Night of the Creeps (1986)

Alien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.

Director:

Fred Dekker

Writer:

Fred Dekker

Stars:

Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Lively	...	Chris
Steve Marshall	...	J.C.
Jill Whitlow	...	Cynthia
Tom Atkins	...	Ray Cameron
Wally Taylor	...	Detective Landis
Bruce Solomon	...	Sgt. Raimi
Vic Polizos	...	Coroner
Allan Kayser	...	Brad (as Allan J. Kayser)
Ken Heron	...	Johnny
Alice Cadogan	...	Pam
June Harris	...	Karen
David Paymer	...	Young Scientist
David Oliver	...	Steve
Evelyne Smith	...	House Mother
Ivan E. Roth	...	Psycho Zombie

Storyline

In 1959, an alien experiment crashes to earth and infects a fraternity member. They freeze the body, but in the modern day, two geeks pledging a fraternity accidentally thaw the corpse, which proceeds to infect the campus with parasites that transform their hosts into killer zombies.

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Plot Keywords:

parasite | alien | fraternity | corpse | experiment | 

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Taglines:

They don't bother to knock

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Homecoming Night

Filming Locations:

California State University Northridge - 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$591,366 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Delphi V Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 85 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The college football team the Bulldogs was named in tribute to writer/director Fred Dekker's high school football team.

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Goofs

When J.C. first opens the door of his bathroom stall, there is no graffiti on the wall behind Mr. Miner's corpse. The graffiti appears when he emerges from the stall and crawls across the floor.

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Quotes

Brad: Okay, so we put you up to it... but we said the Phi Omega Gamma house, *not* the Kappa Delta sorority. Do you know the difference?
Chris Romero: [shrugs] It's all Greek to me.

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Connections

Referenced in Fear of Clowns 2 (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Put Your Head on My Shoulder"
Performed by Paul Anka
Courtesy of Paul Anka

User Reviews

Definitely one of the better B-movies!

"Night of the Creeps" is definitely one of the better B-movies that are out there. Granted, like all B-movies it's a bit hokey at times, and also follows along the trademark lines with films of this caliber (obligatory boob shot, corny dialogue, poor camera techniques, etc.).

But give "Night of the Creeps" its due. First of all, it is fairly original for a B-movie. Alien slugs that infest the brain and turn you into a zombie may seem like a typical B-movie theme, but it's portrayed in a fairly unique manner. Given the time period of this movie's release, and it's obviously small budget, I'm quite impressed with the special-effects of the alien slugs as they race along the ground throughout the film. They're so simple, that it makes them look realistic and somewhat unnerving. In horror films, it is often the most simple effects that are the most discomforting to the viewer. I put these alien slugs along that line.

I really like Tom Atkins ("Lethal Weapon") as Detective Cameron too. He's the perfect actor for this particular role as the washed-up detective. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for Tom's career, it seems that he often got type-cast to play the depressed, on-edge characters. Atkins is one of the bonuses in this B-flick.

Another "acting bonus" would have to be our two young heroes played by Jason Lively ("European Vacation") and Jill Whitlow. Lively as always plays the young, likable clod. Somewhat bashful, somewhat moronic, somewhat accident-prone, but you can't help but like the guy. And Whitlow is just plain cute. I sometimes think that 80's flicks didn't have enough cute girls in them, but Whitlow is definitely one of them.

All in all, "Night of the Creeps" is good for a B-movie. It'll entertain you for sure, and you won't get sick of it while you're watching. It's definitely one to watch if you're into the B-movie thing.