waxwork | Camera Viscera

Based on sheer unanimous appreciation alone, Creepshow may be one of the greatest horror films ever made. Truly: I’ve never heard one disparaging comment made about it. Inquire, and those who’ve seen it will excitedly describe their favorite segment, their eyes alight and hands animated. For those raised on it, it’s like a plateful of comfort food. And, due to its fall-tinged intro, it has become a Halloween staple. Needless to say, it’s a horror classic.

One of the things that helped cement Creepshow among horror royalty is its incredible score. Composed by frequent Romero collaborator John Harrison (using only a Prophet V synthesizer), the score successfully manages to craft a hauntingly Gothic aura punctuated by goofy camp – no easy task, but one that compliments the vibe of the comic book-inspired film perfectly. Romero himself has said that Harrison’s score delivers on the promise the tagline of the film avows: “the most fun you’ll have being scared”. Continue reading THE MISSING “CREEPSHOW” MUSIC CUES! →

Ah, to be a teen in the 80s. To be able to enjoy every awesome horror release.

Combining everything that was awesome about 80s horror: bored, affluent teens seeking (ultimately) deadly thrills; likable genre actors and actresses; comedy and gore; killer poster art — “Waxwork” goes above and beyond what’s required to become a classic. Not to mention there are 18 (!) different monsters/villains that are used throughout the film. You couldn’t ask for anything more!

The storyline is quick with the set-up and doesn’t hesitate getting to the good stuff: a group of college students discover a newly opened wax museum while on a walk one day. The proprietor invites them to a gathering and, naturally, they accept. When they visit the museum the next night, they find themselves being sucked into the displays and interacting with the scenery directly. One student gets sucked into a werwolf scene, another is sucked into a vampire scene. So forth and so on.

This one always stuck out to me as there’s so much going on, with all the different scenarios and monsters. This was followed by an equally cool/fun sequel.