Night of the Creeps

With the advent of something glorious such as Monsters HD we now get the opportunity to catch some classics that still have the unfortunate fate to not be released on DVD. Night of the Creeps being one of the most screamed for DVD’s by fans the world over (alongside Night of the Comet) there are bootleg copies galore out there, but thanks to Monsters we get to see this one in high def glory. This little classic doesn’t necessarily benefit from the HD treatment, but it’s still worthy of being shown in it’s full glory.

Queue the 1950’s. Two young college co-ed’s make out on a wooded lane late one night. While taking a breath they notice a large shooting star crash into the woods nearby. Being a curious guy, frat boy tears off into the woods to locate the crash site stumbling on a smoking container from the heavens. Cut back to chickie in the convertible and someone is stalking out of the woods after her! Oh no! Blood splatters the pretty white leather interior! Cut to the 1980’s, same college campus. Two nerds, Chris Romero and J.C. Hooper are your typical girl crazy freshman. Deciding the best way to find chicks is to join a fraternity, they check out the biggest frat on campus for pledge night. Being your typical jocko frat, the blonde haired alpha male (Bubba from Momma’s Family!) sets our two bumbling teens out on a hazing prank. Kidnap a corpse and leave it on the steps of a sorority house. Determined to fit in, the two boys set out to the medical building and sneak into the basement. When they arrive they find a lab with a cryogenically frozen corpse. But what’s this? That corpse looks familiar! Why….it’s frat boy from the 1950’s last seen exploring the metal canister from the heavens! How could this be! Not knowing this corpsicle’s past, the boys decide to thaw him out for their needs. Unfortunately for them they don’t realize that they’ve thawed out something else as well; alien brain parasites capable of reanimating the dead! Girls scream, boobs are shown, and soon the campus is over run with shambling corpses intent on sharing their brain parasites!

Bordering on “Revenge of the Nerds” meets “Return of the Living Dead” Night of the Creeps is one of those classic 80’s horror formula’s that manage to stand the test of time as well as giving you just a plain fun movie to watch. Filled with stereotypes and corny jokes we have a package stuffed to the gills with laughs and even a few scares. Our two bumbling nerds are easy to sympathize with. Socially awkward, nervous, and wanting nothing more than to meet chicks, they have an air of familiarity with to them. (Well, with my college experience anyways!) From the get go you find yourself rooting for the under dogs here as they face off with drunken frat boys, hot sorority girls and slimy brain parasites. Adding to our misguided heroes is Detective Ray Cameron, former street cop who discovered the slaughtered cutie back in the 1950’s. Troubled and disturbed by the events way back then, Ray has grown into a detective, but not just any detective. Ray is the biggest Mike Hammer throwback ever spoofed! With his whiskey drinking, corn ball one liners, (Thrill me!) and trade mark trench coat, Det. Ray adds to the campiness and makes a worthwhile addition to Chris and J.C. and their fight against the alien scum.

There is so much to love here it’s hard to cover it all without slipping into fanboy ravings. Aside from the great characters given to us, there is a story line that makes for a fun romp as well. Many will say that “Slither” is a direct descendant of NOTC, and I would say in many ways they were right. Not a rip-off mind you, but perhaps a well crafted homage. Easily hidden alien slugs are scary enough, but when they incubate in your brain bringing the body back to life? Now we’re cooking with fire! Add in the excellent effects when said slugs were done incubating, and we get some good gore as well. Night of the Creeps manages to combine several elements together to make a fun filled movie, plain and simple. There’s zombie’s, underdogs, noir, a little bit of everything really. If you’re fortunate enough to have Monsters HD, keep your eyes peeled, it’ll be on there. If not, find one of the many petitions out there to get this one released on DVD and keep your fingers crossed.

And on my final thought? Many times I’ve complained about filmmaker’s wimping out on the ending of a movie. Not this time; Dekker got it right.

5 alien zombie dogs out of 5