“Night of the Creeps”
Day 12 of the 2024 31-Days of Horror
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Alien brain parasites turn frat boys into zombies in this classic 80s horror flick.
Revisited this because it randomly showed up as I was scrolling. So very, very 80s. From the glamorizing of the Greek Council, to the stereotype of the popular, pretty girl unhappily dating the popular head of the Fraternity, and eventually leaving him for the unpopular, but “nice-guy”, nerd, to the burned out cop who teams up with them to save the campus/town/world. Sigh. This formula describes any number of 80s movies. The “nice-guy” trope is a whole different conversation for another time.
So, opening the movie, we’re on a space ship. Aliens with guns are chasing another alien carrying some sort of case. Ultimately, the case gets jettisoned out an airlock and lands on Earth. In 1959. Where a young Officer Cameron stumbles across a serial killer who he helps capture. Fast forward to 1986. We’re on a college campus during Rush Week and a huge frat party.
We have Chris (Jason Lively) and Cynthia (Jill Whitlow) as our protagonists. With J.C. (Steve Marshall), as the loyal-ish sidekick. Kudos to the filmmakers for having a person with a disability as one of the main characters, by the way. They all play their expected roles admirably, underdog, trophy, and snarky sidekick, respectively. There’s nothing super outstanding. Then you have Tom Atkins, as Detective Ray Camron. He does cynical, veteran, burned out cop as well as he does sex on a stick, which, thankfully, this movie doesn’t call for. But he does it well. Oh, and guess what the deal was with the serial killer that he captured in ’59? That alien case was full of brain controlling slugs that turn their victims into homicidal zombies.
If you’re a fan of these formulaic 80s horror flicks, or of Tom Atkins, this could be a fun watch for you. Grab your popcorn and your favorite adult beverage first, though.
