Night of the Creeps
Review by Peter Syslo

Thrill me! NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986) is a fun horror movie that is a mix of science fiction and horror. It has elements of a 1950s monster movie, a zombie film, and parasitic horror ala SLITHER. This was actually the first time that I saw this movie; although it didn’t totally floor me, it was a good time and it was an interesting take on the parasite/host concept.

NIGHT… is written and directed by Fred Dekker, who is also known for 1987’s MONSTER SQUAD. The film stars Jason Lively (Russ from EUROPEAN VACATION), Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow, Tom Atkins (needs no introduction!), Allan Kayser (Bubba on “Mama’s Family”), and the familiar David Paymer (you know him when you see him).

The film is about an alien “experiment” which falls to earth, in the 1950s, near a college campus. The “experiment” is a type of parasite that infects a college boy and leads him to kill his girlfriend (these details are important later in the film); that is the “preface” to the story. The film then moves forward to the 1980s, taking place at that same college campus. Two friends, Chris (Lively) and James ( Marshall ), pledge to a fraternity in order to meet girls. As part of a frat stunt, the two discover a cryogenically frozen body, in a basement laboratory. The body is actually the infected boy from the 1950s and, predictably, the two “defrost” the corpse and the mayhem begins. People become hosts to slug-like parasites that drive them to commit murder, the infestation is spread, corpses rise, co-eds are killed, and our hero Chris, with the help of Detective Cameron (Atkins), saves the day… or does he?

NIGHT… contains all of the elements of a solid and enjoyable sci-fi/horror film. Although I have seen many similar “possession” films over the years, ranging from demonic possession to parasitic possession, it still was an enjoyable, light-hearted approach to this type of content. One of the main enjoyable aspects of it was the likeability of the characters involved. Chris, James, and Det. Cameron really made this film work; Chris and James are actually two of the most likeable characters I have ever seen in a horror film. The two friends were very real, intelligent, not sex-crazed, and responsible – the antithesis of the typical horror cast. Also, Tom Atkins was great as the detective; it was a “tongue-in-cheek” performance, but he always adds a little something extra to every role that he plays. I think that Atkins is one of the most unsung actors in the horror genre - he deserves greater recognition. What a relief to see horror characters that were not the typical idiot adolescent stereotypes! Seriously, sometimes the cliché characters can ruin a good story (case in point - the quasi-AMERICAN PIE cast that nearly doomed THE TRANSFORMERS). One day, I’d actually like to see a masked psychopath target, let’s say, the cast of THE BIG CHILL – I think that it would be interesting (actually, the SAW films target adults - I am really sick of boring, stupid adolescents being the at center of horror!).

Cutting to the chase: NIGHT OF THE CREEPS is a fun film that fans of 1980s/1950s horror will appreciate. It tends to be a little slow moving at times, especially in the beginning with the fraternity side story, but it pick up momentum with the great characters and the cool gore “gags”. There are a few “jump” cuts during some of the head splitting effects, but maybe those shots were done for the sake of making the effects look good and believable. At times, the movie may confuse itself a little, containing so much material from different horror films (zombie films, sci-fi, monster movies, etc.) but when it adheres to the sci-fi/parasite core, it becomes a solid chiller. If you like SLITHER, CRITTERS, THE BLOB, ARACHNOPHOBIA, NIGHT OF THE DEMONS, the ALIEN films, or MONSTER SQUAD then you would probably be into this film. I do like De kker’s style and I wish that he was a more prolific filmmaker. The horror genre could use a few more talents like him, who would focus on good old-fashioned storytelling.