Night of the Creeps was the debut
of writerldirector Fred Dekker.
His previous screen credit
was for the original story...
...on the movie, House (1986).
The title sequence was designed
by Ernest Farino...
...who was also responsible for
the title sequences for such films as...
... The Abyss (1989)
And Terminator 2 (1991).
This was the first feature film
for producer Charles Gordon...
...who would later go on to produce
Field of Dreams (1989)...
... Die Hard 2 (1990)
And Waterworld (1995).
If you look closely, you can see that...
...the alien carrying
the container of creeps...
...has in fact been "creeped" himself.
His eyes are the dead giveaway.
The score for the film
was composed by Barry DeVorzon.
His other credits include The Warriors
(1979) and Exorcist III (1990).
He is also an accomplished
rock musician.
Ken Heron, the actor playing Johnny,
is the only actor to appear...
...in both the 1950s and
Excluding dream sequences,
of course.
Alice Cadogan, who plays Pam,
can also be seen...
...in the original Beverly Hills Cop
(1984) as a hotel clerk.
Originally there was a scene here
that introduced Johnny...
...to the other girls in the sorority.
It aired on the television version
of the film.
The actor playing a young Ray
Cameron is Dave Alan Johnson...
...who would later go on to create...
...the television series,
Doc and Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye.
This segment is filled
with classic '50s music, including...
..."Put Your Head on My Shoulder"
and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. "
On the radio is "The Stroll"
by The Diamonds...
...which is repeated
at the end of the film.
It was chosen by Fred Dekker
due to its eerie and hypnotic quality.
The movie is chock-full of homages to
other horror movies and their makers.
Corman University is named after
legendary B movie producer...
...Roger Corman, who created
many of the films...
...that influenced
Night of the Creeps.
Roger Corman has produced
hundreds of films...
...in a career that spans over 50 years
in the business, including...
... Little Shop of Horrors, Battle
Beyond the Stars and Carnosaur.
The creeps in this film were created
by David B. Miller...
...and were made of vinyl.
Hundreds were used in the film.
What looks like a direct hit with
the ax is a forced-perspective shot.
The actor is actually much further away
from the car than he appears...
...and the ax never came close
to the actress.
Jason Lively is famously known
as the second Rusty...
...in National Lampoon's
European Vacation (1985).
He comes from a family of actors.
His father is actor Ernie Lively,
and his sisters are...
...Blake Lively (Gossip Girl)
And Robyn Lively (Teen Witch).
Actor Steve Marshall is not
physically impaired. Just FYI!
The characters of J.C. And Chris
were actually featured...
...in a early short film
of Fred Dekker's.
He carried them over
to the Creeps script.
J.C. Is James Carpenter Hooper
and Chris is Christopher Romero...
...an homage to horror filmmakers
John Carpenter (Halloween)...
...and George Romero
(Night of the Living Dead).
Actress Jill Whitlow had just
come from a starring role...
...in the film, Thunder Run (1986)...
...and had been featured briefly
in the classic comedy, Porky's (1982).
The actor playing the mono-browed
Steve is David Oliver...
...who appeared in the horror film,
The Horror Show in 1989...
...which was released as
House III overseas.
A deleted moment occurred here
as J.C. Valiantly hits on a girl...
...only to be shut down. It was featured
in the television version of the film.
The film's director of photography
was Robert C. New...
...who lensed the original Prom Night
(1980) and went on to such films as...
... Lionheart (1990), Riding the Bullet
(2004) and Demon Hunter (2005).
The film's soundtrack includes
numerous 1980s confections...
...from such artists as
Intimate Strangers and Stan Ridgway.
Cynthia Cronenberg is named after
Canadian filmmaker...
...David Cronenberg (Scanners,
Naked Lunch, The Fly).
The film's editor, Michael Knue,
found this film coming back...
...in a strange way to him
later on in his career.
He was selected
by director James Wan...
