 |
| The Creeps | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Charles Band |
| Written by | Benjamin Carr |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Adolfo Bartoli |
| Edited by | Steven Nielson |
| Music by | Carl Dante |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | The Kushner-Locke Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Creeps is a 1997 American comedy horror film, written by Benjamin Carr and directed by Charles Band.
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(June 2015) |
Anna Quarrels works in the Rare Books Room of a library and is approached by Mr. Jamison from the University of Chicago, who wishes to study Mary Shelley's original manuscript for Frankenstein . After he finishes reading, Anna is about to return the manuscript to the stacks when she discovers that Jamison has switched blank paper for the manuscript. He walked out of the library with the real manuscript. Investigating, she learns that he used a fake I.D. to access the Rare Books Room.
Anna hires a private detective, David Raleigh, to track Jamison down. David finds fingerprints on the sign-in sheet and discovers that the man claiming to be Jamison is really Dr. Winston Berber, an unscrupulous scholar with doctorates in Physics, Mathematics, Folklore, and Philosophy. Berber is meanwhile gloating over his collection of rare manuscripts; along with the Shelley manuscript, he has obtained the originals of Guy Endore's The Werewolf of Paris (1933) and Nina Wilcox Putnam's The Mummy (1932). He now seeks the first edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) to complete his collection. Berber has invented an "Archetype Inducer" and plans to use the manuscripts to bring the four greatest monsters from horror history to life to do his bidding.
David has been so busy at the video store he runs that he has not yet located Berber. Berber eventually returns to the library, looking for the first edition of Dracula. Anna recognizes him, holds him at bay with a pair of scissors, phones David, and tells him to hurry over. Before David can arrive, Berber zaps Anna with a taser. He then steals the "Dracula" manuscript and takes both the book and Anna to his laboratory.
Anna regains consciousness and finds herself handcuffed to a table. Berber informs her that she is just what he needs: a virgin between the ages of 20 and 35 to be sacrificed naked in order to make the Archetype Inducer work. David breaks into the lab, having found Berber's address with an internet search. He overcomes Berber and releases Anna. She grabs the manuscripts, and the two hurriedly leave the lab. Unfortunately, Berber had already turned on the Archetype Inducer.
While David and Anna are making their escape, the four monsters step out of the machine. But strangely, The Mummy (Joe Smith), Frankenstein's monster, The Wolfman, and Dracula are all midgets. Dracula is unhappy that he has been brought to life at the height of 3 ft (0.91 m). Berber assures him that he and the other monsters can be increased in stature, if he can recapture Anna. The monsters offer to get her for him.
Anna is not too happy either about the $6,200 invoice presented by David for his services. Anna's supervisor, Miss Christina, is herself unhappy, because she is a lesbian and Anna keeps dodging her romantic advances. When her advances are again dodged, Christina stays late at the library in order to make love to the first edition of Jane Eyre in the Rare Book Reading Room. She hears a noise out on the floor and falls prey to Dracula's net. Back at the lab, Berber is unhappy because Christina was not Anna and insists that he needs Anna. Dracula forces him to try the procedure anyway, and when it does not work, the antagonists set out again to find Anna.
At David's house, Dracula is unable to get Anna's address from David and tries to bite his neck. David exposes his crucifix and races out the door. Assuming he will lead them to Anna, the monsters and Berber follow as David leads them to the library. When the monsters attempt to capture Anna, David grabs Berber and takes him hostage. He threatens to break his neck if they refuse to leave Anna alone. David pulls out Berber's taser to threaten Dracula, who simply zaps it and causes it to explode.
Anna and David are taken back to the lab, and Berber prepares for the procedure. Dracula asks for assurance that it will work this time, but Berber won't guarantee it. He has found out that Anna is not a virgin. Dracula suggests that they should find another virgin in order to go through the procedure, but Berber says that will unbalance things. The only way to keep everything balanced is to find a virgin male. After asking, Dracula is assured that David is indeed a virgin.
