries whatever he can to feed her to it. This is a really good one. The creature used in it is a great look, being vicious while also being realistically done. There's some fantastic gore in here, including some fantastic scratch marks on the body, a vicious gunshot wound, and a lot of gore on the after-affect bodies. There are also some good jokes with the hallucinations about the wife, though the only thing that weakens this is that it's really drawn out to a long length. There's a sense of two stories going on at once, leaving it very much flipping back and forth between plots without really offering much, and in the end, it becomes a watchable entry.
They're Creeping Up On You-Fearful of germs, a man lives in a secure complex on the top of an apartment building with no way to get in or out. Fearful of cockroaches getting into his apartment, he tries whatever's necessary to get rid of the bugs. When there's no way possible to get in, he realizes that they have massed in large numbers and overtake his apartment, forcing him to take drastic measures to defend himself. This is one of the best ones in the series. It's mostly shock value on the roaches and their massive numbers, which works. The sight of them in every single location is an impressive sight, and is based on a solid fear as well. The final shot, which is one of the most disturbing images and one of the goriest in the series, is a really wonderful shot. Not a whole lot wrong with it.
Overview: *****/5
One of the best and finest Anthology films ever, this remains at the top of the genre for good reason and remains a towering force in the scene on the heels of so many incredible segments. Those with an interest in the format, who appreciate this era of genre fare, or who are fans of the creative crew will want to dive into this one, while those who don't appreciate these factors should heed caution.
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