We go waaaaay back for the third entry in our month of horror anthology films. Dead of Night is the granddaddy of them all – one of the first ever. It’s not likely to scare you to death, but there’s a lot to enjoy in here, particularly the creepiest story of them all involving a malevolent ventriloquist dummy.
Stephen King and George Romero collaborated on this sequel to Creepshow, their answer to Tales from the Crypt, which we (coincidentally) tackled last week. The result is three solid tales of the supernatural where the bad guys get what is coming to them.
This Amicus production was the first to use the EC Comics license, which kicked off a property that is still popular today in one form or another. With five twisty tales and a wraparound story featuring a more subdued Cryptkeeper than we’re used to, its success spawned a sequel and inspired the Stephen King/George Romero projects, Creepshow and Creepshow 2.
While we’re not sure we’d go quite THAT far – in fact, we find a lot to like about it – there’s also a fair amount of eye-rolling and ridiculousness going on. Listen to this week’s New Year’s episode to find out what, if anything, makes this star-packed film entertaining. And thanks to Chris for the long-standing request!
We can’t say it’s the BEST Christmas horror movie out there, but it certainly is trying. Merry Christmas, everyone!
