Night of the Creeps (1986)

Director: Fred Dekker

Cast: Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow

Have I Seen it Before: Never, indeed.

Did I Like It: There’s a through line between this film and Night of the Comet (1984), and not just because I’m watching them both in quick succession for Beyond the Cabin in the Woods, and not just because they’re both irreverent, youth-oriented zombie movies of the 1980s, although it’s probably a little bit that.

No, I’m struck by the fact that these are both two films which I enjoy far more in the first quarter than I do in the rest of the following film.

Now, that might read as a fairly damning statement, as I ultimately didn’t think much of Comet by the time the end credits rolled. Instead, I’m more struck by how much I was absolutely thoroughly enchanted by the section of this film which takes place in the 1950s, and I only merely really liked the larger meat of the film taking place in the “present” (1986).

That opening is pretty stellar, with a true embrace of the space operatic elements of B movies of the era brought me into the film singularly. I even made a note for the eventual Cabin episode where I hoped the whole thing would be in black and white.

But alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

And yet, I can’t dismiss the 80s sections of the films entirely. Chris (Lively) and Hooper (Marshall) are believable as nerds neither entirely hapless nor completely angelic. Atkins brings exactly what one expects from a Tom Atkins, and I’m pretty sure he is incapable of not understanding the assignment at hand. I enjoyed how the film largely eschews any sort of impulse to make Cynthia (Whitlow) neither a preternatural hero* nor a damsel in distress. Neither she nor Chris would make it out of that sorority house without the help of the other.

It all makes one lament the fact that director Fred Dekker largely couldn’t get ahead of the stink  of Robocop 3 (1993) to keep making feature length films.

*For the record, I have no trouble whatsoever with preternatural lady heroes. This counter-note is pleasantly unusual, is all.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1983)

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace

Cast: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O’Herlihy, Michael Currie

Have I Seen it Before: I mean, almost always under protest, but yeah…

Did I Like It: There’s seems to be a moment in the life of every reviled sequel where people travel full circle on the spectrum of hating a movie to then turning around and insisting that a the film is not just better than we remember it, but in fact a secret work of genius.

Both reactions smack of being disingenuous.

This film isn’t quite as bad as it was judged on early reactions. Indeed, the film possesses both a John Carpenter score and cinematography from Dean Cundey. Those two elements alone would recommend a film on spec. 

The story is interesting enough, for the most part, if a little derivative of other films. Indeed, the initial hostile reaction to the film was not only too strong, but likely short-sighted. Had moviegoers gone for it more enthusiastically, then the series might have continued with its anthology hopes, and we could have gotten an army of Carpenter-produced (and scored) films with Dean Cundey’s camerawork before the bloom fully fell off the jack-o-lantern. It would have distinguished the series far better from its contemporaries, at the very least.

But, really? The movie kind of sucks. Maybe it establishes mood more effectively than the subsequent sequels even attempted. Maybe it goes to the wall with its bleak aesthetic and leaves it up to the viewer as to whether every kid in America is going to get their skull eaten by Stonehenge-powered Halloween masks…

And when I write that last sentence, the whole damn falls apart. First of all, why is every kid in America only interested in these three masks? Did no one want to be Batman for Halloween? Frankenstein’s Monster? Hell, Michael Myers (especially as the original Halloween (1978) is airing throughout the film)? Who the hell wants to be a Jack-o-Lantern? 

Beyond the fundamental implausibility of the whole conceit, the special effects we’re subjected to during this process are ridiculous to the point of being embarrassing. They take me right out of the movie…

But I still can’t help but wonder what the series would have looked like in another world…