What a great time it is to be a horror fan when I can sit here and prepare myself to talk to you about the return of a classic horror franchise – made famous by the brilliant horror minds of George Romero, Stephen King, and Tom Savini. There is no question in any genre fans mind that Romero’s film is a classic – horror gold – the best of the best and it’s very exciting to have Greg Nicotero at a point in his career when he can breathe new life into the franchise and bring us a full season – 12 episodes – of fantastic Creepshow fun.
This was not an easy thing for Nicotero to accomplish – to say that Creepshow is beloved would be a monumental understatement – and the last thing he would want to do is fumble the ball – and I’m happy to report, not only did he not fumble it – he picked that ball up and ran it 90 yards for a touchdown.
I love this premiere season of what I hope will be many, many seasons to come – I loved it when it hit Shudder but I have to say – for whatever reason – I love it even more on physical media. Some of that is the packaging – sure – and we’ll discuss that at length here in a bit but – that is only part of it. Not sure what it is – maybe I’ll figure it out as I type this.
The premise is simple – and sticks to what made the Romero film so damn good – fun tales, great FX and plenty of gore.
This blu-ray collection comes as a three-disc set – two of those discs loaded with the 12 half hour-long episodes – the third disc crammed full of a special feature documentary titled Creepshow Resurrected. That third disc alone is worth the price of admission but – it’s all good – so very good.
With 12 episodes to watch through – there is bound to be some that are better than others – and that is certainly the case with this collection but overall – there is something here for everyone.
Nicotero sticks with the same classic animation style openings and wrap around’s as the film this series pays tribute to – a welcome homage that will bring a smile to the faces of long time fans like myself – and the tales that these six episodes (2 tales per episode) that showrunner Nicotero have rounded up run the gamut from atmospheric creepy to balls-out creature feature gore fests – and they are told to us via a who’s who of horror royalty – featuring tales written by Stephen King, Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, John Skipp, and Josh Malerman. And that just names a mere handful of the writing talent on board. Director wise we get Greg Nicotero for a few segments – John Harrison for a bunch – Rob Schrab for one episode – David Bruckner for an episode – Roxanne Benjamin and of course Tom Savini.
Every director brings their own unique style to their segments and I really enjoyed each and every one of them but House Of The Head and By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain stood out from the pack in my opinion – I’m sure you all will have your own thoughts but – do yourself a favor and take the time to settle in for an evening and give this collection a try.
From a packaging point of view – I love the glow in the dark packaging and the set comes complete with a little comic book inside that is just plain fantastic. I love that kind of stuff.
Special features are another huge part of why you’ll want to own this one. Each episode comes with its own commentary track – almost all of them put together and hosted by the always amazing Michael Felsher – have long enjoyed the man’s work. Check out this line up:
Disc One
- E1Audio Commentary featuring Greg Nicotero & co-writer Philip de Blasi for Gray Matter – Director John Harrison with Michael Felsher for The House of the Head
- E2 Audio Commentary featuring Michael Felsher and Rob Schrab for Bad Wolf Down – Greg Nicotero with writer David J. Schow
- E3 The Man In The Suitcase Audio Commentary featuring Michael Felsher with John Harrison for All Hallow’s Eve – Michael Felsher with David Bruckner for The Man in the Suitcase
Disc Two
- E4 Audio Commentary featuring David Bruckner with Matt Venne for The Companion – Roxanne Benjamin with Greg Nicotero for Lydia Layne’s Better Half
- E5 Audio Commentary #1 featuring Michael Felsher with John Harrison for Night of the Paw & Times is Tough in Musky Holler
- E5 Audio Commentary #2 featuring Michael Felsher with John Esposito for Night of the Paw – Michael Felsher with co-writer John Skipp for times is Tough in Musky Holler
- E6 Audio Commentary featuring Greg Nicotero, Roxanne Benjamin, Dana Gould for Skincrawlers – Michael Felsher with Director Tom Savini for By The Silver Water of Lake Champlain
Seriously – there is some must hear stuff of those commentary tracks – do not miss them.
As I mentioned previously – the third disc is home to an amazing six-segment behind the scenes look at the series titled CREEPSHOW RESURRECTED and it features an in-depth look at the episodes, many with photo galleries, interviews and FX segments. A great look at what all went into bringing this whole thing together.
Put it all together and you’ve got a 3 disc set that every horror fan needs to make room for on their shelf.
