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Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow, Tom Atkins, Wally Taylor ... see more see more... , Bruce Solomon , Vic Polizos , Allan J. Kayser , Ken Heron , Alice Cadogan , June Harris , David Paymer , David Oliver , Evelyne Smith , Ivan E. Roth , Elizabeth Alda , Todd Bryant , Elizabeth Cox , Tex Donaldson , Alexander Folk , David Alan Johnson , Robert Kerman , Robert Kino , Jack Lightsy , Lori Lively , Brian MacGregor , Melanie Manos , Dick Miller , Leslie Ryan , Suzanne Snyder , John J. York , Howard Berger , Earl C. Ellis Jr. , Jay Arlen Jones , David Brian Miller , Ted Rae , Katherine Britton , Beal Carrotes , Richard DeHaven , Chris Dekker , Emily Fiola , Joseph S. Griffo , Robert Kurtzman , Russel Moss , Richard Sassin , Craig Schaefer , Dawn Schroder , Arick Stillwagon , Jim Townsend , Jay Wakemann , Keith Werle , Dan Frishman , Kevin Thompson

Virtually unnoticed during its brief theatrical run, this wildly entertaining horror-comedy achieved healthy cult status following its home-video and cable TV releases. The directorial debut of Fred D... read more read more...ekker (writer of the successful horror parody House), this low-budget effort throws alien monsters, axe-wielding killers, flesh-eating zombies, nudity, and (gasp!) drunken fraternity shenanigans into a blender, spiced with witty one-liners and references to dozens of horror classics (and anti-classics). The result is a satisfying treat that will tickle the tastebuds of horror fans. The film's nominal protagonists are a pair of randy fraternity pledges (Jason Lively, Steve Marshall) who open a literal can of worms when they steal a corpse from the campus medical facility and release a horde of space-leeches, which proceed to infest the bodies of everyone in sight. The host bodies subsequently become homicidal zombies with a penchant for popping in on unsuspecting (and undressing) sorority girls. The town's only hope (such as it is) seems to be a hard-boiled ex-cop (Tom Atkins), who has uncovered the secret link between the zombie invasion and a 30-year-old axe-murder case... and who's also several sandwiches shy of a picnic. Dekker keeps things moving at a brisk pace thanks to some outrageous set-pieces (some of which happen so quickly they'll have viewers reaching for the pause button) and clever dialogue, particularly for Atkins ("Girls, the good news is your dates are here; the bad news is, they're dead"), who dives into his crusty character with relish. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

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69% liked it

9,271 ratings

Critics

73% liked it

11 critics

R, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Fred Dekker

Release Date: August 22, 1986

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DVD Release Date: October 27, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (815)

  • LoughnerWasLucid
    December 6, 2011
    LoughnerWasLucid
    there are two particularly nice ways that your senior prom can turn out. one way is that you go with your sweetheart, grow deeper in love with them, learn how special and limited your time with them may be and decide you will marry them someday, then you take her home and make lo... read moreve to her for the first time. the other fun way to spend prom, which is what i experienced, is to go two hours late smelling like weed, not talk to anyone except the people you hate, take all the cookies from the snack table home with you, wrapped in napkins in your pockets, and eat them home alone while making yourself smell even more like weed. if your experience turns out like the first example, then i hope your prom date's head doesn't unzip like a banana peel and release a family of slugs. because then you will have to use the second plan. but it could be a bit hard to get high after witnessing this so i hope that you stick to plan B from the very beginning.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    June 19, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Night Of The Creeps is a wonderful tribute to all the classic horror films of the 1950's. Directed by Fred Dekker, Night Of The Creeps is a wonderful B movie that contains so many references to other horror films and directors, it's impossible to hate. For example, ever character... read more is named after a famed horror director and the plot itself could have been a film made in the 50's. The film works so well, and is constantly fun, horrifying, cheesy and above amusing. Watching Night Of The Creeps, you're guaranteed to have a good time. The actors here are wonderful and one performance stands alone, that of Tom Atkins as the sarcastic cop, Ray Cameron. Sure, Night Of The Creeps may not be that original, but man is it a fun, and entertaining horror film. The film succeeds at capturing the feel of the 50's classics. Night Of The Creeps is a memorable horror film that because its an homage to old horror flicks, it makes it more enjoyable and you come to appreciate how derivative it is. Night Of The Creeps is all good fun, and is a terrific film. Fred Dekker has crafted a fine horror film that will appeal to every horror fan because it pays tribute to so many films and directors in the process, that one cannot help but enjoy the creative aspect behind the film. Night Of The Creeps is an essential film to watch during the Halloween season and overall is one of best horror films of the 1980's.
  • phubbs1
    November 28, 2010
    phubbs1
    Oh how I love these tacky cheesy old 80's 'video nasty' horror's hehe the stuff of late night legend when your parents were out with friends for the evening and you were alone with the babysitter who was slightly too young and had no idea how to really care for you lol!!

