Released: November 10, 1982 (United States)
Inspired by the horror comics of the 1950s (Tales From The Crypt, Vault Of Horror etc), Creepshow is an anthology of film shorts, combining the writing of horror icon Stephen King and the direction of fright flick veteran George Romero. It’s use of comic inspired elements, not only gore (with effects of Tom Savini) and proverb but in paneling and on screen expression made it a clear homage to the horror comic genre, and an essential horror masterpiece. Father’s Day was particularly excellent, with its splatter ending and classic zombie portrayal.
Though King‘s works had been adapted to film with great success such as The Shining (1980) and Carrie (1976), followed by Cujo, The Dead Zone and Christine shortly afterwards, Creepshow was his first opportunity to write directly for the screen. Only two of the shorts, one of which he acted in, were already published. King is known for cameo appearances in films he’s been involved with, similar to Stan Lee’s one liners in Marvel Comics films prior to his death in xxxx. The remaining four were written specifically for the film. The young boy actor in the main storyline connecting all the segments is Joe Hillström King, Stephen King’s son.
The loosely moral themes of Creepshow’s stories made Romero an idea choice, as his prior films maintained a focus on social commentary. George Romero achieved his initial acclaim from Night the Living Dead, and continued on with further entries in the horror genre Martin (1977), Crazies (1973), the television series Tales From The Darkside (1983-1988) which developed as a result of Creepshow and numerous follow ups to the zombie-horror genre he was instrumental in developing.
IMDb:
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0083767/?ref_=ttfc_ov_bk
“Five grisly tales from a kid’s comic book about a murdered father rising from his grave, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate’s occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.” [IMDb]
Director: George A. Romero
Writer: Stephen King
Stars: Hal Holbrook, Leslie Nielsen, Adrienne Barbeau, Ted Danson with Stephen King
November 10, 1982 (United States)