(George A. Romero, 12 November 1982)
“The Most Fun You’ll Have Being Scared!”
On this day in 1982, two masters of the macabre — George A. Romero and Stephen King — joined forces for a festive match made in Hell, gleefully delivering a compendium of universal (and delightful) terrors that for many of us genre fans, was an exercise in “gateway horror.”
This film is equal parts poetic justice, practical effects, and highly stylized presentation —i t still kills, it still works, it still scares. Three weeks ago, we screened this seminal anthology and Fiend-favorite for the young Creeps in the Club with overwhelming success: the Junior Fiends sunk their teeth into “The Crate,” held their breath during “Something to Tide You Over,” and were positively bugged by “They’re Creeping Up on You.” This one landed in all the right spots, scares and laughs alike. Not only did the kids learn all there is to know about decaying patriarchs and what not to do with meteorites, but Mr. Tom Atkins was on-hand (in all his regal glory) to remind each one of us why God made fathers.
Inspired by the EC horror comics of yesteryear, watching this film with a new generation of emerging horror-fans was a riot — sharing an important piece of genre history from such influential luminaries is an honor. My own personal introduction to CREEPSHOW came via the Bernie Wrightson trade-paperback comic: in the 4th grade, a classmate of mine brought that colorfully gruesome thing to school, and we were enthralled…and, arguably, we were never the same. We all had to find some way to snag our own copy (which, as 10 and 11 year olds, wasn’t easy)…and I’m happy to say I still have mine. Happy Birthday, CREEPSHOW…We love you. Now…tuck in, Kids…but take out the garbage first.