Night of the Creeps Page #2

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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

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