Creepshow: Collector’s Edition (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Sep 12, 2023
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

George A. Romero

Release Date(s)

1982 (June 27, 2023)

Studio(s)

United Film Distribution/Laurel Entertainment Inc./Warner Bros. (Shout!/Scream Factory)

Film/Program Grade: A
Video Grade: A
Audio Grade: A
Extras Grade: A

Review

Over the years, material featured in issues of E.C. Comics has been adapted into several other forms. Whether it be the original 1972 Tales from the Crypt film or its subsequent TV incarnation, it’s always had a particular niche within different mediums. In 1982, it was crossbred with two other staples of popular horror: George A. Romero and Stephen King, resulting in Creepshow: a highly-stylized portmanteau the likes of which have rarely been equaled. It stands today as one of the most popular and effective horror omnibuses ever made.

Consisting of five stories and a wraparound, Creepshow opens and closes with a young boy who’s scolded by his father for reading horror comics. This leads us into the first tale, Father’s Day. In it, an upper-class family find themselves on the receiving end of patriarchal revenge when their undead father, who was murdered years before, comes back demanding his Father’s Day “cake.” In The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill, a backwoods yokel discovers a fallen meteor that has a vegetative effect on him and everything surrounding him. In Something to Tide You Over, a jilted, psychopathic husband buries his unfaithful wife and her lover up to their necks in sand on a private beach, allowing the evening tide to come in and take care of them, but are they really dead? In The Crate, a man learns of a ferocious and deadly creature that lives under a staircase at a local university, seeing it as an opportunity to rid himself of his belligerent and overbearing wife. And in They’re Creeping Up on You, an uncouth businessman with a fear of germs finds his hermetically-sealed apartment invaded by a gargantuan amount of cockroaches.

Creepshow is often considered one of the most thoroughly satisfying horror anthologies narratively. Most others almost always leave room for improvement, with one or more stories tending to appear weak against the others. But in the case of Creepshow, every story is entertaining. With beautiful splashes of color used to tint scenes during shocking moments, as well as camera tilts and the use border graphic opticals, it’s basically a comic book come to life. Besides the talent behind the camera, which includes George A. Romero, Stephen King, cinematographer Michael Gornick, and composer John Harrison, there’s also a stellar cast on display, which includes Tom Atkins, Carrie Nye, Ed Harris, Stephen King himself, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, Gaylen Ross, Hal Halbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Robert Harper, and E.G. Marshall (as well uncredited appearances by Richard Gere and Ned Beatty).

It’s amazing to think that a major studio like Warner Bros. got behind a film like Creepshow, but then again, with the creative combo of Romero and King, perhaps it’s not so surprising. Theatrically, it was the most lucrative horror film of the year upon release, eking out a tidy profit, at least enough to warrant a sequel (through New World Pictures no less). It received its fair share of negative critical assessment at the time, but today Creepshow is seen as a genre cornerstone.

Creepshow was shot by director of photography Michael Gornick on 35 mm film with Arriflex cameras and spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Scream Factory previously brought the film to Blu-ray for a second time in 2018 with a highly impressive Collector’s Edition package. They’ve returned for an Ultra HD upgrade, complete with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, now graded for High Dynamic Range (HDR10 and Dolby Vision options are included). The color correction on the previous release was supervised and approved by Michael Gornick (which he details in one of the extras included with this release), but it’s unclear whether or not he had any direct involvement with any of the new HDR grades.

Scream Factory’s previous Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of Creepshow was a massive upgrade, and this new UHD further enhances what’s already come before. The only nagging caveat of Michael Gornick’s seemingly non-involvement with this release means that there’s no way to say whether or not it’s truly definitive, but one can’t argue with the final results. This is a gorgeous presentation with a high encode on a triple-layered disc, featuring bitrates that frequently rise above 90Mbps. There are the obvious visual eccentricities, mostly due to the variety of opticals, but Creepshow has never looked better overall. Grain is handled even better than on the previous Blu-ray, showing variance on brighter backgrounds, such as the daytime beach scenes during Something to Tide You Over, but it’s otherwise well-handled. Once again, the detail in the face of The Creep is more prominent than ever, the textures on the corpse of Nathan Grantham are clearer and sharper than before, and the multitude of roaches in Upson Pratt’s apartment are disgustingly well-defined. As for the color palette, it’s as rich as ever with a couple of slight differences. Foliage takes on a more naturally green appearance, and skin tones have a slightly cooler look to them. Otherwise, hues are more or less identical, and all of them boosted thanks to the new HDR grades, which offer increased detail and definition. Contrast and clarity are also improved with deeper blacks and higher resolution in backgrounds. This new transfer also appears cleaner with less scratches and speckling on display, and the presentation is stable throughout. Regardless of whether the DP had anything to do with it, it’s an outstanding picture.

Audio options include a new English Dolby Atmos track (which is 7.1 Dolby TrueHD compatible), plus 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks with optional subtitles in English. All three appear to be brand new mixes, creating using the original discrete Dolby Stereo elements. The Atmos track widens the sound experience without taking anything away from it. Dialogue exchanges tend to hang around the center. The other elements, including score, music, and sound effects, fill the surrounding speakers, occasionally given a bit of height. The stock music and sound effects have a built-in thinness to them, but come through much more clearly. The 5.1 experience is similar, but with less space to work in. The 2.0 option is a folddown of the original Dolby Stereo elements, meaning that it’s more akin to the original theatrical experience. Indeed, there’s something here for everyone as each track leaves its predecessors in the digital dust.

