Night of the Creeps

Sometime in the 50s, a strange metal object crashes to Earth after being ditched by an nearby spacecraft. Within are several slugs that leap into people's mouths, turning them into mindless zombies. Now, thirty-odd years later, the slugs are back, and it's up to a jaded police detective and a geeky college student to stop them before they take over the world.

Horror-comedies are tricky things to manage, be they high class pictures or simple little B-movies. It's a fine line between the two, and you can't be so scary that it's not funny, and so funny that it's not scary (or at least a little creepy). Many have failed to walk such a line (usually the ones with excess winking at the camera), but luckily, this is not one of those movies.

An unsung classic, Night of the Creeps is a very enjoyable flick about slugs-that-make-zombies. It's a film that was made in the heyday of the 80's, and it shows. It practically oozes the time period, from the hairstyles to the clothing, and it makes it all the sweeter to watch (because who doesn't love a good retro vibe?).

The effects aren't half-bad either. The gore hits decent levels, and the slugs skitter along the ground a lot quicker than you'd imagine. The zombies look like they should, and there's a couple pretty interesting kills for them. Plus, a flamethrower is utilized at one point, and that's always a good thing. There's also a number of horror and sci-fi shout-outs (pay attention to the names of the characters), always a nice thing to see (when done in moderation, of course).

Opposite the horror is the comedy, and it manages to be pretty funny. It's more a horror flick than comedy, so no real jokes are put out. Instead the laughs come from the general situations, and the many wonderful one-liners the detective keeps throwing out. Plus, it's the general idea of space slugs making zombies, and the whole cast handles the idea quite well.

This is a movie that's been long absent from a genuine DVD release (even a real VHS release), which is a damn shame. Luckily, it finally gets released in a very special DVD release tomorrow (with both endings, one of which I still need to see). Be sure to check it out if you can, and do your part in supporting a cult favorite.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAQ0u4LKNmw