Film Review: Just Desserts: The Making of ‘Creepshow’ (2007)

SYNOPSIS:

Details the making of Stephen King & George A. Romero’s 1982 horror anthology classic, from conception through to completion

REVIEW:

Fans of the movie “Creepshow” may or may not have seen this release when it originated in 2007 (which was previously only available overseas in repackaged formats).

When I first received this, my thought was …why a dedicated release and why not a simple inclusion on a collector’s edition of Creepshow. So I threw on the disc as a fan of the original film to see what made this 90 min documentary deserving of a stand alone product.

Obviously at 90 minutes, it surely qualifies as “film length”, but more importantly it is simply a work of passion that has much of the film’s original talents giving stories, behind the scenes details, production tales, and praise to a small production that was otherwise assumed big.

The acting talent alone speaks in spades as to what elevated this release beyond other horror anthologies. More importantly, you have a movie that was written by Stephen Kind and George A. Romero, a winning combination if any. With greats like Savini adding FX magic and a cast that in this case consisted of well-known talents (over unknowns) Creepshow brang a special quality to each of the movies segments. “Just Desserts: The Making of ‘Creepshow ” brings these great moments and creation steps into view as the creators and contributors give us a solid play by play.

The documentary is an obvious work of passion for filmmaker/ director Michael Felsher’s who imagined a better release than just “another” bonus portion tacked onto a Creepshow re-package. In fact, it’s the really good documentaries that stand out and leave an impact over the usual droll of bits and parts inclusions. This being one of them, the release itself is also chock full of special features extras which is almost a paradox in itself (an release of extras WITH extras). None-the-less it is all great Creepshowy-stuff…to dive into. Fans will love the rare on-set video footage provided by Savini himself.

The film Creepshow for many was an iconic staple for the 80’s (with its release date of 1982) introducing us to more of what the 80’s horror scene would be later defined as. “Just Desserts: The Making of ‘Creepshow” is one such documentary while being well done, well edited, and simply charming, invites viewers back to seek out the original 1982 release itself. “Just Desserts” takes a lead from other like iconic documentary releases such as “Never Sleep Again” and “Crystal Lake Memories“. So you might want to start dedicating a lil extra DVD shelf space for these focus documentaries.

Appearances include (but not limited to) Ed Harris, George A. Romero, Bernie Wrighton, Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook and Tom Savini. Each character hand picked and perfect for the smaller roles they played making Creepshow simply an ensemble treat. It’s refreshing to see much of these actors talk about their earlier roles and where they were in the Hollywood system at the time. Only missing from this collective was Stephen King himself which for one reason another didn’t want to become involved in an extras type release (Go ahead say it….dick!). Instead we hear from other members of the cast about their on set King experiences. (Because King was too big of a dick to do it himself)

The original project started out as a kick starter campaign when then made its way into Synapse films capable and supportive hands. Needless to say, the wait is over….grab some horror history fresh from the mouths of those who put it all together.

Features

• Audio Commentary with Director & Editor Michael Felsher
• Audio Commentary featuring interviews with Actor John Amplas, Property Master Bruce Alan Miller, and Make-Up Effects Assistant Darryl Ferrucci
• Creepshow Days – An interview with Director of Photography Director Michael Gornick
• Extended Interview Segments with George A. Romero, Tom Savini, and Bernie Wrightson
• Behind The Screams – A compilation of on-set video footage from Tom Savini
• Horror’s Hallowed Grounds with Sean Clark
• Scream Greats Volume One: Tom Savini, Master of Horror Effects with Optional Audio Commentary with Tom Savini
• Vintage 1982 Evening Magazine Segment shot on the set of the film, featuring rare cast & crew interviews
• Behind-The-Scenes of CREEPSHOW Photo Gallery

Just Desserts: The Making of ‘Creepshow’  is now available in bluray from Synapse Films.