...to edit his film Dead Silence (2007)
Because he was such a fan...
...of his work
on Night of the Creeps.
Knue has since gone on to edit Wan's
latest film, Death Sentence (2007).
Knue also cut the sci-fi classic,
The Hidden (1987)...
...and the fourth entry in the Nightmare
on Elm Street series in 1988.
Brad is played by
actor Allan Kayser...
...who is best known as Bubba from
the TV series, Mama's Family.
Interestingly, due to the rather
off-putting nature of the character...
...Fred Dekker instructed
the other actors...
...to spend as little time
with Kayser as possible...
...to help create the on-screen tension
between Brad and our heroes.
However, all the actors and Dekker...
...found Kayser to be
friendly and professional.
The song playing in
the background of this scene...
...is "Caught Up in the Crossfire"
by The Charm Kings.
It is also featured in another
cult classic from 1986...
...Hal Needham's Rad.
Many of the frat guys are played by
members of the makeup FX crew.
Since so many of the fraternity brothers
were going to become zombies...
...it was decided that it would save
time to just have the makeup team...
...play as many of the frat guys
as possible.
Playing the lab assistant here,
is actor David Paymer.
He would go on to appear in the film
Mr. Saturday Night (1992)...
...for which he was nominated for
an Academy Award (R) in 1993...
...for Best Supporting Actor.
He has also become
one of Hollywood's...
...most notable character actors,
appearing in such films as...
... The American President (1995),
Payback (1999)...
...and In Good Company (2004).
Paymer recently returned
to the horror genre...
...with a major role in director Sam
Raimi's Drag Me to Hell (2009).
Another key member
of the production team...
...was production designer
George Costello.
He had previously worked as
an art director on such films as...
... Evilspeak (1981) and
the original The Terminator (1984).
Costello would later handle
production design duties...
...for Problem Child (1990) and
Alligator Il: The Mutation (1991).
He recently returned
to the horror genre...
...with the horrorlcomedy
My Name Is Bruce (2008).
"This gives me the creeps!"
Is one of many lines of dialogue...
...that reference the movie itself.
While it may appear that
actor Ken Heron is naked...
...he is actually wearing underwear.
The icy frost around
his midsection on the tube...
...is what gives the impression
otherwise.
It is never explained why Johnny
was placed in a cryogenics facility...
...or who did it.
Fans have speculated on the
back-story...
...saying that the U.S. Government
knew about the meteor landing...
...and was using Johnny's body
for experimental purposes.
Believe it or not, there are actually
cryonic labs such as this in existence.
Well, they don't look exactly like this...
...but people have been frozen for
possible resuscitation in the future.
But cryonics didn't really come to
fruition until the 1960s and 1970s...
...so it's still a mystery as to how
Johnny got here in the late 1950s.
An earlier scene in the cryo lab
was filmed...
...intending to explain
the cryonics process...
...but was cut early
in the editing process.
Steve Marshall wasn't sure why J. C...
...would come along
on this particular trip...
...since there would be little way
of him helping...
...to carry a big, heavy
corpse around.
Most of the creeps
are filmed in reverse motion...
...or with monofilaments
to pull them from the actors' mouths.
It is not known what happened to
the poor fish in this dorm room.
J.C. Refers to Chris' breaking up
with "whatshername"...
...his long-term girlfriend
who is never seen on-screen.
In the original short, Chris' estranged
girlfriend was named Karen.
Karen became the name
for the cat-loving sorority girl.
Many of the film's fans have picked up
on a possible gay subtext...
...in Chris and J.C.'s relationship.
Although Fred Dekker
denies it was ever intended...
...he thinks viewers should be free
to interpret the film as they wish.
It is never explained
who owns the guitar...
...although it does seem to be
more on J.C.'s side of the room.
Star Tom Atkins was well-known
to horror and cult film fans...
...from his appearance in such films
as John Carpenter's The Fog (1980)...
...and Escape From New York (1981).
This scene was shot at Castaic Lake
in Castaic, California.
It is often rumored that the killer
in this shot...
...is played by writerldirector
Fred Dekker. The jury is still out.
That was Officer Raimi...
...an homage to director Sam Raimi
(The Evil Dead, Spider-Man).
Tom Atkins has made a career
of playing authority figures.
He concedes he has
been cast as a policeman...
...more than any other type of role.
Wally Taylor plays Detective Landis...
...named for director John Landis
(Animal House, The Blues Brothers).
Taylor also appears in Escape
From New York with Tom Atkins.
The sandwich-munching coroner
is played by actor Vic Polizos...
...who has also appeared in films
such as C.H. U.D. (1984)...
... Prizzi's Honor (1985)
And Eraser (1996).
Bruce Solomon, who plays Raimi,
made his film debut...
...in the cult classic, Children Shouldn't
Play With Dead Things (1973).
In the television version of the film,
there was a scene...
...between Cameron and Raimi
where Cameron schooled...
...the younger policeman on how to
report a murder over the phone.
The residence used
for the sorority house...
...was in a state of disrepair
before filming began.
The filmmakers did such a nice job
cleaning it up...
...that the property owners
decided against tearing it down...
...and today it still stands.
Evelyne Smith plays
the House Mother.
Originally, she was to appear
in the 1950s segment...
...looking exactly the same
as she does in the 1980s...
...but the scene was cut.
Brains...
Why did it have to be brains?
Some of the scenes in the movie
were shot on the UCLA campus...
...where Fred Dekker had graduated
only three years earlier.
Dekker found it rewarding
to return to the campus grounds...
...as a full-fledged filmmaker.
The brief nudity here by Jill Whitlow
was actually her idea.
Whitlow found it too awkward
to remove her bra...
...and get into the nightgown
without being naked.
So she suggested they shoot it
the way it is seen here.
Although decorated differently,
Cynthia's room...
...is the same room as Pam's
in the 1950s segment.
Cameron's brief stop
to smell the rose echoes...
...a similar moment in Ed Wood's
Plan 9 From Outer Space.
Tom Atkins has stated
on numerous occasions...
...that this is his favorite film role.
Fans approach him about this film...
...more than any other movie
or TV show that he has done.
Two of the founders of KNB EFX Co.,
who worked on the film...
...Robert Kurtzman and Howard Berger,
also appeared as Beta Zombies.
It is erroneously reported that
the third member of KNB EFX Co...
...Greg Nicotero, appears in this film
as a zombie as well.
But he didn't because
he was on another project...
...during production
of Night of the Creeps.
Other members of the FX crew
to appear on-screen...
...include Earl Ellis and Ted Rae.
This moment ranks as Jill Whitlow's
favorite character moment for Cynthia.
Why Cynthia would ever
be interested in Brad...
...remains another mystery
for fans of the film.
Mr. Miner, the night janitor...
...is an homage to director Steve Miner
(Friday the 13th, Parts 2 & 3).
Steve Miner also handled second unit
directing duties on this film.
The actor playing Mr. Miner
is Robert Kino...
...who has appeared in dozens of
films dating back to the early 1950s.
A deleted subplot involved J.C.'s
use of the tape recorder...
...to secretly tape Brad
confessing to the body prank.
Why Mr. Miner finds "screaming
like banshees" so hilarious...
...is never explained.
A scene originally appeared here...
...with Cynthia and the other girls
making cookies.
It was cut for pacing, but it
appeared in the television version.
Although a staple of horror films...
...the "fake cat scare" in this film
is given a decided twist.
By cutting the "Making Cookies"
scene...
...the audience is not clued into
Gordon the Cat's fate.
A shot of a creep entering Gordon's
recently dug grave was eliminated...
...along with the rest of the scene.
The cat was named for
late producer Gordon Carroll...
...(Alien, Cool Hand Luke) who was
one of Fred Dekker's mentors...