    This is... read more just what you ordered for retro crapola, the effects are now abit iffy but still amusing and quite effective for the film (kinda), its just nice to see makeup and real handmade craftsmanship for the blood n gore instead of cgi boredom. The plot of course is out there and I don't think I even need to go into it, cast are pretty much unknowns accept for 80's legend Jason Lively who is OK, the rest are just the usual teen fodder. Its decent enough and was pretty scary back in the day but now its like watching funny archives :) worth alook for the makeup.
  • FilmFanatik
    June 2, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    Maybe it's my love for the very-well made Monster Squad or maybe I'm just not a proper horror film fan, but I found this to be very lackluster and disappointing. This movie takes absolutely forever to get going and by the time it does, it's over. I can't get behind this one, un... read morefortunately. I had been looking forward to seeing it for years, but it turns out to be not the highest of quality in both horror and camp. A serious let-down....and yes, I did watch the Director's Cut.
  • sononothing
    February 17, 2010
    sononothing
    The 1980's were full of films from the horror genre that were usually cheap knock offs of films that were cheap and repetitious to begin with (I'm looking at you Friday the 13th). Relics such as The Final Terror and Mountaintop Motel Massacre were retreads of the standard horror/... read moreslasher genre throughout the '80's. Looking back on the decade now only three films that flew under the radar actually survived, not to be hails, but to be seen as gems that most of the people in the dark had long forgotten. Night of the Creeps is one of those films.

    Fred Dekker's film deals with a college campus plagued by homicidal maniacs in the 1950's and alien induced zombies in the 1980's. After a crash landing in the Eisenhower era leaves a college student in cryogenic freeze, life goes on. Until the student is inadvertently thawed and releases a worm like creature that turns the victim into a zombie while gestating and creating baby zombie worms to continue a reign of terror. It's up to Chris (Jason Lively), J.C. (Steven Marshall), and Cynthia (Jill Whitlock) to stop the alien menace, with the burned out assistance of Detective Cameron (the legendary Tom Atkins).

    Creeps is a homage, but not a rip off. It's traveling down a road you've been down before, yet you're seeing it from a different angle, kind of like driving down the street backwards. There's the '50's sci-fi kick. There's the Romeroesque zombies. There's the homicidal maniac traveling the streets with an axe. It's just presented in a way that doesn't take itself to seriously, yet isn't a camp parody of itself. It's like a perfect mix that doesn't fail the viewer. Atkins performance is the real stand out with him playing an over the top character that doesn't become a parody of himself.