The 4K Ultra HD release of Creepshow sits in a black amaray case alongside a 1080p Blu-ray with a double-sided insert, featuring the original theatrical artwork on one side and the alternate comic-book cover style poster artwork on the reverse. Everything is housed in a slipcover featuring the same theatrical artwork. The following extras are included:

DISC ONE: UHD

Audio Commentary with George A. Romero, Tom Savini, and Michael Felsher
Audio Commentary with John Harrison, Ed Fountain, and Michael Felsher
Audio Commentary with Michael Gornick and Lee Carr
Audio Interviews with Michael Gornick, John Amplas, Bruce Alan Miller, and Darryl Ferrucci
Mondo Macabre (HD – 9:42)
Collecting Creepshow (HD – 12:31)
The Colors of Creepshow (HD – 10:10)
Into the Mix (HD – 13:05)
Still Galleries:
- Posters and Lobby Cards (HD – 78 in all – 6:44)
- Movie Posters (HD – 26 in all – 2:20)
- Color Stills (HD – 25 in all – 2:15)
- Special Effects Makeup (HD – 69 in all – 6:04)
- Behind the Scenes (HD – 76 in all – 6:29)

DISC TWO: BD

Audio Commentary with George A. Romero, Tom Savini, and Michael Felsher
Audio Commentary with John Harrison, Ed Fountain, and Michael Felsher
Audio Commentary with Michael Gornick and Lee Carr
Audio Interviews with Michael Gornick, John Amplas, Bruce Alan Miller, and Darryl Ferrucci
Terror and the Three Rivers (HD – 30:10)
The Comic Book Look (HD – 12:51)
Ripped from the Pages (HD – 15:37)
Horror’s Hallowed Grounds (HD – 14:56)
Tom Savini’s Behind-the-Scenes Footage (SD – 25:52)
Deleted Scenes (HD and SD – 15:31)
Trailers (HD – 1:49 and SD – :58)
TV Spot (SD – :28)
Radio Spots (HD – 2 in all – 1:04)

While there’s material that hasn’t been included for specific reasons, there’s still a great deal of it to dig into. Starting things off are four audio commentaries. The first features George and Tom Savini, moderated by Michael Felsher, which is a fantastic and energetic listen. The second features composer John Harrison and construction coordinator Ed Fountain, also moderated by Michael Felsher, which is a fairly lively back and forth about each man’s role on the film and their experiences working on it. The third features cinematographer Michael Gornick and filmmaker Lee Carr, who have a conversation about the film’s production. The fourth and final commentary is made up of interviews with Michael Gornick, John Amplas, property master Bruce Alan Miller, and make-up effects assistant Darryl Ferrucci, all conducted by Felsher.

This release also splits up the extras from the previous Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, with several included on the UHD, and the rest on the Blu-ray. Mondo Macabre offers a look at Mondo’s various Creepshow posters with Mondo co-founder Rob Jones and Mondo Gallery events planner Josh Curry. Collecting Creepshow takes a look at some of the original props and collectibles from the film with collector Dave Burian. The Colors of Creepshow is the aforementioned interview with Michael Gornick about the film’s restoration and color timing. Into the Mix contains an interview with sound re-recordist Chris Jenkins, who goes over his work with George. Also included are five sets of still galleries, containing a total of 274 stills devoted to posters, lobby cards, newspapers clippings, memorabilia, script pages, sketches, behind-the-scenes photos, and personal photos.

Terror and the Three Rivers is a roundtable discussion about the making of Creepshow with Michael Felsher, John Amplas, Tom Atkins, Tom Savini, and Marty Schiff, and it’s a fantastic off-the-cuff chat between the five men about their memories of working with George and how they got involved with the film. The Comic Book Look features an interview with costume designer Barbara Anderson, who covers her career and production designer Cletus Anderson’s work on the film. Ripped from the Pages contains an interview with animator Rick Catizone, who talks about his work on both Creepshow films. Horror’s Hallowed Grounds takes a look at the original filming locations, hosted by Sean Clark and Tom Atkins. Last are nearly twenty-six minutes of Tom Savini’s behind-the-scenes footage shot with a camcorder, several Deleted Scenes taken from the workprint, the US and Spanish theatrical trailers, a TV spot, and 2 radio spots. Not included from Scream Factory’s previous Blu-ray is a 38-page insert booklet with liner notes about the film by Michael Gingold, as well photos, posters, and restoration details.

Besides even more of Tom Savini’s behind-the-scenes footage being absent from this release, also not present is the Just Desserts: The Making of Creepshow feature-length documentary, which was released by Synapse Films on Blu-ray in 2016. That release includes an audio commentary with Michael Felsher; another commentary with Felsher interviewing John Amplas, Bruce Alan Miller, and Darryl Ferrucci (which was also sourced for the Second Sight audio commentary); Creepshow Days, an interview with Michael Gornick; Tom Savini’s Behind the Screams, a variation of the same behind-the-scenes footage; 24 minutes of extended interviews with George, Tom Savini, and artist Bernie Wrightson; a vintage segment from a Halloween edition of Evening Magazine, which aired on KDKA-TV Pittsburgh in 1982; and the hour-long Scream Greats Volume One: Tom Savini, Master of Horror Effects VHS documentary with optional audio commentary by Savini himself, moderated by Felsher. If you don’t already own this great Blu-ray release, you really should pick it up as it’s an essential companion to the film.

Once again, Scream Factory has treated Creepshow to another high quality presentation on home video. It may not be as game-changing as their previous Blu-ray (which at the time was important since few sublicensors were working with Warner Bros.), but it’s still an amazing release that belongs on your shelf. Highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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