Creepshow (1982) (Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: George A. Romero

Cast: Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver

Release Date: June 27, 2023

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 9.5/10

Synopsis:

Masters of the macabre – writer Stephen King and director George A. Romero – conjure up five shocking yarns, each a virtuoso exercise in the ghouls-and-gags style of classic ’50s horror comics. A murdered man emerges from the grave for Father’s Day cake. A meteor’s ooze makes everything … grow. A professor selects his wife as a snack for a crated creature. A scheming husband plants two lovers up to their necks in terror. A malevolent millionaire with an insect phobia becomes the prey of a cockroach army. Add the spirited performances of an excellent cast (Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, E.G. Marshall and King himself) and the ghoulish makeup wizardry of Tom Savini, and you have a non-stop, thrilling ride that “plays like an anthology of human phobias” (Roger Ebert)!

Please Note: Shout! Factory provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

The beloved 1982 cult classic horror anthology ‘Creepshow’ tells five terrifying tales of horror, misfortune and evil including a murdered man who returns from the grave determined to finally have his Father’s Day cake, along with a man who considers getting rid of his wife with the help of a locked up monster at the University he works for. Also featured is the tale of a rich man who takes revenge upon two young lovers who he believes wronged him only for things to go a way he never expected, plus a lonely man discovers a meteorite that changes him forever, as well as the story of a rich, uncaring man who dislikes bugs and soon finds himself unable to escape them.

The horror comic-book brought to terrifying life is directed by horror legend George A. Romero from an Original Screenplay written by horror icon Stephen King and the combination quickly proves an absolute winner, allowing ‘Creepshow’ to still easily serve up all of the campy, colorful and bloody excitement we could want today, more than forty years after its debut. The film’s cast features numerous noteworthy stars (as well as Stephen King himself, along with his son Joe Hill) including Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E.G. Marshall, Viveca Lindfors, Ed Harris and Ted Danson, along with more who each help to contribute to the overall fun that the film still delivers in ample quantities.

‘Creepshow’ was first unleashed upon audiences in 1982; filled with twisted fun, memorable effects and a unique style that couldn’t have come any closer to bringing old-school horror comic books to life, not to mention crafted by two of the most notable and beloved names to ever contribute to horror tales both on screen and on the page. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that ‘Creepshow’ has lost almost none of its charm over the years and it still provides a thoroughly enjoyable, over the top and unforgettable treat for genre fans today, more than four decades after its original theatrical release.

Scream Factory’s new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Creepshow’ brings home the beloved 1982 horror anthology from horror icons George A. Romero and Stephen King on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever. Featuring a fantastic new Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 from a new 2023 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative that brings the film home looking better than ever before, along with a brand new Dolby Atmos soundtrack that delivers a hard-hitting and immersive audio presentation that should have fans excited. Also including a Blu-ray disc with the new scan and Atmos soundtrack included, along with tons of previously released bonus goodies on top of it, this new release makes for a pretty marvelous 4K UHD debut of the cult classic that should leave fans thrilled. If you’re a fan of the original ‘Creepshow’ that’s fully 4K capable and are already considering a purchase, then this release is definitely highly recommended.

VIDEO:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Creepshow’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio, from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. The video presentation looks outstanding all around and delivers a clean, sharp and filmic presentation from start to finish that holds up beautifully and never suffers from any unexpected troubles arising throughout. It shows impressive detail and noticeable improvement on character faces, clothing and backgrounds, along with creatures, rooms and rotting corpses which all look better than ever here. The Dolby Vision addition also contributes a beautiful color palette which looks stellar, especially for this already vibrantly colorful film; while the black levels are deep, rich and problem-free. Overall, this is a wonderful new Ultra High Definition video presentation that never disappoints and should have diehard fans of the film ecstatic.

The 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition release additionally includes the Feature Film on Blu-ray which is also taken from the new 4K scan.

AUDIO:

The Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a new Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is an aggressive delight itself and provides a clean, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send music, along with creepy effects, background chatter and plenty more regularly whipping throughout the various speakers at every reasonable opportunity, while never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously becoming distorted or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a great new Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that more than delivers throughout and should easily thrill the film’s fans.

The included Blu-ray disc also includes the film with the new Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Scream Factory Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Creepshow’ is jam-packed with previously released extras, the majority of which have been ported over from Scream Factory’s 2018 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release (you can also find my review of that release HERE) and they are spread between the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs for this release and have been broken down below:

Both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs include ‘3 Audio Commentary tracks’ and a collection of ‘Audio Interviews’ that can be selected to accompany the feature film’s playback. The three commentary tracks include an ‘Audio Commentary with Director George A. Romero and Special Make-Up Effects Creator Tom Savini’, along with an ‘Audio Commentary with cinematographer Michael Gornick’ and an ‘Audio Commentary with composer/first assistant director John Harrison and construction coordinator Ed Fountain’, as well as a fourth option including ‘Audio Interviews with director of photography Michael Gornick, actor John Amplas, property master Bruce Alan Miller, and make-up effects assistant Darryl Ferrucci’.

Disc One (4K UHD) also includes a handful of Interviews, Featurettes and more including ‘Mondo Macabre’ (running approximately 10 minutes in length), ‘Collecting Creepshow’ (running approximately 12 minutes), ‘The Colors of Creepshow’ (approximately 10 minutes) and ‘Into the Mix’ (13 minutes). Also featured on the disc are multiple ‘Still Galleries’ including ‘Posters and Lobby Cards’, ‘Movie Posters’, ‘Color Stills’, ‘Special Effects Makeup’, and ‘Behind the Scenes’

Disc Two (Blu-ray) also features numerous Featurettes, Interviews, Behind the Scenes looks and more including ‘Terror and the Three Rivers: A Roundtable Conversation with John Amplas, Tom Atkins, Tom Savini, and Marty Schiff’ (running approximately 30 minutes in length), ‘The Comic Book Look with Costume Designer Barbara Anderson’ (running approximately 13 minutes), ‘Ripped from the Pages with Animator Rick Catizone’ (approximately 15 minutes), in addition to a look at the film’s shooting locations in ‘Horror’s Hallowed Grounds’ (15 minutes). Also featured is ‘Tom Savini’s Behind-the-Scenes Footage’ (approximately 26 minutes), plus various ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie’ (approximately 15 minutes altogether), along with ‘2 Trailers’ (3 minutes combined), a ‘TV Spot’ (30 seconds) and ‘2 Radio Spots’ (1 minute).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Remastered Blu-Ray disc included in the release and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 9.5/10

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The Horror Anthology Classic ‘Creepshow’ is Now Available to Own in a 2-Disc Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Set from Scream Factory!

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You can purchase your copy of the ‘Creepshow: 4K UHD Collector’s Edition’ by clicking on the Amazon icon below, or purchase it directly from Shout Factory HERE!

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