    Of course, Creeps failed at the box office and gained a slight cult audience from the home video and cable front (where I was introduced to it). As time has passed the film as grown into one of those films that act like a nice, reliable flick that no one has ever heard of, even with the great lines in the movie. Finally released to DVD this past year Night of the Creeps symbolizes that not all horror flicks from the 1980's were crap. Creeps is one of those films that didn't stand the test of time- it grew beyond it...
  • kiriyamakazou
    January 30, 2010
    kiriyamakazou
    The kind of film I'd usually love and want to marry. Unfortunately, I saw Slither first. That film was funnier and grosser. Night of the Creeps certainly has a lot of nice ingredients, with aliens, exploding heads and little slugs but when it's all combined it lacks any sort memo... read morerable punch. The FX still hold up, with the zombie head explosions looking real. An enjoyable, if fairly uninteresting oddity.
  • ceWEBrity
    July 23, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    Not scary. Not funny, either in a cheesy or clever way. Not interesting, not dramatic, not visually gripping. The protagonist has absolutely nothing going for him. His love interest is not cute. His buddy is not amusing, nor is the detective in charge of the case. Even the jump s... read morecares fail. There's really no reason to watch this.
  • 366weirdmovies
    July 21, 2008
    366weirdmovies
    An alien fugitive shoots some sort of parasite onto the earth, where it infects a madman who is later cryogenically frozen and thawed out by some nerds rushing a fraternity at Corman University, leading to a zombie plague. A fun little parody/tribute to B-movies that has real a... read moreffection for its source material.
  • creepfreak
    June 16, 2008
    creepfreak
    Funny and cheesy in the best way possible. Bloody, gory, and deranged. This movie is f#@*& great!

    Every horror fan needs an injection of Night of the Creeps. If you can't have fun with this movie then you need to immediately go out and find your sense of humor. It might be los... read moret in one of the "Saw" films, lol.

    Night of the Creeps is directed by Fred Dekker, the same man who brought us The Monster Squad. If you've seen how great The Monster Squad is then you should already know that Fred Dekker knows how to make one hell of an entertaining horror flick. The Monster Squad is a classic and Night of the Creeps is definitely right up there with it. Night of the Creeps pays homage to 50's sci-fi/horror films and kind of like the movie "Scream" in some ways, it's aware of exactly what it is, making it known that it's nothing more then just a bad B 80's horror movie(pointed out through many little inside jokes from the dialogue).

    "Night of the Creeps stars Tom Atkins, Jason Lively and Jill Whitlow. The film is notable as both an earnest attempt at a B-movie as well as a spoof of the genre. While the main plot of the film is related to zombies (its title is a play on Night of the Living Dead) the film also mixes in takes on slashers and alien invasion films.

    The classic B-movie Plan 9 from Outer Space is first referenced and then later watched by a character in the film. This is an intentional reference to the fact that the plot of the film is itself similar to Plan 9. Despite a strong cult following, the film has yet to be officially released onto DVD."

    Night of the Creeps knows exactly what it's doing, and it does it well. The cheese factor wasn't an accident, it was purposely planned and it was brilliant as hell. If this film didn't have all the cheese that it did I guarantee it wouldn't have been as good. I loved everything about this film, especially the one-liners. From the first opening scene I knew right away I was in for a treat. The black and white 50's setting with an escaped mental patient ending in a blood bath was a beautiful touch. Then cut to 1986 pledge week, with cheesy 80's rock music, handsome jocks with no brains, a beautiful educated goodie-good girl and the two unlucky dorks who suddenly become hero's and might actually save the day. Not to mention the bad ass cop, played by the awesome Tom Atkins, who just can't seem to get a break and lives his life in a death wish, fucking up any slug infested zombie that crosses his path. Hell Yeah!...Atkins for president! lol

    Bloody and outrageous. This movie is insanely fun and a must see for any horror fan who appreciates really good B popcorn flicks. This movie has everything a ("bad")horror movie needs. Highly recommended!


