Night of the Creeps (1986)

Directed by Fred Dekker. Starring Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow, Allan Kayser, David Oliver, David Paymer, Wally Taylor, Bruce Solomon, Alice Cadogan, Ken Heron. [R]

Dekker’s first feature film is proud of its B-movie approach, and even knowingly trots out a few dozen clichés, but they’re done in such a straight-faced fashion with no effort to supplant, surprise or lampoon that they don’t garner the delight that they should. Body-altering/possessing slugs from outer space arrive on Earth, wreak havoc during university pledge week. Opening and closing segments work best—“Duck! It’s Miller Time!”—but more imaginative direction and better pacing could have made this one an underground classic (it does have a cult following). Atkins scores as a no-nonsense detective with a grudge against the slippery beasts; he keeps saying, “Thrill me,” like he expects the greeting to catch on, and maybe it would have if his request was answered more often. Dick Miller shows up for a cameo because he’s Dick Miller. Many of the characters’ last names are those of well-known horror directors (Carpenter, Romero, Cronenberg, Raimi, etc.). Some releases feature an alternate ending.

60/100