The Madcap 1980s Zombie Horror Comedy Everyone Loves, Stream Without Netflix Now
Fans of the 1980s horror comedy Night of the Creeps now have a way to stream this often-overlooked entry in the zombie-comedy genre. While the major subscription streaming services have passed on hosting the movie in their libraries, you can view the Fred Dekker-directed classic on Pluto. For those who’ve never seen it, the film is a successful mashup of campy 1980s comedy and Romero-style zombies, with a twist of science fiction that all combine to make one of the era’s forgotten gems.
Night Of The Creeps
Night of the Creeps follows two college boys who try to steal a frozen corpse from the university medical center. When the body reanimates and tries to grab them, they flee in terror.
Unbeknownst to the two pranksters, the body they were attempting to abscond with had been infected decades earlier by a slug-like creature from an alien experiment that crashed on Earth.
Entering Human Bodies
The revived body roams to a nearby sorority house, where its head splits open as five large and fast-moving slugs dart from their host and scatter.
As Night of the Creeps continues, it’s revealed that these slugs forcefully enter human bodies and zombify them, using their bodies as an incubator while it produces more parasites.
As one slug will produce five others, a geometric progression of lumbering zombies invades the college community, forcing a grizzled old police detective to battle the growing hoard of the undead.
Released In 1986 And Has A Cult Following
Night of the Creeps was released theatrically in the summer of 1986 to a limited number of theater screens.
The film began to develop a cult following that fall when HBO/Cannon video made it available on both VHS and Laserdisc.
Director Fred Dekker is also credited with penning the screenplay for Night of the Creeps. As he was writing it, he gave the characters names that horror fans quickly discovered were nods to many of the great minds of the genre.
Grown In Popularity
George Romero (Night of the Living Dead), Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), David Cronenberg (The Fly), and Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead), are but some of the masters of horror and science fiction whose names were loaned to various major and minor roles.
In the years that have passed since its theatrical release, Night of the Creeps has remained a film that has grown in popularity across critics and fans. It boasts a score of 73% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and has high ratings from horror-genre publications Fangoria, Dread Central, Fearnet.
Combining Many Genres
The film successfully combines a wide range of genres. Night of the Creeps combines the dark elements of a noir movie with science fiction and zombie-driven horror flicks. The 1980s comedic touch is the icing on the cake for what could be considered one of the greatest entries in that decade’s horror offerings.
Streaming Night Of The Creeps
The movie can be found fairly easily on multiple physical formats. Aside from the 1980s vintage VHS and Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray versions were released in 2009. A re-release on Blu-ray emerged in 2019 that was loaded with extras that include the alternate ending. You can stream Night of the Creeps for free on Pluto.
