Back in 1982 the pairing of best-selling horror author Stephen King and Dawn of the Dead director George A. Romero must have gotten fanboys incredibly worked up. Throw into this the fact that Creepshow was meant to be a loving homage to the EC Comics ("Tales from the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror", to name a few) that the duo read growing up and you can understand why. I'm the kind of guy who will pretty much watch any anthology flick, just because I sometimes love my horror in tiny, bite size pieces, but this team-up of two of the genre's most recognized icons was something special. And while the results aren't as grand as we might've liked, there's certainly a lot of memorable moments in here and the flick continues to have a good reputation all these years later - let's just forget all about the third (painful) entry, shall we?

Right away we're drawn into the comic book feel intended by Romero as a youngster (King's son Joe, who would go on to be a well established author of such awesome novels as "Horns" and the comic series "Locke & Key") has become the target of his high-strung father (genre favourite Tom Atkins) who doesn't agree with him reading the "mind rot" horror comics he enjoys. Soon after being banished to his room he's visited by the skeletal specter who hosts his adored "Creepshow" comics and we're led into the five stories contained within.

First up is "Father's Day", a grisly revenge tale that has gathered the most attention over the years thanks to its unforgettable final scene. It's a basic story about a yearly gathering of a rich, snobby family to remember their bitchy patriarch's passing, supposedly at the hands of his daughter Bedelia (Viveca Lindfors), on Father's Day. Soon enough they start being gruesomely killed off on the way to the, admittedly great, final twist.

"The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" is probably the least liked of the stories here and a lot of that seems to be aimed at the fact that King decided to take the lead acting role. Playing a backwoods hick who spends his days farming and watching wrestling, King gives a ridiculously over-the-top performance as Jordy who finds his luck changing (for the worst) when a meteor crash lands on his land, he gets "meet-eor shit!" on him and he starts mutating. It's silly enough to be watchable but I can understand why it's unpopular.

The middle story, "Something to Tide You Over", also takes the revenge angle to new levels as jilted husband Richard (Leslie Nielsen) finds out his wife is having an affair and decides to confront her suitor (Ted Danson). He soon sets his morbid revenge fantasy into motion (which involves burying them up to their necks in sand to watch them drown) but along comes the expected, fun, twist. Nielsen definitely steals the show here.

"The Crate" follows and gets a bombastic turn from Adrienne Barbeau (who'd co-star in Swamp Thing the same year) as Billie, an obnoxious and quick talking wife of meek professor Henry (Hal Holbrook) who's continually having fantasies of killing her. He's called away by the discovery of an ancient crate under the stairs at the University and it turns out to contain a deadly ape-like creature - which our Prof uses for his own demented needs. It's the longest tale here, and it takes a while to wrap up, but I did like how the plot eventually lined up and the creature effects are pretty decent.

Lastly comes "They're Creeping Up on You" which is my personal favourite as it has a great, bravura turn by veteran actor E.G. Marshall as the germaphobic rich Mr. Pratt who, when he's not busy insulting people and being a dick, is locked away in his penthouse afraid of any form of bacteria. It all starts with one little cockroach but, soon enough, he's trapped in his hermetically sealed tomb as the insects take over - and give him a comeuppance that's awesome.

Creepshow is a successful effort, even if it feels a little overlong, that offers up a good evening of entertainment. I love how Romero has captured the feel of the old school comics by framing shots with hand-drawn panels and using over-exaggerated coloured filters. Its mood is also helped out by John Harrison's appropriate score and King sticking close to the "waiting for the twist" feel of the EC books as well. There's also some notable effects work from maestro Tom Savini (who has a cameo as a garbage man) and stellar turns from the Nielsen and Marshall.

I also quite enjoyed the sequel that followed five years later helmed by Michael Gornick (who served as director of photography here) but can't stress enough that you should avoid the third part from the team of Ana Clavell and James Dudelson - the same pair who drug Romero's name through the mud with the ill-advised and awful Day of the Dead 2: Contagium. (Chris Hartley, 9/26/13)

Directed By: George A. Romero.
Written By: Stephen King.

Starring: Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen.