‘Five grisly tales from a kid’s comic book about a murdered father rising from his grave, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate’s occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.’

This anthology was the big collaboration between Romero with his friend, horror author Stephen King. But does this convergence of two horror heavyweights work?

As with many anthologies, there will be stories that people like more than others. I think the cockroach episode is my favourite for it’s intense ick factor.

I love that the film pays tribute to and seeks inspiration from the amazing EC Comics from decades before.

The cast is also stellar with actors who have starred in other Romero films (Ed Harris, Tom Savini who also, again, performs make up duties here with his usual brilliant results) along with new arrivals in the form of Adrienne Barbeau and Hal Holbrook (to name but a few).

The fact that this was also released in the midst of a horror renaissance with new titles being released almost every week and Fangoria lovingly covering this time also makes Creepshow emblematic of a golden era.

Yet, with all of this, there’s something that’s doesn’t quite gel here. Creepshow is a good film but not a great one. It feels just a bit too slick, a bit too tame in places and what might have been great in the panels of an E.C. comic doesn’t quite translate so seamlessly onto the screen.

In fact, I remember buying the E.C. replica novelisation which depicts the entire film in the style of a comic. It was brilliantly drawn and I have to say, worked better than the film.

Worth investigating but I was left slightly underwhelmed.

3 out of 5 stars