A George A. Romero Retrospective: ‘Creepshow’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘It’s Father’s Day. And I got my cake.’
- The Late Nathan Grantham

​It really is quite amazing how much a single individual can influence our direction in life. Take our mother and our father for instance, because whether they were good or bad, they motivated us to either grow up and mirror their noble image or work hard to be their outright opposite in life, so that the world would never know their particular brand of sour, ever again. And of course, our friends tend to bring out the best in us and inspire us to be more and be better and most important of all, someone along the way, managed to influence us to chase a certain career path. Because their passion and desire to succeed in a particular industry touched us in a way we didn’t think was possible and we suddenly realized we wanted to be a part of that world.
 
If anything, that latter notion is one that applies heavily to creative individuals. Because artists, filmmakers and writers and everyone in between, encountered the work of someone in their desired artistic career field and instantly fell in love with what that particular creative had to offer. It doesn’t matter what exactly, because the more important aspect of this, is that art flipped a switch in someone’s mind and motivated them to create something unique and special and in reality, this is a chain of influence that has gone on for millennia in our society, simply because art inspires and motivates others to create and create often. And it is genuinely fascinating to hear the influenced speak to who motivated them to get into imaginative work because everything they say is catered to their mental and emotional needs.
 
But while is is incredible to learn those facts, something that every last one of them will do, but rarely speak to; is pay tribute in some manner to the individual that unlocked a world of possibilities to them. Something that comes about in their work by way of a subtle wink and nod to the influence in question, or a direct tribute that allows for them to share in the work that gave them joy all those years ago. As it turns out, in 1982, George A. Romero had the opportunity to team up with another horror maestro in Stephen King, to create a flawless homage to a set of stories that influenced the both of them growing up; the twisted works of E.C. Comics. And the end result of this joining of forces, led to one incredibly influential horror film, one that is perhaps the closest thing we’ll ever get to a living comic book in Creepshow.
 
In fact, let’s start our exploration of this film by examining that specific aspect. Because in order to create a living comic book, the director in question would need to figure out how to make a three-dimensional shot appear and function akin to a comic book panel, and Romero was quite successful in making that happen here. Primarily by way of color scheme. Because on a consistent basis, the use of blues and greens and reds through color gels on the lights during filmed segments, and the addition of animated segments, seamlessly work together to create the look and feel of an actual comic book. One that immerses the audience into this world and this directorial decision and its execution is supremely unique, one that quite frankly has never been replicated. Which is a compliment for certain since it means that few will ever try to attempt to try and do what Romero did here, simply because he nailed it perfectly.

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Yet while we could talk all day about those visuals and their incredible look and how well they’ve held up over the years, we would be foolish to not talk about the writing. Because this is another one of those rare films that wasn’t written by Romero and that’s honestly okay in this instance. Because Stephen King handled the scriptwriting duties in this tale and his mastery of the craft compliments the stunning visuals nicely. Because King’s devilishly delightful five tales of terror, capture the nature of what E.C Comics accomplished back in the day. By way of stories that feature dubious characters that get their just desserts for their poor actions, all while injecting a modern feel into these tales and well, with King’s script and Romero’s skills coming together here in magnificent fashion, the end result is nothing short of spectacular.
 
Because this is that rare horror film that is just outright fun to experience. Sure, it has its moments of utter horror, the kind that make you squirm in your seat. But those moments are counterbalanced nicely by black humor and wicked special effects from Tom Savini. Who once again goes above and beyond in regard to his skills as the modern master of special effects, since his creations are flawless here and reflect what Romero and King wanted to accomplish and what’s an added treat when it comes to his work, is how Savini gets away with some supremely detailed gore. Something that comes courtesy of a well-timed blue or red gel filter on a light, which masks the splatter and makes it seem less awful than it actually is. But while the technical aspects of this film and the fun that they provide the audience with are quite incredible in their own right, it really is the legacy that this film created that makes it so special.
 
For in many ways, Romero and King’s desire to pay tribute to horror themed comic books of yesterday, would in turn influence others to pay tribute to this film in equally unique and special ways. Because a few years after this movie came out, anthology horror took off on syndicated television. First by way of Romero’s own desire to explore this type of storytelling on the small screen in Tales from the Darkside. But that eventually gave rise to Monsters and Friday the 13th: The Series and later the supremely wonderful Tales from the Crypt before coming around full circle again in 2019. When Greg Nicotero and Shudder decided to recreate the magic of this particular horror film, by giving life to a brand-new iteration of Creepshow, one that follows in this movie’s footsteps in both design and feel, all while adding a little social commentary into the mix. 
 
Speaking of commentary, that is perhaps the greatest surprise when it comes to this film, in that, there really isn’t any to be found. Which is stunning when one considers that Stephen King is a master of capturing the zeitgeist of the times in his books, and of course Romero was a master of examining the modern world. But it is clear that they simply wanted to let loose and make a wildly fun scary movie and they were beyond successful in their endeavors. Because this one is a real treat, one that you can just pop in and get lost in and really, if there is one complaint that one can raise in regard to this motion picture, it would have to be that it’s a shame that King and Romero didn’t work on more projects together. Because what they did here was downright incredible, and it would have been amazing to see what kinds of terror they could have injected into our hearts with the right project. But while that never came to fruition, at least we can celebrate this storytelling wonder, one that further cemented the rich legacies of two horror titans.  

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