THE FILM AND WATER PODCAST
Episode 13: CREEPSHOW
Host Rob Kelly welcomes longtime Nuclear Sub DEREK WILLIAM CRABBE (FANHOLES PODCAST) to talk about a Halloween favorite, George A. Romero and Stephen King's CREEPSHOW! We can hold our breath a verrry long time!
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Thanks for listening! That's A Wrap!
I love Creepshow! I often forget about it when I make a list of favorite horror movies, but it ought to be in my Top 10, close to the Top 5.
ReplyDeleteI first saw it as a kid in the late '80s. One of my friends had a VHS copy recorded off of HBO or something and left it at my house, so it became part of my movie collection. Unfortunately, the tape ran out before the end of the movie; it cut off right before the end of "The Crate" so it was a long time before I saw the whole thing, including "They're Creeping Up On You". As a result, when I finally watched the whole movie uninterrupted I found that I didn't have the same love and appreciation for thew "new" material. So, unlike you and Derek, my favorite segments are the first three, although I do recognize that objectively "The Crate" is probably the best written and paced and should be the best.
I really loved "Father's Say" but had one major problem with it. Ed Harris' character is killed off too soon. He should be the point-of-view character. He's the outsider who comes in to this weird family and through him we get the exposition of this murder. Except as soon as the exposition is dumped on us, he gets killed and there's no one left for us to care about. It isn't the gravest of sins (get it?) because the feature is so short, but it's still a misuse of the character.
I felt bad for Jordy, in part because his first lines in the story are so comically overacted that I fell in love with the character right away. If you've read any significant amount of Stephen King's short stories, you can feel his fingerprints all over this story, so it feels appropriate that he played the doomed Jordy.
"Something to Tide You Over" was probably the most unsettling of the stories for me for the reason you guys pointed out: the cast was so out of their element for me. I grew up watching Cheers; to this day it's my favorite TV show of all time. And to see Sam Malone in such a vulnerable, terrifying position--drowning like that--was awful. And at the hands of Doctor Rumack/Lieutenant Frank Drebin of all people made it worse!
"The Crate" is the other story that feels the most Stephen King-ish, so it makes sense that Derek mentioned those two were lifted/adapted directly from his short stories. I haven't read the origins for those two, but I have read all the short stories that were adapted for Creepshow 2. "The Raft" was a great segment in that movie, but the ending of the short story is disappointingly very different.
This was such a great idea for the show and such a good episode. The passion you and Derek have for this film just poured out of my phone as I listened to you recount all of these vivid scenes that I had forgotten about.
Only one criticism about the episode, your failure to talk about John Harrison's score. The main theme used at the beginning and end of the film is amazing, one of the great horror movie themes, right up there with the music from Halloween and The Shining.
Great show, guys!
Meteorite Shit!
ReplyDeleteMan, I haven't watched Creepshow in YEARS...well, actually DECADES. But it was one of those perennial renters my friends and I would get from the local video store, that did not object to young kids renting R-rated (or Non-rated) material.
It's been so long since I've seen it, I'm not sure which segment I would pick as a favorite. I'd honestly forgotten about "The Crate" until you two mentioned it. Instead I see images of Jordy on his couch, covered in fungus, grandpa and his cake, waterlooged Ted Danson zombie attacking Leslie Neilsen, and E.G. Marshall exploding with cockroaches. These are things etched firmly into my brain.
Creepshow was probably one of the first horror movies I ever watched, after my friends ended my sheltered childhood by forcing me to watch some very disturbing films like Carpenter's The Thing. I think the comic aspect of Creepshow made it more palatable and "safe" to me somehow, which is probably why I was so fond of it. It's tongue is firmly planted in it's cheek, so despite some of the grisliness, it just reads more fun, and less threatening.
Now I'm going to have to scrounge up a copy of this and rewatch it, preferably before Halloween is over. Thank God for Amazon Prime!
Great to hear Derek stop by! His History of Comic on Film video series is a must-see for any comic fan. I've spent many a lunchbreak grinning from ear to ear watching those.
Great job fellas!
Chris
The Amazon fairy brought Creepshow to my house yesterday! Yay!
ReplyDeleteAfter I ordered, I saw where IFC was going to play it multiple times this week. Boo!
Well, boo for me. You guys go watch it!
Chris
Oh the horror...my Creepshow DVD case was EMPTY!!!
ReplyDeleteChris