Night of the Creeps

 


Night of the Creeps (1986)

The Plot: An alien infestation causes humans to become zombies and terrorize a college campus

Night of the Creeps is a love letter to B movies of the 1950s and actually starts off in the 1950s when we see the alien infestation and zombification of the humans begin. The alien space slugs that landed on Earth have a penchant for entering through the mouth, killing the host turning them into zombies before the offspring explode the head releasing them into the wild to infect more people. The original zombie from the 50s is cryo-frozen in the lab and that is where we skip 27 years to 1986 and the real fun begins.

Is there a draft in here?

The action takes place on a college campus which features obnoxious frat boys. who are so obnoxious that you simply cannot wait for their eventual run in with the space slugs. There's hardly a single moment featuring any of the frat boys where they aren't swilling beer. Our heroes here are the 2 nerds who just want to meet some sorority babes. Tom Atkins appears here as a hardscrabble, hard drinking, chain smoking, trench coat wearing shotgun toting police detective with tragedy in his past in the part he was born to play. I mean his performance is off the charts here. Legendary, really. He too never has a single scene where he is not smoking which makes my mind wonder if Marlboro didn't invest heavily in this film.

Tom Atkins in the part he was born to play

No one is safe from infection whether it be cats, dogs, scientists, janitors, frat boys, nerds or sorority babes. The space slugs do not discriminate based on social status, race or creed. It is determined that fire can kill the space slugs which means that not only our nerd hero, Rusty from European Vacation fame  but also his new sorority babe girlfriend get to use flamethrowers. Which the police have in stock in their armory. I don't even want to know what kind of crime happens in this college town where the police feel the need to regularly stock flamethrowers. 

When all else fails, try the flamethrower

Night of the Creeps is a perfect horror/sci-fi B movie. The cast takes it serious despite knowing what type of movie they are in. There is jump scares, zombies, aliens, space slugs, and best of all, frat boys getting their comeuppance! I just don't understand how this wasn't a bigger hit spawning multiple sequels. The ending certainly sets it up this way. I give Night of the Creeps 9 space slugs. 



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