by Anthony O'Connor
The original Creepshow (1982) was a gleefully macabre horror anthology movie directed by the late, great George A. Romero, written by Stephen King and with special make-up effects by the “Sultan of Splatter” Tom Savini. It was surprisingly star-studded, hugely influential and above all, loads of fun. Gory, comical and with a subversive streak, it remains a fan favourite the world over.
Because we’re living in the era of weaponised nostalgia, it was perhaps inevitable that Creepshow would return, in this case as a streaming show on Shudder. What was less certain was that it would be as good as it is.
This is due in no small part to showrunner Greg Nicotero who channeled decades of creating special make-up effects in the film biz, years of directing the best episodes of The Walking Dead and a lifetime of passionate devotion to the horror genre into a show that feels like a love letter to the fans.
So, what is it about Creepshow, now launching its third season, that brings Greg such joy?
“Well, every single story is a different experience.” Nicotero muses. “I think for a lot of anthology shows, there’s always a throughline. And what I loved about the original movie was the fact that you could have one episode that would be scary and one episode that would be a little campy and one episode that would be kind of dark, and by the time you were done watching it, you had been on a variety of different journeys. And I realised, for me, that that’s what Creepshow embodied.”
Nicotero wasn’t unaware of the prestige associated with this cult classic. “For season one, my number one goal was to not fuck it up!” he laughs. “I just wanted to make a good show. I wanted to pay tribute to George and to Stephen, and I had a lot of responsibility. It was very challenging and a much more difficult experience than I had anticipated. I mean, I had been working on The Walking Dead for 10 years, but not taking into account three and a half days per story with a new cast, new sets, new script, and every other episode, new director. So, I just held on for dear life.”
And it worked. Creepshow has garnered Shudder’s best ratings and reviews, giving Nicotero the confidence to get personal. “So, season two, I felt a lot more self-assured and I started really finding scripts and stories that appealed to me; as a filmmaker and also as a fan,” he explains.
“There’s a lot of me in the stories and I would say between Model Kid and Public Television of the Dead and Night of the Living Late Show, there’s a lot of those episodes from season two that were very, very personal to me. And then I kind of realised that was the juice, that was the secret ingredient that kind of allowed me to drive the train very confidently. In season three, Skeletons in the Closet is a very unique, personal story to me. And even with Queen Bee, with Mums, with Drug Traffic, there’s a lot of really fun scripts and fun storytelling that I’m really proud of.”
That’s not to say it’s been easy. Creepshow is a hell of a good time, but compared to Nicotero’s other show – the episodic drama about ambulatory corpses, The Walking Dead – it’s a very low budget concern. And, naturally, that can be tough. And yet, quite often, Creepshow delivers staggeringly effective special effects moments, like a stunning piece in the season three episode titled Queen Bee, that offers a very literal take on the name with a gigantic insect/human hybrid.
“Well, most of the shots of the creature in the hospital room was a third scale miniature,” he enthuses. “We built a miniature of that room and we puppeteered the creature. And even as much as making a little miniature hospital bed that could fall over on cue. So, most of those shots were done that way. And it was a big stretch ‘cause I directed the episode and when we got to the creature effects part, I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it. We’re just going to shoot that miniature later.’ Nobody knew what the fuck I was talking about. They’re like, ‘What do you mean we’re going to shoot it as a miniature later?’ I’m like, ‘No, no, no, it’s going to be a miniature.’ And I had so much fun developing that! I didn’t know any other way to do it without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on visual effects. And it’s got John Carpenter and Rob Bottin written all over it. And, well, that’s what happens when you make a makeup effects guy a showrunner and a director. He’s going to want to try to showcase the art form that he fell in love with as often as he can.”
Two hugely successful TV shows is impressive, but FilmInk has to know if Greg wants to move to the silver screen. “I get asked this question a lot. I always feel like I answer the same way and then it becomes a headline. When people call me and go, ‘Are you directing the Creature from the Black Lagoon remake?’, because I think I had said that in one interview like, ‘Man, wouldn’t it be great,’ and the next day, everybody thought that’s what I was doing,” Greg laughs. “I would love to do [the Creature remake], but there’s so much great stuff out there. And whether I go the movie route… I haven’t directed a movie yet, I’ve directed 40-something-hours of television, which is 20 movies if you think about it, but there’s something to be said for having the opportunity to do television to develop characters that you don’t have the time for in a two-hour movie.”
So… Creature from the Black Lagoon remake confirmed?
Creepshow season three is currently airing on Shudder. The Walking Dead’s final season is currently airing on Binge.
