Post by GL on Apr 10, 2008 10:18:15 GMT -5
“Creepshow” is one of the finest and best Anthology films ever.
**SPOILERS**
Flipping through a comic book, Billy, (Joe King) decides to read five tales from his favorite, Creepshow.
The Good Stor(ies): Father’s Day-Waiting around a huge mansion, Hank Blaine, (Ed Harris) Cass Blaine, (Elizabeth Regan) Sylvia Grantham, (Carrie Nye) and Richard Grantham, (Warner Shook) await the arrival of Bedilia Grantham, (Viveca Lindfors) to begin their Father’s Day celebration together. Visiting the grave of her husband Nathan Grantham, (Jon Lormer) 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 quite hard-to-see headstones manages to get some fantastic mood out of it. There’s some great kills, with a snapped head being the big highlight. A really entertaining story.
Something to Tide You Over-Impatient of his wife, Richard Vickers, (Leslie Nielson) confronts Harry Wentworth, (Ted Danson) about his having an affair with his wife Becky Vickers, (Gaylen Ross) 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 being buried for so long is a great site, 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 long to get to it’s payoff. The conclusion is foregone, 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, Professor Henry Northrup, (Hal Holbrook) dreams of looking at it rather than spending time with wife Wilma Northrup, (Adrienne Barbeau) 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’s also some good jokes with the hallucinations about the wife. The only thing that weakens this is that it’s kinda 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. Watchable entry.
They’re Creeping Up On You-Fearful of germs, Upson Pratt, (E.G. Marshall) 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 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 site of them in every single location is an impressive site, 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.
The Bad Stor(ies): The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill-Witnessing a meteor crash, Jordy Verrill, (Stephen King) thinks he can sell it off for lots of money. Trying to get it inside his house, it 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 it’s effects. There’s only a few thing 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 ruin it is that it’s not that 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. Immanently skipable.
The Final Verdict: One of the greatest Anthology films ever, this one is a really great choice. There’s something for everyone, and while some might be better than others, this one’s got enough good parts to become a great view.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language