Night of the Creeps Page #3

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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"

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