Wednesday 19 October 2011

Night of the Creeps

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:1986
Country of origin:USA
Director:Fred Dekker
Genre:Alien infestation
Starring: Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow, Tom Atkins
Rating:5/5
IMDB link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630/
Tagline:If you scream... you're dead.
Favourite line:"Corpses that have been dead for twenty-seven years do not get up and go for a walk by themselves!"

A true horror gem from the 80's heyday.

The plot:
A parasitical life form crash lands on Earth and breaks free of its confinement, wreaking havoc among a local American populace by infesting live hosts with strange slug-like organisms that turn the victim into a slavering, blood-thirsty zombie.

So far, so humdrum.
But what enlivens this particular B-movie romp is both the sharp scripting and the frequent homages to past horror glories, in particular name-checking horror auteurs in character surnames (Cronenberg, Romero, Raimi et al all get a character named after them).
The special effects are way above par too for a film with clear budgetary restrains, and there's ample head burstings, amputated limbs and general splatter to please all you blood fiends out there.
The requisite tit shot is in place too, and what a welcome addition that is in this instance, as Jill Whitlow is simply delicious.
There is a sense of the ironic here as well, and this could even be viewed as a precursor to such genre teen fodder as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as it knowingly caricatures other sources, but with a playful glint in the eye at all times.
Constantly entertaining, with very likeable lead characters, and the ever reliable Tom Atkins as the grisled cop, this is a fine addition to the 'gory days' of B-movies.

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