"Creepshow" Stephen King's portrayal of humanity, George A. Romero's outstanding direction, and that swarm of insects.

"They're coming in droves."

Creepshow, despite its frantic image as a tribute to horror comic magazines, is a mature adult film with excellent characterization by Stephen King and excellent direction and writing by George A. Romero. It has come to fruition as an entertainment work.

Also, Ed Harris plays a supporting role in the first episode, ``Father's Day,'' where he performs a strange dance. Stephen King's exaggerated redneck accent in the second episode, "The Lonely Death of Jodie Berrill." Leslie Nielsen's cool villainy just before she gave up her career as a comedic actor in the third episode, ``Crushing Waves.'' Episode 4 ``The Box'' Hal Holbrook's timid appearance and Adrienne Barbeau's ruggedness. The ensemble of actors is also a highlight.

However, the fifth and final episode, ``They're Crowding,'' has the power to overwhelm all of them. An overbearing, clean-obsessed company manager is killed by a swarm of cockroaches. That's really all there is to it, but within such a simple story King has created an excellent metaphor.

"Creepshow" © 2018 Paramount Pictures.

For a company manager living in a high-rise apartment building, people other than himself are no more than insects, just like the size of the people passing by when he looks down on the city from his window. Even the existence of a man who committed suicide due to a corporate takeover is of no concern to him other than the death of a bug. Even the curse words from the wife of a man who committed suicide are no more bothersome than the sound of an insect's wings.

When the exterminator they called saw that he was black, they treated him like an insect and wouldn't let him enter the room. After returning home, he cursed and said, "Colored!" The irony is that the company management is elitist and racist, and treats people like insects, only to be killed by the insects themselves in the end. However, even such literary metaphors are blown away in the face of a swarm of cockroaches.

The script written by King had the setting set in an elegant mansion on lush green grounds, but at Romero's discretion the setting was changed to a plain white room in a high-rise apartment. The excellence of his judgment is evidenced by the contrast in the colors of the brown cockroaches that fill the pure white room. Of the five ``Creepshow'' episodes, the one that cost the most to produce was ``They Come in Crowds'', which is about the cockroaches. 50 cents each. The total cost was $125,000, which means they collected 250,000 cockroaches.

This final episode completely changed the overall impression of the series, and when you mention ``Creepshow,'' everyone remembers ``Oh, that cockroach!'' However, the film's catchy appeal paid off, and it became a hit, reaching number one at the box office in the week of its release in the United States. It was a commercial success, and a sequel was planned and a third film was made, but it still did not surpass the impact of the large number of cockroaches.

Even now, when we think of ``Creepshow'', the impact of this final episode cannot be ignored, but even in that episode there is a strong presence of Stephen King's complex depiction of humans and George A. Romero's outstanding direction. , I would like to draw your attention once again to the presence of Tom Savini's wonderful plastic effects sculptures.

Text: Samurai Isao　

Designer by profession, film writer by profession. He is working hard to promote Indian films in Japan.

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"Creepshow" (Special Price)

Blu-ray ¥3,000 (excluding tax) / DVD ¥2,000 (excluding tax)

Publisher: Reprint Cinema Library

Seller: Reprint Cinema Library

© 2018 Paramount Pictures.