Creepshow is a series of short stories, in the vein of television shows like Tales from the Crypt. Each installment features a new story and new characters that are tied together as a comic book, in introducing and concluding segments at the beginning and end of the movie. Notably, George A. Romero directed the flick and it was written by Stephen King, a conjoining of two horror icons who work together to produce these frightful shorts. I'll break it down episode by episode.
First, we start off with a lead-off segment, about a boy's explorations of a trashy horror comic and his father's extreme (and when I say extreme, I mean ridiculous verbal expulsion) disapproval of said picture-book. What got me from the start was the pumpkin in the window. But it does start the intrigue flowing, which is important.
"Father's Day" - Obviously, this tale centers around Father's Day, bringing together newlyweds with the bride's family, who are waiting for their crazy aunt Bedelia (Viveca Lindfors) to arrive at the house. They're all rich and smug, and as soon as the eccentric aunt arrives, the audience is treated to a background narrative of the aunt's past, including details on her bastard father (Jon Lormer) and the subsequent murder of him via Aunt Bedelia. She has been coming back to the house ever since to visit her father's grave, repenting what she did to him, until this Father's Day, when he decides to wake from his death and kill the whole family.
This segment is not one of the stronger ones - the plot is the basic zombie-revenge formula, where the only thing working for it is the absurdity of the father jonesing for his cake. It's entertaining at best, and at worst grating, because the story doesn't feel fleshed out enough. The viewer is given bare bones as to what is going on, leaving to the imagination why the whole family is sitting and waiting for the aunt and why no one cares enough about anyone to actually worry about their feelings. It's humorous, but not a very hearty meal - we get the dessert before the dinner (in this case, cake).
"The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" - Next up is a short starring Stephen King himself, a man living on a hick farm in the middle of nowhere and dreaming of a better life. He finds a sweet glowing meteor in his backyard, cracks it open and gets a little of its rock juice on him, and believes he could be the next scientist. What a hoot! But Jordy's a little overzealous, and definitely becomes a little overgrown - that juice from the meteor does, in fact, grow plants wherever it touches, making Jordy the next Swamp Thing!
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