Creepshow is a 1982 horror anthology film written by Stephen King and directed by George Romero. The film is an homage to the E.C. Comics horror series, such as Tales from the Crypt.
The Plot[]
Warning: This plot synopsis contains spoilers.
Prologue[]
Creepshow, being a tribute by the fans for the fans of the E.C. Comics, appropriately opens on a suburban home during the Halloween season. A father is scolding his son Billy for reading the "rotten" comic Creepshow (an E.C.-like horror comic) and threatens to punish him severely if he ever finds him reading such a comic again.
While the father feels satisfied about his decision, Billy seethes in his room. At that moment, the Crypt Keeper-like Creep appears in Billy's window, with the latter being clearly amused, and an animation sequence opens with the credits, ending with a peek inside the comic that transitions to reality.
Father's Day[]
The first story concerns the Grantham family, whose matriarch Great Aunt Bedelia killed her demanding father Nathan in a rage seven years ago on Father's Day. The Granthams are quite happy about the death of the miserly Nathan, which allowed them to inherit his fortune, but this year things go differently; Nathan rises from his grave as a vengeful zombie and begins killing off his relatives one by one in a quest for his "cake".
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill[]
The second story revolves around Jordy Verrill, a backwoods hick who, after being infected by the juice inside a meteorite that crashes in his yard, gets a little more growth out of his plants than he can handle.
Something To Tide You Over[]
Richard Vickers, a rich and jealous husband, decides to get revenge on his cheating wife Becky and her lover Harry in a creatively cruel manner, but learns too late that the tide has a way of bringing things back.
The Crate[]
A patsy professor sees the release of a dangerous creature from a crate delivered to his college as a surefire way to rid himself of his monster of a wife.
They're Creeping Up On You![]
Upson Pratt, a mean old business tycoon with a fear of insects, gets bugged by roaches after he causes the suicide of an employee.
Epilogue[]
The next morning, two garbage collectors find the Creepshow comic Billy's father threw away, noting that the coupon for a voodoo doll has been ripped out. Meanwhile, the father himself is having some major neck pain. As he collapses from said pain, we learn that Billy is stabbing his new voodoo doll over and over, this act fading to the cover of another issue of Creepshow being read by none other than the Creep.
The Cast[]
Prologue and Epilogue
Billy - Joe King (Stephen King's own son)
Billy's Mother - Iva Jean Saraceni 
BStan, Billy's father - Tom Atkin
Garbage Man #1 - Marty Schiff
Garbage Man #2 - Tom Savini
Father's Day
Sylvia Grantham - Carrie Nye
Richard Grantham - Warner Shook
Cass Blaine - Elizabeth Regan
Hank Blaine - Ed Harris
Aunt Bedelia - Viveca Lindfors
Nathan Grantham - Jon Lormer
Mrs. Danvers - Nann Mogg
Nathan's Corpse - John Amplas
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill
Jordy Verrill - Stephen King
Doctor/Professor - Unknown
Jordy's Father - Bingo O'Malley
Something To Tide You Over
Richard Vickers - Leslie Nielsen
Harry Wentworth - Ted Danson
Becky Vickers - Gaylen Ross
The Crate
Henry Northrup - Hal Holbrook
Wilma Northrup - Adrienne Barbeau
Dexter Stanley - Fritz Weaver
Tabitha Raymond - Christine Forrest
Richard Raymond - Chuck Aber
Charlie Gereson - Robert Harper
Mike the Janitor - Don Keefer
Fluffy - Darryl Ferrucci
They're Creeping Up On You!
Upson Pratt - E.G. Marshall
White - David Early
Lenora Castonmeyer - Ann Muffly (voice)
Trivia[]
- Stephen King carried a figure of the character Greedo from Star Wars on set as good luck.
- The maggots used on Nathan Grantham are actually Rice Krispies from the Kellogg's cereal of the same name.
- The marble ashtray used by Bedelia to kill Nathan in "Father's Day" shows up somewhere in all five segments.
- The wrestling match Jordy Verrill is watching is WWE former champion Bo Backlund and The Samoan No. 1, called by Vince MacMahon.
- At the end of "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill", a sign leading to Castle Rock (one of Stephen King's famous fictional towns) can be seen.
- Ted Danson reportedly tried to avoid his daughter, who was on set during the scene where he returns from the dead in "Something to Tide You Over", out of fear of scaring her. Ironically, when she finally approached him, she simply responded with, "Oh, hi, Dad."
- The on-set nickname for the monster in "The Crate" was "Fluffy", given to him by George Romero.
- The minor characters Tabitha and Richard in "The Crate" are named after Stephen King's wife and pseudonym Richard Bachman, respectively.
- The final segment, "They're Creeping Up On You!", was originally supposed to take place in a lush penthouse apartment, but it was decided that such a setting would be unworkable with the live roaches used.
- The "Father's Day" segment is featured in the Femme Fatales episode "Family Business, Part 2".
- The "Something to Tide You Over" segment is featured in the Femme Fatales episode "Help Me, Rhonda".
- The "They're Creeping Up on You!" segment is featured in the Femme Fatales episode "Bad Medicine".
Sequels and TV Series[]
Creepshow 2[]
See here for Wikipedia's article on Creepshow 2. Creepshow 2
Creepshow spawned a sequel, Creepshow 2, in 1987, which had only three tales of terror instead of five. The wraparound story follows Billy as he is harassed by bullies (eventually getting even with man-eating venus flytraps), and the stories deal with a vengeful cigar store indian ("Old Chief Wood'nhead"), four teenagers stranded on a raft by a hungry blob ("The Raft"), and an upper-class woman who is haunted by the ghost of a man she killed in a hit-and-run ("The Hitchhiker").
Tales from the Darkside and Monsters[]
See here for Wikipedia's articles on Tales From The Darkside Tales from the Darkside, Tales From The Darkside: The Movie Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, and Monsters Monsters.
After some legal disputes over ownership of the Creepshow franchise, George Romero changed the name and took the idea to the small screen, resulting in Tales from the Darkside (1983-1988) and the "official Creepshow 3", Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990). A further series titled Monsters (1988-1991) succeeded it. Both series would somewhat foreshadow the later Tales from the Crypt TV series.
Creepshow 3[]
See here for Wikipedia's article on Creepshow 3. Creepshow 3
Taurus Entertainment, who owned rights to Creepshow (hence the name having to be changed to Tales from the Darkside) made their own unofficial sequel, Creepshow 3 in 2006 with no involvement from King or Romero. Despite its poor reception, Taurus was in the process of producing a TV show called Creepshow: RAW, but the show was canceled after the first episode aired.
Creepshow (TV Series)[]
See here for Wikipedia's article on Creepshow (TV Series). Creepshow
Monster Agency Productions, Striker Entertainment and Taurus Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, made Creepshow, a horror anthology TV series based on the Creepshow horror film series and novella. The series features six episodes with two horror stories per episode, serves as a continuation of the first film in the Creepshow franchise and currently airs on the Shudder streaming service.