{ "id": "ep5qe3rp1y", "slug": "night-of-the-creeps", "title": "Night of the Creeps", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films", "label": "Comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.20th-century-comedy-horror-films", "label": "20th-century comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.20th-century-comedy-horror-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror", "label": "Horror films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films", "label": "Comedy horror films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Night of the Creeps is a 1986 Fred Dekker horror comedy, also known as Dimensione terrore in Italy, about alien slugs from a thawed 1959 corpse turning a college campus into zombies; a TriStar box office flop that became a cult film.", "snippet": "Night of the Creeps is a 1986 Fred Dekker horror comedy, also known as Dimensione terrore in Italy, about alien slugs from a thawed 1959 corpse turning a college campus into zombies; a TriStar box office flop that became a cult film.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.horror.comedy-horror-films.20th-century-comedy-horror-films", "markdown": "# Night of the Creeps\n\n**Night of the Creeps** is a 1986 American science fiction horror comedy written and directed by Fred Dekker, in which alien brain parasites released from a thawed corpse turn a college campus's students into zombies. Released by [TriStar Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/tristar-pictures) on August 22, 1986, it was a box office failure that later became a cult film through home video and cable showings.[1](https://eofftv.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986/) • [2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3561000/horror-queers-night-of-the-creeps/) • [3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Fred Dekker, his feature film debut, produced by Charles Gordon for Tri-Star Pictures[1](https://eofftv.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986/) • [3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps) |\n| Release | August 22, 1986, in 70 theaters; R-rated[2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3561000/horror-queers-night-of-the-creeps/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps) |\n| Box office | $591,366 domestically per Bloody Disgusting; Rotten Tomatoes lists a US gross of $562.8K[2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3561000/horror-queers-night-of-the-creeps/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps) |\n| Lead cast | Jason Lively (Chris), Steve Marshall (J.C.), Jill Whitlow (Cynthia), Tom Atkins (Detective Ray Cameron)[1](https://eofftv.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986/) |\n| Setting | The fictional Corman University, named for producer Roger Corman[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps) |\n| Critical scores | 75% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (24 reviews) and 70% on the Popcornmeter; Metascore 62; IMDb rating 6.7/10 from about 29,000 votes[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-of-the-creeps/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630) |\n| Runtime | 88 minutes on 35mm film, in color with a black-and-white 1959 prologue[1](https://eofftv.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe film opens in 1959, when a college couple on Lover's Lane sees an object plummet to Earth. The boy, Johnny, wanders off toward it and is infected by an alien experiment that has crashed in the small American town; he accidentally swallows a space-slug that shoots out of the craft.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630) • [1](https://eofftv.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986/) The military controls the infection and freezes his body.[7](https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/film/2024/night-creeps)\n\nTwenty-seven years later, in 1986, two freshmen, Chris and J.C., pledge a fraternity to help Chris impress the sorority girl Cynthia, and while pulling a prank they steal a corpse from the campus medical facility and accidentally thaw Johnny's frozen body.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/night-of-the-creeps/umc.cmc.6map6p4bxeqehe14w6f1ypf9x) When life returns to the corpse, the sluglike parasites leave his brain and enter other students through the mouth, turning frat boys and sorority girls into killer zombies.[8](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/night-of-the-creeps/umc.cmc.6map6p4bxeqehe14w6f1ypf9x) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630) The teenagers, aided by the chain-smoking, hard-drinking detective Ray Cameron, fight back; the zombie extermination sequence features shotguns, flamethrowers, and a lawnmower.[9](https://www.notcoming.com/reviews/nightofthecreeps) • [10](https://www.netflix.com/title/70124135) The film ends on a cliffhanger for a sequel that was never made.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps/reviews)\n\n## Production\n\nFred Dekker grew up in the [San Francisco Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-bay) area, was rejected by the cinema departments of UCLA and USC, and entered UCLA as an English major, where his circle included future screenwriters [Shane Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/shane-black), Chris Matheson, and Ryan Rowe. After co-creating the story for the horror comedy *House* (1986), he made *Night of the Creeps* as his feature debut.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps)\n\n**Homage by name.** Dekker crafted the film as an homage to the 1950s science fiction and horror films that inspired him, and he named his characters after famous horror directors: Chris Romero, J.C. Hooper, Cynthia Cronenberg, Detective Ray Cameron, Detective Landis, and Sgt. Raimi, honoring George Romero, David Cronenberg, John Landis, Tobe Hooper, Sam Raimi, and [John Carpenter](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-carpenter).[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps) • [12](https://www.netflixmovies.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986) The film also includes extracts from *Plan 9 from Outer Space* (1958).[1](https://eofftv.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986/) He anchored the fresh-faced cast with Tom Atkins, star of Carpenter's *The Fog* (1980) and the Carpenter-produced *Halloween III: Season of the Witch* (1982).[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps)\n\nTo create Corman University, filming took place on sections of the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california) and the [California State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-state-university)-Northridge campuses; the production team converted the empty shell of a former Woolworth's department store into a soundstage, while outdoor scenes were filmed at the artificial Lake Castaic and at the Griffith Park Observatory in Hollywood, a spot that also appears in *Rebel Without a Cause* (1955) and *The Terminator* (1984).