Night of the Creeps (1986)

As i sat with baited breath. Holding in my hand my newly acquired copy of Fred Dekker's directorial debut "Night Of the Creeps" i pondered to myself. I had first watched this wonderful little Sciience fiction horror masterpiece way back upon it's first release on video tape in 1986.

Could the movie still carry such a lofty reputation as it had done all those years since i had last watched it as a teenager hooked on horror movies. Well of course the answer was an unprecedented yes. Still as fresh and funny second time around. Memories lingered in my mind of the many scenes and hip and happening dialogue that sprung forth from the many characters that wandered through this little gem.

As we fade in, we find ourselves transported to an alien spaceship travelling through the galaxy, two little aliens carrying zapper guns chasing a third, who as it happens is possessed by something sinister and is about to launch a canister containing a lethal parasite off the spaceship and off into the unknown and so it begins.

Star of the show for me has to be Tom Atkins playing yet again another one of those grizzled cops, who in his time on the force has seen it, done it, could write a book about it. However for once, unlike his role in "Maniac Cop" He is given many wonderful lines of hard boiled dialogue to chew on.

Ably assisted by a then young and unknown group of young actors, Jason Lively who would later take the lead in one of Roland Emmerich's first movies "Ghost Chase" Also look out for the actress Suzanne Syder way before "The Return Of The Living Dead 2" and "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" in a small and very brief cameo.

Stranger to think that Fred Dekker's career appears to have found it's way into television land, sit back and scream like a banshee at this truly fast and furious romp form the 1980's Then think about this, why can't they make them like this anymore Without any hesitation, 10 out of 10!

Fmovies: College freshmen Chris and J.C. (Jason Lively, Steve Marshall) are trying to join a fraternity and are given the initiation challenge of stealing a body from the morgue. In attempting to do this, they unfreeze a cryogenically-frozen body that was inhabited by parasitic alien slugs in 1959. Now the alien slugs are free and attacking the college campus, turning people into zombies. After his friend is killed, Chris tries to stop the slugs & zombies with the help of a detective (Tom Atkins) whose tragic backstory ties into the alien attack in 1959.

This terrific '80s horror comedy from Fred Dekker is one of the most underrated movies from that decade. Steve Marshall is great fun as the handicapped best friend of 'the hero.' He gets many of the movie's best lines. Jason Lively and beautiful Jill Whitlow are both good. Allan Kayser (Bubba from "Mama's Family") is the Zabka-esque jock villain. The movie's highlight is Tom Atkins, who gives a memorable performance as the tough and sarcastic detective. The movie's filled with in-jokes and references that genre fans will enjoy. The movie itself is a sort of homage to classic B sci-fi/horror flicks of the '50s. By the way, in one scene Jill Whitlow is making cookies or something in the kitchen with her sorority sisters. She drops a wooden spoon and kicks it under the refrigerator. Then she picks it up and proceeds to put it right back in the bowl. Eww, how gross is that? That made me want to vomit far more than any of the movie's special effects! Give it a shot and I'm sure you'll agree it's great fun and years ahead of its time. Any movie with a Dick Miller cameo can't be that bad.

This is a fun one to watch. If you like 80's cheesy horror movies this one will be right up your alley. I met Jason Lively and the guy is really down to earth. So this movie is close to my heart.

Night of the Creeps fmovies. This movie is so super cool. I love this movie. Even though the stars are like second - billing , this movie is still like no other - its original all in it's own right. Had to be a drive - in film from the looks of the release date. Wish I seen it there! If you have a slug in you , on you or around you - to say the least - you're totally bumming. 80s comedy - horror at its best. Makes you laugh and scares you into jumping out of your seat. Spooky. Funny and different make this a favorite of mine...and maybe yours! I rate this 9 / 10

Viewing this particular film as a straight horror movie is a mistake. When I first saw this film (in 1989 or so) I thought it was a terrible horror movie and shut it off about half way through. I was under the impression it was a straight up zombie movie from the box art. There where some attempts at humor that fell flat. My problem was I was expecting "Dawn of the Dead" (or at least Day). On second enconter (around 1995) I laughed myself silly. I got the joke. The script is actually a joyous tribute to 50's-80's "B-Movies", Mad science, aliens, couples necking in a convertable (in black and white no less) and a catchphrase spewing hard boiled gumshoe. With out the preconceived notions I found this film quite charming. While not the best of the comedy/horror mix (Scream, American Werewolf in London...) this is a decent attempt at the cross-genre and best enjoyed with freinds.

In 1959, an alien throws an experiment from his spaceship to the space and the capsule crashes on Earth. The college students Pam (Alice Cadogan) and Johnny (Ken Heron) are dating in a parking area nearby the location and believe it is a falling star. Steve decides to investigate, but they are warned by Pam's former boyfriend, the police officer Ray Cameron, that a maniac is killing people in that area with an ax. However Steve leaves Pam and walks in the woods looking for the star and a slug-like creature jumps into his mouth.

In 1986, the college students Chris (Jason Lively) and the disabled J.C. (Steve Marshall) are best friends and Chris has a crush on Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow), who is the girlfriend of the cocky Brad (Allan J. Kayser). They decide to join Brad's fraternity to impress Cynthia and Brad tells that they need to bring a corpse and leave in front of another fraternity. They go to the Med School Laboratory of the Corman University and find Johnny's body in a cryogenic chamber. They remove the corpse from the chamber but get scared and leave the body on the floor. However, Johnny leaves the laboratory and releases slugs that transform people into zombies. Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins) is in charge of the investigation and initially believes that it is a prank. But soon he realizes that the campus is crowded of zombies.

"Night of the Creeps" is a cult-movie by Fred Dekker with a funny story of aliens, slugs and zombies. This movie is a sort of comedy and tribute to the zombie, slasher and sci-fi genres. There are good performances, the make-up is great and the lead actress Jill Whitlow is cute. This film follows the formula of B-movie inclusive with many beautiful legs and breasts in the sorority house. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Noite dos Arrepios" ("The Night of the Creeps")