...when he started in the industry.
There was another moment...
...with Cameron and Raimi here
on the phone that was cut.
Jill Whitlow and Jason Lively
starred together...
...in another film in 1987
called Ghost Chase.
The bond between the cast
was unusually strong on this film.
Steve Marshall actually roomed with
Lively during the making of the film.
Recently, the cast reunited at the
Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas...
...for a screening of the film,
and they all remarked on how well...
...they all got along during filming.
Though their characters
are supposed to be the same age...
...in reality, Steve Marshall was actually
several years older than Jason Lively.
To date, Night of the Creeps
is Marshall's biggest film role.
Tom Atkins' feet star here...
...in what is his first shot
during production of the film.
Thanks to the wonders
of high-definition...
...an insider joke on the wall
is now noticeable.
Steve Marshall scribbled "Jason
works the bone" on the stall divider.
The "Stryper Rules" homage
is due to...
...one of the Hair and Makeup
woman's relationship...
...with a member of the band, Stryper.
The creeps were often
built around slot-car motors...
...and launched without
strings attached.
Other shots were accomplished...
...with monofilaments
pulling simple vinyl creations.
The close-ups of hands and feet
in this scene...
...are not those of Steve Marshall.
These were shot later
without his participation.
Notice "Go Monster Squad"
inscribed on the facing wall.
This is a reference to Fred Dekker's
next film, The Monster Squad...
...which he was planning
while making this movie.
This movie was submitted to the
MPAA and received an R rating.
Fred Dekker has said
that the movie...
...emerged from the review
largely unscathed.
The Kappa Delta house was located
just off the USC campus.
It has since undergone
significant renovations.
Originally, there was
an extended conversation...
...between Cameron and Chris
outside the house, but this was cut.
This scene is often cited by
Tom Atkins and Fred Dekker...
...as their favorite in the film.
The flashbacks in this scene
were shot in black and white...
...to reference the 1950s segment
from the beginning of the film.
Fans of the film note that
this scene marks a turning point:
The tough guy is losing his mind,
and the young hero...
...will have to step up
to defeat the enemy.
Steve Marshall deliberately sabotaged
some takes of this scene...
...by hiding behind the couch
and making funny noises.
Tom Atkins was not amused.
The house mother's cottage
was actually a garage...
...on the back half of
the sorority house property.
Many of the film's locations were right
down the street from one another.
The axman is played
by a combination...
...of an actor in a suit
and an animatronic dummy.
The Phil's Diner reference
can be found in various forms...
...throughout all of
Fred Dekker's films.
The Phil's Diner location was
something of a Hollywood landmark.
Sometime after filming,
the building was moved...
...and its current location
is not known.
The actor playing the cop with
the flashlight is Robert Kerman...
...who appeared in many films...
...including the Italian horror classic,
Cannibal Holocaust (1980).
In this scene, Atkins calls
for Burnette and Hoffman...
...his personal friends whose names
he decided to throw in for fun.
When creating this film, Fred Dekker
said it was a combination...
...of the various types of films
he loved while growing up.
You can see alien invasion flicks,
zombie movies, cop thrillers...
...buddy comedies
and teen romances...
...all present and accounted for
in this movie.
Fred Dekker often describes
the movie as a "stew"...
...of every type of movie
he could think of.
That's Chris Dekker as one
of the two dorm brothers.
This scene was actually filmed by
second-unit director Steve Miner.
Steve Miner also directed
House (1986)...
...which was originally created
by Fred Dekker...
...and later adapted into
a screenplay by friend Ethan Wiley.
In order to get Jason Lively in
the mood for this powerful scene...
...Fred Dekker placed photos
of war atrocities...
...around the desk at various points...
...and instructed Jason
to look at them at certain moments.
Steve Marshall's voice
was altered slightly for this scene.
Fans have lamented
that J.C.'s character dies...
...but Fred Dekker felt it was
necessary to demonstrate that...