[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps) Zombie makeup effects were created by Howard Berger, who later founded the KNB Efx Group with Gregory Nicotero and Robert Kurtzman; Berger, Nicotero, and Kurtzman all appear in the cast as zombies or extras.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps) The film was an early credit for character actor [David Paymer](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-paymer), later an Oscar nominee for *Mr. Saturday Night* (1992), and Shane Black appears uncredited as a police officer.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps) • [2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3561000/horror-queers-night-of-the-creeps/)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film earned mostly positive reviews but was a commercial failure. [Bloody Disgusting](https://www.edgepedia.org/bloody-disgusting) reports a domestic gross of $591,366 from a release in only 70 theaters, while Rotten Tomatoes lists a US gross of $562.8K; both figures mark it as a box office flop that fell into obscurity until a loyal fan base developed.[2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3561000/horror-queers-night-of-the-creeps/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps) It was quickly remaindered onto videocassette, where its anything-goes pacing developed a cult following.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps)\n\nCritics have generally treated it favorably since. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds 75% among 24 critics and 70% among more than 10,000 audience ratings; Metacritic assigns a Metascore of 62 based on 8 critic reviews, and its IMDb rating stands at 6.7/10.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-of-the-creeps/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630) Slant Magazine called it \"the 'I Love the '80s' of moviemaking,\" while the Washington Post's 1986 review was negative.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-of-the-creeps/) The film won one Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award with one nomination, and received one nomination at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-of-the-creeps/)\n\n## Legacy\n\nThe film is now described as a love letter to 1950s American science fiction and horror and a cult classic; it was screened in the Sitges Clàssics section of the Sitges Film Festival's 2024 edition.[7](https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/film/2024/night-creeps) Commemorative DVD releases of *Night of the Creeps* and Dekker's follow-up *The Monster Squad* (1987) drew enough enthusiasm for sold-out cast and crew reunion screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse in [Austin, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-texas).[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps)\n\nIts influence shows in later horror comedies. The 2006 alien-worm film *Slither* drew accusations of plagiarism from some horror fans after its trailer appeared.[13](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/slither-at-20-the-alien-worm-comedy-horror-that-heralded-james-gunns-arrival) A retrospective review also identifies the Canadian director [David Cronenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cronenberg)'s *Shivers* (1975), about slug-like parasites controlling their human hosts, as the film's biggest debt.[9](https://www.notcoming.com/reviews/nightofthecreeps) Dekker went on to direct *The Monster Squad* the next year and *RoboCop 3* (1993), whose failure to recoup its $22,000,000 budget ended his run as a director-for-hire.[3](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Night of the Creeps (1986), EOFFTV, The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television](https://eofftv.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986/)\n2. [Horror Queers: 'Night of the Creeps' and the Gay Best Friend, Bloody Disgusting (2019)](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3561000/horror-queers-night-of-the-creeps/)\n3. [Night of the Creeps, by Richard Harland Smith, Turner Classic Movies (2012)](https://www.tcm.com/articles/518323/night-of-the-creeps)\n4. [Night of the Creeps, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps)\n5. [Night of the Creeps Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/night-of-the-creeps/)\n6. [Night of the Creeps (1986), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091630)\n7. [Night of the Creeps, Sitges Film Festival 2024](https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/film/2024/night-creeps)\n8. [Night of the Creeps, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/night-of-the-creeps/umc.cmc.6map6p4bxeqehe14w6f1ypf9x)\n9. [Night of the Creeps review, Not Coming to a Theater Near You](https://www.notcoming.com/reviews/nightofthecreeps)\n10. [Night of the Creeps, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/70124135)\n11. [Night of the Creeps, Audience Reviews, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_of_the_creeps/reviews)\n12. [Night of the Creeps (1986), facts and trivia, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/night-of-the-creeps-1986)\n13. ['Slither' at 20: The alien worm comedy-horror that heralded James Gunn's arrival, Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/slither-at-20-the-alien-worm-comedy-horror-that-heralded-james-gunns-arrival)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Comedy horror films › 20th-century comedy horror films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/night-of-the-creeps", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/night-of-the-creeps.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Night of the Creeps\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/night-of-the-creeps. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Night of the Creeps](https://www.edgepedia.org/night-of-the-creeps)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/night-of-the-creeps](https://www.edgepedia.org/night-of-the-creeps). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Night of the Creeps\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/night-of-the-creeps. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Night of the Creeps is a 1986 Fred Dekker horror comedy, also known as Dimensione terrore in Italy, about alien slugs from a thawed 1959 corpse turning a college campus into zombies; a TriStar box office flop that became a cult film." }