The Best Horror Anthology Ever Is Being Kept Away From The New Generation

Creepshow is split into five separate vignettes with a wrap-around story about a pre-teen boy getting his favorite horror comic book taken away from his drunken brute of a father. The Creepshow comic book seized from the kid is thrown into the garbage can outdoors, only to have its demonic main character (who introduces the separate stories in the comic) appear at the boy’s window and offer him revenge on the family’s abusive patriarch.

As the kid’s tale unfolds, so do the pages of the comic book which act as creative introductions to each story.

Creepshow features a murdered man rising from his grave on Father’s Day in its first tale, aptly named after the June holiday. Nathan Grantham staggers to his former estate from the family cemetery plot and gets revenge on all who have gathered there. The savage kill scenes in this vignette feature a heavy headstone falling on one poor soul in one of the film’s most memorable kill scenes.

“The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” is the second Creepshow tale. Here we see the title character retrieve a meteorite that just crashed onto his farm.

After the dim-witted man attempts to cool it off by dousing it with water, the space rock begins to rapidly spread an invasive green moss over all that it has touched; including poor Jordy Verill.

“Something to Tide You Over” is a Creepshow story surrounding a wealthy man whose wife has been having an affair with a younger playboy.

In an act of revenge, he buries his wife and her lover up to their necks on the beach at low tide, telling them that if they hold their breaths long enough that they might survive when the tide rolls in. But he is soon haunted by their resurrected corpses who weren’t really keen on how he disposed of them.

Creepshow‘s fourth installment is “The Crate,” a story about a mysterious box discovered under a stairwell at a university. It’s soon revealed that the crate hosts a mysterious and murderous creature that was captured during an expedition to the Arctic. When he’s freed, there’s Hell to pay.

Finally, Creepshow‘s last tale is about a wealthy germophobe that has just received news that a business rival has committed suicide due to his ruthless business practices.

“They’re Creeping Up on You” plays out in the old man’s apartment as it is invaded by a legion of cockroaches that will carry out the dead man’s revenge.

Creepshow brings so many things to the table that horror fans can nerd out over. The film marks the screenwriting debut of Stephen King (who also plays Jordy Verrill) and is directed by horror filmmaker George Romero (Night of the Living Dead). Add in the special effects of the wizard of gore Tom Savini, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for terror.

Creepshow put together an ensemble cast that each gave unforgettable performances throughout the film. Horror fans will recognize Tom Atkins (Night of the Creeps, Halloween 3), Adrienne Barbeau (Swamp Thing, The Fog), and Leslie Nielson (Prom Night), but will also see Ted Danson, Ed Harris, E.G. Marshall, and Richard Gere, among others.

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Inspired heavily from the 1950s EC horror comic books (Tales From the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, Vault of Horror), Creepshow translates gory comic book style graphics onto the theater screen with a sense of mastery. The film’s score gives a chilling overlay to haunting mini-movies that are terrifying, funny, and aesthetically pleasing to any fan of the genre.

Sadly, Creepshow isn’t featured on any free streaming service. But you can still rent this horror anthology classic On Demand with Vudu, Google Play, Prime, and AppleTV.