This Day in Horror History: NIGHT OF THE CREEPS Opened in 1986
Mike Sprague
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On this day in horror history, The Monster Squad writer-director Fred Dekker’s cult classic horror-comedy Night of the Creeps with Jason Lively, Jill Whitlow, and Tom Atkins was unleashed into theaters back in 1986.
Night of the Creeps is an homage to B movies, zombies, slashers, and alien invasion flicks with Dekker penning the screenplay in just one week and including every B movie cliche he could think of.
Dekker originally wanted to shoot it in black and white. That didn’t happen. But the man did get in some easter eggs such as graffiti on the wall of a bathroom stall that reads, “Go Monster Squad!”.
Also, some character’s last names are based on famous horror directors: George A. Romero (Chris Romero), John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper (James Carpenter Hooper), David Cronenberg (Cynthia Cronenberg), James Cameron (Det. Ray Cameron), John Landis (Det. Landis), Sam Raimi (Sgt. Raimi) and Steve Miner (Mr. Miner – The Janitor). Corman University” is a reference to director/producer Roger Corman.
While Night of the Creeps wasn’t a hit when it was first released – it only scored a mere $591,366 from 70 theaters – it is now a cult classic that currently sports a 75% approval rating over on Rotten Tomatoes.
It takes place in 1986, were two nerdish fraternity pledges sneak into the college’s medical center to pull a prank. They find the frozen remains of a boy who swallowed an alien slug back in 1959 and accidentally unleash the brain parasites that turn their host into zombies on-campus.
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