One sub-genre that is almost unique to the Horror world is the anthology film. A film that, instead of telling one story over its running time, tells several - like a collection of short stories. Most of these films are hit and miss, which is inevitable when jumping from one tale to another. Some of the shorts might not work as well as the others. The way to help such a structure work is to have the same writer, director, and crew for each segment. One anthology film that did this and made it work, was a collaboration between George Romero and Stephen King - two of the greatest in the Horror genre at the time. The film was 1992’s Horror Comic homage CREEPSHOW.
More below!!
CREEPSHOW begins with a young boy being scolded and abused by his father for reading a comic book called “Creepshow”. As his father leaves, the boy is beckoned to the window by an apparition of The Creep (the cover ghoul of the comic book) who then shows him 5 frightening stories of torment and revenge. The 5 segments are:
“Father’s Day”; where a horrible patriarch is accidentally resurrected and returns for his Father’s Day cake.
“The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill"; telling the story of a solitary farmer who finds a meteor that mutates the land, house, and Jordy himself.
“Something to Tide You Over”; a story of a love triangle that results in murder and revenge.
“The Crate”; in which a henpecked husband uses an unidentified, vicious monster locked in a crate to rid himself of his emotionally abusive wife.
“They’re Creeping Up on You!”; the story of a Howard Hughes-like billionaire whose germaphobia is provoked when his hermetically sealed house is invaded by thousands of cockroaches.
Romero directs each story with great energy and atmosphere and each one benefits greatly from King’s signature blend of fright and humor. Each short film features excellent actors in their roles as well. Hal Holbrook, Ed Harris, Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall, and even Steven King himself show up to turn in excellent performances. The tone of the film stays constant even when telling very different stories. This must have been a difficult balance to strike, given that while some stories tilt towards Horror, others tilt towards Comedy. It is a testament to the skill of all involved that the film holds together so well.
As a Horror movie or as a celebration of the act of short-storytelling, CREEPSHOW is a film that is very easy to simply let go and have fun watching. One scary, funny, creepy tale after another until your appetite for the macabre is sated. Most of all, though, CREEPSHOW is the perfect marriage of the storytelling sensibilities of two Horror titans.
Parental Guide: Very small children might take this one too seriously. Good for kids 11+
CREEPSHOW fun facts -
At the end of the segment “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill“, there is a signpost for Portland, Maine. This is Stephen King‘s hometown and the setting of many of his novels.
George Romero likes to confine his filming to the Pittsburgh area as much as possible. Most of CREEPSHOW was filmed at an empty school which was converted into a studio.
Ted Danson‘s daughter was on set when he filmed his watery corpse scene. He was nervous about how she would take seeing him in his make-up, but was relieved when her reaction was simply; “Hi Dad”.
The direction Stephen King was given to portray Jordy was to play him the way Wile E Coyote looks when going off a cliff.
Henry - “I drove out there with the remains of three human beings. Well, two human beings and Wilma. “
Jordy Verrill- “That‘s a meteor. I‘ll be dipped in shit if that ain’t a meteor!”
Richard Vickers - “Don‘t call me ‘mister’. You know damn well who I am.”