The preparations for the human sacrifice continue while David tries to develop an idea. But at the last minute, it is Anna who has an idea. She points out to the monsters that they will eventually die if they stay in the real world as all humans do. But if they return to the pages of the novels from whence they came, they will live on forever as the legends they are. Berber pushes the red button to start his machine, and David and Anna escape from their cuffs. Rather than the two being sucked into the machine, Christina reappears as a Viking, grabs Berber, and they both disappear. Anna and David conclude that the machine turned the two into archetypes of a Viking and a mad scientist. Having had a little time to ponder Anna's idea, Dracula tells David to press the red button again, as the monsters have chosen to return to their own lands as the legends they are rather than die in the real world. Before the four are sucked back into the pages of their respective novels, Dracula tells Anna that she is wise "for someone who has not yet lived a single lifetime. But do not fear," he adds, "we will always be with you... in your nightmares."
Anna later shows up at David's video store, gives him a check for $6,200, and informs him that Berber's lab has been torn down. She also gives him a book, the first English language edition of Venus in Furs . David thanks her and admits that he saw the film in "1970, directed by Jess Franco, starring Klaus Kinski. Actually, there was an earlier version directed by Larry Buchanan, the guy who did Zontar: The Thing from Venus (1966). Actually, I think there's a '94 version but it's all in Dutch...," he drones on. Anna interrupts him with a kiss.
Critical reception for The Creeps has been mixed. [1] Fangoria wrote that the film is "moderately successful" and "one of things to The Creeps' credit is that while the filmmakers do indulge in the 'minuscule monster' angle, the movie doesn't sink to a series of tasteless short jokes or repetitive and sophomoric humorless indignities aimed at the diminutive actors." [2] HorrorTalk commented that "No matter how you look at it, The Creeps is a bad movie" but that "Regardless of the minefield of faults, in the right hands The Creeps can be an entertaining film. It certainly isn't the Monster Squad meets Time Bandits you may have envisioned, but the special effects required some effort to produce and corners were definitely not cut." [3] A reviewer for the British Fantasy Society also praised the film and wrote that it was "light, fun and a good chuckle throughout." [4]
Keith Phipps wrote for The A.V. Club , "There's something embarrassingly entertaining about a three-foot-high werewolf, but that and a genuinely strong performance by veteran little-person actor Phil Fondacaro as Dracula are pretty much the extent of The Creeps' charms." While he wrote that the film was not funny and not scary, he qualified it was "far from unwatchable, and if you really need a cheesy horror movie, especially one with tiny monsters, you could do a lot worse." [5]
Steve Miller heavily criticized the film in his book 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See, as he felt that the film was homophobic and made fun of people with dwarfism. [6]
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes terror and fear, often in humans. Monsters usually resemble bizarre, deformed, otherworldly and/or mutated animals or entirely unique creatures of varying sizes, but may also take a human form, such as mutants, ghosts, spirits, zombies, or cannibals, among other things. They may or may not have supernatural powers, but are usually capable of killing or causing some form of destruction, threatening the social or moral order of the human world in the process.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula who has become partners with Dr. Sandra Mornay, as Dracula requires a "simple, pliable" brain to reactivate Frankenstein's monster. Dracula discovers that the "ideal" brain belongs to Wilbur Grey who is wooed by Mornay to the operating table, despite the warnings of Lawrence Talbot.
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classic horror characters such as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and the Mummy, which Hammer reintroduced to audiences by filming them in vivid colour for the first time. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies, as well as, in later years, television series.
The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund. The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer. Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Classic Monsters franchise, the film stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron.
Van Helsing is a 2004 action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as monster hunter Van Helsing and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. Van Helsing is both an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s, of which Sommers is a fan.
Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role. It is based on the 1924 stage play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée.
Terence Fisher was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films.
The Monster Squad is a 1987 American horror comedy film directed by Fred Dekker, and written by Dekker and Shane Black. Peter Hyams and Rob Cohen served as executive producers. It was released by TriStar Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features pastiches of the Universal Monsters, led by Count Dracula. They are confronted by a group of savvy kids out to keep them from controlling the world. While being financially unsuccessful during its theatrical run and receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film has gained a positive reception from audiences and has become a cult classic in the years since its release.
