Blu-Ray Review: Night of the Creeps


Some people look to the stars with hope, others with fear. The excitement caused by the ‘Space Race’, which culminated with the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969, inspired a new wave of science fiction writing and film-making. This continued until the end of the Cold War. During the ‘80s horror boom, this fascination transformed itself into a myriad of weird and wonderful sci-fi infused horror films. Fred Dekker’s Night of the Creeps is the result of an alien science experiment gone wrong.

Chris (Jason Lively) and J.C. (Steve Marshall) are a pair of self-described dorks who see their lack of cool as a barrier to attracting girls. During Pledge week, Chris spots and falls for Cynthia (Jill Whitlow) and decides that the only way he stands a chance with her is to join a fraternity. In order to join Beta Epsilon, they have to steal a corpse from the medical centre and deposit it outside a sorority house. The boys sneak in and free a body which is cryogenically frozen, unknowingly releasing a plague on the town and bringing back nightmares for Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins).

Night of the Creeps takes a classic horror genre and spices it up with brain-eating alien slugs. There’s some amazing dialogue and no one better than the unparalleled Tom Atkins to deliver it. The effects are very much of the era, as is the tone which never really approaches ‘serious’. When it comes down to it, Night of the Creeps is pure B-Movie escapism; very loosely wrapped up in a teen romance. Sit back, relax, at let your brain be slowly munched-on.

Special edition contents:

  • Limited edition O Card slipcase (First print run only)
  • High-definition remaster of the director’s cut
  • Original stereo soundtrack and 5.1 surround audio options, presented in PCM and DTS-HD MA respectively on the Blu-ray
  • Optional English SDH subtitles
  • Audio Commentary by writer / director Fred Dekker
  • Audio Commentary by actors Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow
  • “Thrill Me: The Making of Night of the Creeps” – an hour-long series of video pieces on the making of the film featuring interviews with the cast & crew
  • “Tom Atkins: Man of Action” featurette
  • Video Interview with Fred Dekker
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Original theatrical ending
  • Trivia track subtitles
  • Theatrical trailer
  • PLUS: A limited edition booklet featuring a new essay by critic Craig Ian Mann (First print run only)

Night of the Creeps is released on dual format DVD and Blu-ray by Eureka Classics on 8th October.

Previous DVD Review: Dead Night
Next LFF Review: Bisbee '17

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