Tuesday 8 May 2012

Creepshow 3

"Creepshow 3" (2006, Ana Clavell, James Dudelson, Creepy Film Productions) is the third installment of the Creepshow collection. The original "Creepshow" was created by Stephen King and George A. Romero. "Creepshow 3" was not. And you can tell.

Just like the rest of the series, "Creepshow 3" is a collection of shorts. In this collection we have 5 mini-movies; "Alice", "The Radio", "Call Girl", "The Professor's Wife" and "Haunted Dog".

While this is by far my least favourite of the "Creepshow"series, it is by no means a terrible way to spend a Monday evening amongst good friends and chocolate Rice Krispies cakes (yes, that is indeed how I spent last night).

Unlike "Creepshow" and "Creepshow 2", "Creepshow 3" does not have any narration by 'The Creep', and instead of the stories coming from the "Creepshow" Comic book as it was in the previous installments, in "Creepshow 3" the shorts have interlinking characters and are common in setting and surroundings (the hot dog stand for instance). Kind of reminds me of "Pulp Fiction"...

Anyway, the stories are odd, confusing and just not as striking as the first two movies. But the special effects are gloriously gorey!

"Alice" is fabulously disgusting. I at first thought Alice was getting her comeuppance for being a shallow, bitchy teenager, but after much debate with my good friend Jim, we came to conclusion that she was not, infact, a girl all along! We likened this story to one of the 'Goosebumps' tales from our childhood (the one when the children begin turning into dogs, but it turns out they were really dogs who'd been turned into children). An apt description, I think.

"The Radio" was one of my favourites. If you've seen "Magic" (1978, Anthony Hopkins) which is about a ventriloquist who begins killing people because the dummy told him to, then you'll enjoy this one. I like the transition of Jerry's character from 'Only-decent-dude-on-the-block' to 'paranoid-murderer/burglar'. Sad times when you become a freak in a building full of hookers, pimps and drug addicts...

"Call Girl" had a nice twist. I won't give it away.

"The Professor's Wife" I felt was clumsy and pointless. I think they would have noticed their mistake earlier, no?

"Haunted Dog" was very similar to "The Hitch-Hiker" short in "Creepshow 2" when the woman is haunted by the hitch-hiker she ran over... Thanks for the ride, lady! and Thanks for the good dog are much too similar phrases... The only saving grace for this short was how much I liked the dick-head doctor! Hilarious!

I enjoyed spotting the interlinking characters and watching the other stories happening around each other, although I found some of the story telling to be lazy and the absence of The Creep just ruined it for me! There was a small face-melting hint at the end with the hot dog vendor, but it just wasn't the same.

All in all, not the best, but frankly I've seen worse so no booby prize either!

[Picture: Creepy Film Productions]

Hani


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