Monster Force is a 13-episode animated television series created in April 9, 1994 by Universal Cartoon Studios and Canadian studio Lacewood Productions. The story is set in approximately 2020 and centers on a group of teenagers who, with help of high tech weaponry, fight off against classic Universal Monsters and spiritual beings threatening humanity. Some of the crew have personal vendettas, while others fight for mankind out of a sense of altruism. The series aired in syndication alongside another Universal animated series, Exosquad. Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the first seven episodes to DVD on September 15, 2009.
House of Frankenstein is a 1944 American horror film starring Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine. Based on a story by Curt Siodmak, it was directed by Erle C. Kenton and produced by Universal Pictures. The film is about Dr. Gustav Niemann, who escapes from prison and promises to create a new body for his assistant Daniel. Over the course of the film, they encounter Count Dracula, Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's Monster.
House of Dracula is a 1945 American horror film released and distributed by Universal Pictures. Directed by Erle C. Kenton, the film features several Universal Horror properties meeting as they had done in the 1944 film House of Frankenstein. The film is set at the castle home of Dr. Franz Edelmann, who is visited first by Count Dracula and later by Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, who are trying to cure their vampirism and lycanthropy, respectively. Talbot is eventually cured, which leads him to discover the body of Frankenstein's monster in a cave below the base of the castle. Edelemann takes the monster's body back to his laboratory but finds Count Dracula has awakened and by attacking his assistants, he captures Edelmann and forces a reverse blood transfusion, which gives Edelmann a split personality and makes him a killer.
Commander USA's Groovie Movies is an American movie showcase series that ran weekend afternoons on the USA Network.
El Castillo de los monstruos is a 1958 Mexican horror comedy directed by Julián Soler.
Boo! is a 1932 American Pre-Code comedy short film by Universal Pictures, directed and written by Albert DeMond. Boo! contains clips of horror films Nosferatu (1922), The Cat Creeps (1930), and Frankenstein (1931), mocking them thoroughly.
David John Skal was an American cultural historian, critic, writer, and on-camera commentator known for his research and analysis of horror films, horror history and horror culture.
Shock Theater is a package of 52 pre-1948 classic horror films from Universal Studios released for television syndication in October 1957 by Screen Gems, the television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures. The Shock Theater package included Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man as well as a few non-horror spy and mystery films. A second package, Son of Shock, was released for television by Screen Gems in 1958, with 20 horror films from both Universal and Columbia.
Monster Mash is a 1995 musical comedy horror film written and directed by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, based on Bobby Pickett's 1962 novelty song "Monster Mash" and the 1967 stage musical, I'm Sorry the Bridge is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night, also by Pickett and Sheldon Allman. The film adaptation follows Mary and Scott, a young couple who find themselves spending Halloween night at the mansion of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Along with housemates Igor, Count Dracula, Wolfie, Frankenstein's monster, and a reanimated Elvis Presley, Dr. Frankenstein takes a personal interest in what secret designs await the main characters.
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole is an American adult stop motion-animated television series created by Dino Stamatopoulos for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. The series premiered on June 27, 2010 and ended on March 25, 2012, with a total of 20 episodes, over the course of 2 seasons.
Monster Family is a 2017 animated monster comedy film directed and produced by Holger Tappe, and co-written by David Safier. It is based on David Safier's 2011 novel Happy Family. The film stars Emily Watson, Nick Frost, Jessica Brown Findlay, Celia Imrie, Catherine Tate, and Jason Isaacs.
Frankenstein is a film series of horror films from Universal Pictures based on the play version by Peggy Webling and the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. The series follow the story of a monster created by Henry Frankenstein who is made from body parts of corpses and brought back to life. The rest of the series generally follows the monster continuously being revived and eventually focuses on a series of cross overs with other Universal horror film characters such as The Wolf Man. The series consists of the following films: Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).