    Other Reviews:

    "This has to be one of the most satisfying horror flicks I have ever seen. It's the "Pulp Fiction" of horror movies."
    - Arrow in the Head

    "A masterpiece. Simply a work of art. NIGHT OF THE CREEPS might just be one of the cheesiest, most entertaining horror films ever made."
    - Absolute Horror

    "Dekker's biggest contribution to our queer little corner of the world is the excellent, overlooked Night of the Creeps, a film that is just about as perfect as they come."
    - Camp Blood

    "There is so much to love here it's hard to cover it all without slipping into fanboy ravings. Aside from the great characters given to us, there is a story line that makes for a fun romp as well."
    - Cinema Fromage

    "Night of the Creeps is an obscure zombie classic."
    - Movieprop.com

    "Fred Dekker didn't make some kind of standard 80's bad haired slasher crap with Night of the Creeps; he made something that should go down in the annals of film history as one of the best horror comedies ever made."
    - Eat My Brains

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  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 14, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    A highly enjoyable zombie-variation with leech-like creatures which turn people into the monsters. It's a classic piece of '80s viden rental home cinema.

View All Night of the Creeps Reviews

Critic Reviews

Sean Axmaker
December 5, 2009
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com

This is a terrific B-movie, full of genre love and filled with tributes to Dekker's horror movie heroes... Full Review

Scott Weinberg
November 16, 2009
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

Scattered across the whole of Night of the Creeps is horror-nerd nirvana. Full Review

Walter Chaw
November 8, 2009
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

I remember sort of loving it when I was twelve, meaning only that twelve-year-olds are idiots. Full Review

James Kendrick
November 6, 2009
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

virtually every frame of the film is a love letter to a bygone era as realized in the vibrant tones of the music-video-addled '80s Full Review

Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton
November 5, 2009
Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central

Night of the Creeps is a classic in every sense of the word. Full Review

James Plath
October 18, 2009
James Plath, Movie Metropolis

What's not to like about alien leeches that attack the brain and turn people into zombies? Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
February 20, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

a fun 80s homage

Widgett Walls
October 13, 2002
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com

'B-' zombie movie that's surpisingly novel and entertaining.

Nina Darnton
August 30, 2004
Nina Darnton, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
November 1, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • J.C. Hooper: Cynthia...my time is limited...umm much like the intellect of Steve... Now you see that attractive gentleman over there? While I'm his agent...and it is vital that I obtain this information....you see uhh... the fate of the entire free world hangs in the balance.
    • Cynthia Cronenberg: ...and why didn't he ask me himself?
    • J.C. Hooper: Tell him that!
    • Ray Cameron: I've got good news and bad news, girls. The good news is your dates are here.
    • Sorority Girl with Hairbrush: What's the bad news?
    • Ray Cameron: They're dead.
    • Ray Cameron: It's Miller time!
    • J.C. Hooper: (infected) Chris. There's one inside me. It got in through my mouth. I can feel it. It's in my brain. I don't have a pulse or a heartbeat. I think I'm dead. I killed one. I lit a match to it. I think fire will kill them. I've gone to the furnace room, the basement. If I don't come back, heat will kill them. I walked, Chris. All by myself, I walked. I love you. Good luck with Cynthia.
    • Ray Cameron: The guy's body was in the woods 20 yards from the car. My partner found him. I found the girl. I found her in the car, and on the road, and in the woods.
    • Ray Cameron: Zombies, exploding heads, creepy-crawlies and a date for the formal. This is classic, Spanky.
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Night of the Cree... : Watch Free on TV

Night of the Creeps Trivia

  • Many people think that James Gunn is homaging Night of the Creeps in his new movie Slither. This is in fact false. In having alien slug parasites invade people bodies he's actually homaging which film?  Answer »
  • Which 1980s horror flick featured characters named Romero, Hooper, and Cronenberg?  Answer »
  • In NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, Detective Cameron's catch-phrase is:  Answer »
  • Detective Cameron: I got good news and bad news girls. The good news is your dates are here. Sorority Sister: What's the bad news? Detective Cameron: They're dead.   Answer »
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