The Creeps

One of the best of the low budget Horror genre, this film proves that making good movies has to do with good acting and direction, NOT money. It's actually a spoof of horror movies, combining Dracula, Frankenstein, and other classic monster characters into one story, and portraying them all (rather unfashionably) with midgets.

The story centers around an ancient mystical book, the librarian who is in charge of protecting it, and the goofy scientist who wants to steal it in order to bring evil into the world. There are lots of fun scenes and lines in the movie, a testimony to the good writing.

In one of the more amusing sequences, the librarian's pushy, blonde, amazonian boss gets her just desserts and is mistakenly kidnapped by the midgets. It's a delicious blend of comedy and horror as the big, mean woman is tied to an altar, stripped naked and, finally, offered up as a human sacrifice by the little fiends.

Will the librarian and her boyfriend meet a similar death at the hands of the tiny monsters? You should really rent the movie and find out! I recommend it.

THE CREEPS was shot in widescreen and 3-D but released most widely on video, where it is presented flat and panned and scanned. It has been shown in 3-D in a few theatres, mostly during 3-D festivals.

Director Charles Band also directed two earlier 3-D films, PARASITE (1982) and METALSTORM (1983).

The premise of midget monsters and people being afraid of them had tremendous promise and could have been really funny. Of course they failed hard and it's just boring. There is constant background music to let you know when you're supposed to laugh or be scared because there's no other way of knowing. It's like a Spike Lee movie only more realistic. To make it even worse, the entire story makes no sense. They frequently find themselves trying to explain what has just happened and it still doesn't make sense. They even have the guy work at a video store just to mention the other terrible movies these people have made. Don't waste your time.

I stumbled upon the 1997 horror comedy "The Creeps" (aka "Deformed Monsters") by random chance here in 2022. And never having seen it, and it being a horror comedy, of course I had to watch it. Now, it should be said that I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to watching it, so I didn't know what I was in for here.

And when I saw that this was a Charles Band movie I have to admit that I was a bit ambivalent about it, as some of the Full Moon movies from Charles Band have been some duds and swings and misses, while others have been campy and cheesy but still watchable.

Luckily, then "The Creeps" was actually one of the more enjoyable and fun to watch movies from Full Moon, so that was a pleasant surprise. And I have to say that the storyline and the whole concept of having iconic literature (and movie) monsters come to life at half size was as much fun as it was creative. So writer Neal Marshall Stevens definitely managed to churn out something interesting with "The Creeps".

The storyline was good, campy and cheesy for sure, but it just worked out on a satisfying level, and that made the movie all the more enjoyable and watchable.

Of all the cast that performed in the movie then I was only familiar with Phil Fondacaro (playing Dracula). But I will say that the cast they had for this movie actually put on good performances and carried the movie quite well.

As for "The Creeps" being a horror comedy, then you have to bear in mind that the comedy is not the type that will make you laugh. Nay, the comedy here is subtle and sort of just is there as a layer pulled over the horror aspect of the movie. So if you are expecting a movie full of laughs and funny situations, then you will be disappointed.

I was actually genuinely entertained by this movie, and as such then I am rating "The Creeps" a six out of ten stars. This is definitely one of the better movies from Full Moon.

A monster movie, but with little people. The front cover pretty much sums it up ... dwarf versions of the classic Universal horror monsters groping a half-naked busty young woman (who, incidentally, doesn't appear in the movie). Tasteless? Well, that goes without saying ...

Considering it's short overall length and it's fun tongue-in-cheek approach, this movie does take quite a while to get going. In the story, a nervous mad scientist is stealing first editions of various great horror books, in order to bring the archetypes to life with an ingenious machine. He wants to bring back Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Werewolf and the Mummy, and so needs to get first editions of the definitive books on these monsters. He succeeds, but something goes wrong during the creation and they end up around four feet tall. Ha! Anyway, a librarian and a wannabe detective become mixed up in this plot, and decide they must foil his plans.

For a low-budget B-movie, the acting isn't that bad here. Most of the cast appear to be very competent comedic actors, and that of course helps to make the whole thing more enjoyable. As for the monsters, a couple of them appear to have been cast right off the street which works okay because there's only one speaking role -- Dracula. Dracula is played by Phil Fondacaro, who like Warwick Davis got his start playing one of the ewoks in "Return of the Jedi", and since then you might have recognised him in films like "Willow" and "Meridian". He plays the part very well, acting it completely straight and letting the other comedians play off against him.

"The Creeps" was put out by Full Moon Pictures, a horror studio that makes puts out these great little trashy low-budget B-movies (check out their website). It was originally released in 3D, which explains some of the rather odd camera angles. The production values are actually very good -- the monster makeup for the most part looks really great, and in fact for genre fans that alone almost makes this movie worth watching. And in keeping with the Laws Of The B Movie, there is of course one brief scene of nudity.

It's silly and campy and a bit lame, but if you enjoy a good bit of light-hearted B-movie trash then this really isn't that bad at all. And yes, it is a bit creepy.