Night of the Creeps (1986)
Article 5946 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 2-25-2021
Directed by Fred Dekker
Featuring Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall
Country: USA
What it is: Not bad hodgepodge

The attempted theft of a frozen corpse for a fraternity gag unleashes a horror that began 27 years earlier when a alien capsule crash-landed on Earth.

This horror comedy borrows and references any number of other horror / sci-fi films. It’s a variant of the zombie movie genre with touches of ALIEN (among others) surrounded by a teen comedy. In description it sounds pretty bad, but its touches are actually rather fun. I like the fact that many of the characters have last names of famous horror directors. I also like the references to PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and the fact that Dick Miller shows up playing a character named Walter (you supply the last name). There’s even one borderline annoying character whose final speech is unexpectedly and effectively poignant. It’s quite bloody, but it manages to have a decent heart at its center, so I give this one a pass.