Creepshow R

In this collaboration with Stephen King, director George Romero assembles a distinguished cast and pays vividly hued homage to the E.C. horror comics of the 1950s. (This film appeared years before the TALES FROM THE CRYPT series.) Five creepy tales are strung together by a framing story involving a young boy being punished by his father for reading the gruesome, titular comic book. "Father's Day" tells the tale of a family patriarch exacting beyond-the-grave revenge on the daughter who murdered him. In "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill," a Maine hayseed (King himself in a ridiculously over-the-top performance) is overtaken by a meteor-based plant growth. A cuckolded husband exacts watery revenge on his cheating wife and her lover in "Something to Tide You Over." A hairy beast in a box is used for nefarious purposes at a university in "The Crate." Finally, in "They're Creeping Up on You," a wealthy, arrogant New Yorker with a fear of germs has a disturbing run-in with cockroaches during a blackout.

While the stories are a bit brief, the style is appropriate for the anthology format. Romero's use of garish colors to mimic the ink in comic books is visually appealing, preventing the gore on display from being too off-putting. Featuring early appearances by actors such as Ed Harris and Ted Danson, CREEPSHOW is eerie, engaging entertainment.