...anything can happen to anybody
at any time. Nothing is certain.
Fred Dekker has stated that if he
were to ever do a sequel to this film...
...he'd find a way
to bring Steve Marshall back.
Though he would have
to be another character...
...since J.C. Is most definitely dead.
The body in this scene is a dummy.
The questioning jock here
is John J. York...
...famously known as Mac Scorpio...
...in the longtime soap opera,
General Hospital.
The bus driver in this scene is played
by the film's transportation coordinator.
The accident scene was staged across
the street from the CBS Studios.
Although it appears so in the film...
...you never actually see any impact
between the two vehicles.
The dog appearing here is a dummy.
But the actual dog was
an extremely good performer...
...which accomplished more
than what Fred Dekker had expected.
A pair of exaggerated eyeballs
was used...
...for the bus driver's reaction to
the impending impact with the truck.
Actor Dick Miller plays Walter
in the armory scene.
Miller is a longtime character actor...
...known for his appearances
in cult and horror films.
The character's full name
is Walter Paisley, a reference...
...to the memorable character Miller
played in A Bucket of Blood (1959).
Miller played a similar role
in 1984's The Terminator...
Miller played a similar role
in 1984's The Terminator...
...as the owner of a gun store.
The actress answering the door
is Suzanne Snyder...
...who would go on
to face zombies again...
...in 1988 in
Return of the Living Dead, Part II.
Snyder was fresh from a role...
...in John Hughes' classic
sci-filcomedy, Weird Science (1985).
The song here,
"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"...
...references the 1950s segment
from earlier in the film.
Brad is alternately played
by an animatronic dummy...
...and actor Allan Kayser
with a slug prosthesis over his tongue.
Jill Whitlow and Jason Lively
both operated a real flamethrower...
...for these scenes.
The famous "I've got good news
and bad news" line...
...was used as a tag line for the film
in some territories overseas.
The tag line for the U.S. Market
was "If you scream, you're dead. "
Two poster designs for the film
in North America...
...included illustrations of a zombie
approaching a bedroom window...
...and Jason Lively and Jill Whitlow...
...fighting off zombies
in front of the sorority house.
Tom Atkins was placed on a gimble...
...and rotated over 360 degrees
for this scene.
This garden shed scene
was added later in reshoots...
...after the studio decided
to add to the action.
This scene features a zombie
played by Beal Carrotes.
This is Carrotes only screen credit...
...and he bears a passing resemblance
to writerldirector Fred Dekker.
To this day, Dekker refuses
to discuss Carrotes' role in the film.
The blood from the zombie's
lawn-mowered face...
...is animated and
was added in postproduction.
The basement scene is a combination
of stop-motion animation...
...forced perspective and miniatures.
The wall of creeps
is a stop-motion effect.
They even created a miniature
Tom Atkins for some of the shots...
...where he looks at the creeps
before igniting the blaze.
Aside from Cameron, the only other
person to say "thrill me" is Chris.
Cameron is, interestingly enough...
...committing suicide the same way
he intended to earlier in the film.
The film was released theatrically
only in a few markets...
...and was retitled Homecoming Night
for a time.
The ending of the film
was a subject of much debate.
It was reshot to feature
the zombie dog...
...returning to "creep"
Jill Whitlow's character.
Fred Dekker proposed this ending
as a compromise, but he never liked it.
This is the original ending as scripted.
It was initially rejected by the studio
because it was screened unfinished...
...making it challenging to imagine
how the final effect would look.
This ending also set the stage
for a potential sequel.
Why it took the aliens over 30 years
to get to Earth remains a mystery.
For years, Night of the Creeps
was only available...
...on home video in North America...
...with the VHS and
Laserdisc releases in 1987.
Thankfully, that is no longer the case!
Special thanks to Sony Home
Entertainment, Fred Dekker...
...Sean Clark, and the cast & crew
of Night of the Creeps.