Night of the Creeps Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Homecoming Night" )

directed by Fred Dekker
USA 1986

When an alien experiment goes awry, it crashes to Earth in 1959 and infects a young college student. 27 years later, his cryogenically-frozen body is thawed out by fraternity pledges, and the campus is quickly overrun by alien creatures - whose victims come back as zombies! Fred Dekker's supremely enjoyable throwback chiller deftly combines classic horror and sci-fi elements with delicious humour and loving in-jokes.

***

Night of the Creeps, Fred (The Monster Squad) Dekker's spoof/tribute to '50s-era horror and science fiction, died an unheralded death at the box office back in the slasher-centric '80s, but it developed a passionate cult following in the ensuing decades; aficionados and first-timers alike will be thrilled with this DVD release, which underscores the film's loopy charms with a wealth of fun supplemental features. The premise is prime Creature Feature material--in 1959 an alien experiment containing vile, sluglike organisms that possess their hosts crashes to Earth, where one of the slugs takes over a young Lover's Lane habitué; flash-forward to 1986, when hapless nerds Jason Lively and Steve Marshall discover the corpse, cryogenically frozen in their college lab, and accidentally free it as part of a prank. The body unleashes its extraterrestrial passenger, which proceeds to infect the student population at a breakneck pace. Dekker juggles his humor and horror with a fair amount of skill, though for every inspired moment, there's a groaner or two (it was the '80s, after all); the presence of genre vet Tom Atkins (The Fog, the 2009 My Bloody Valentine) lends a proper degree of grit. Though not perfect, Night of the Creeps was--and remains--a refreshingly quirky alternative to the franchise-heavy studio horror of the decade.

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 22nd, 1986

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Comparison:

Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

(Sony - Region FREE - Blu-ray - LEFT vs. Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - RIGHT)

Box Covers

Distribution	Sony Region FREE - Blu-ray	Eureka Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:29:52.387	1:29:52.387
Video	1.85:1 Disc Size: 38,912,877,669 bytes Feature Size: 25,351,944,192 bytes Total Bitrate: 27.51 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC	1.85:1 Disc Size: 45,402,308,674 bytes Feature Size: 29,784,014,208 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.83 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Sony Blu-ray
Bitrate: Eureka Blu-ray
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 3741 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3741 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround Trivia Track: DTS-HD Master Audio English 3741 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3741 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio English 4072 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4072 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 320 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 320 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 320 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 320 kbps
Subtitles	English, English (SDH), none	English (SDH), none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Sony 1.85:1 Disc Size: 38,912,877,669 bytes Feature Size: 25,351,944,192 bytes Total Bitrate: 27.51 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Commentary with Writer/ Director Fred Dekker • Cast Commentary • Birth of the Creeps • Cast of the Creeps • Creating the Creeps • Escape of the Creeps • Legend of the Creeps • Tom Atkins: Man of Action • Original Theatrical Ending • Trivia Track • Deleted Scenes Blu-ray Release Date: September 25th, 2018 Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Eureka 1.85:1 Disc Size: 45,402,308,674 bytes Feature Size: 29,784,014,208 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.83 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by writer / director Fred Dekker Audio Commentary by actors Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow "Thrill Me: The Making of Night of the Creeps" – an hour-long series of video pieces on the making of the film featuring interviews with the cast & crew (59:44 - called birth of the creeps) "Tom Atkins: Man of Action" featurette (19:58) Video Interview with Fred Dekker (called Creator of the Creeps) - 31:02 Deleted Scenes (09:33) Original theatrical ending (00:43) Trivia track subtitles Theatrical trailer (01:29) PLUS: A limited edition booklet featuring a new essay by critic Craig Ian Mann (First print run only) Blu-ray Release Date: September 25th, 2018 Chapters 9

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: (October 2018) Eureka Region 'B' - Blu-ray: This new Eureka! Blu-ray of the cult-classic "Night of the Creeps" comes to us on a dual-layered Blu-ray. The 1.85:1 image has a maxed-out bitrate as opposed to the previous Sony's 1080P somewhat lower bitrate. This seems to be a very similar transfer to the previous Blu-ray. Certain fleshtones look slightly better here and the image looks better when in motion. Detail levels are decent and there is a modest amount of grain. Colors look appropriately bloody when red, and the contrast looks very robust, especially in the earlier B&W scenes. A very worthy transfer for fans. It should be noted that both versions are the "Director's Cut".

Eureka! have the original audio in linear PCM and also give the option to listen to the film in 5.1 DTS-HD MA. This seems to be the same as the previous Sony, as far as my ears are concerned. I particularly enjoyed the 5.1 track separation but I understand that purists may prefer the original track. The soundtrack contains many classic songs from The Platters, Sandy Nelson, Paul Anka, etc. and the score is thanks to Barry De Vorzon (The Warriors, Dillinger, Rolling Thunder, Hard Times, Looker). There are optional English SDH subtitles and trivia track subtitles on this Region-B Blu-ray.

Both the new Eureka and previous Sony version contain the commentary track with director Fred Dekker and the second with the cast with actors Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow (and both have an optional trivia track subtitle--very cool). These are both worth a listen, the Dekker track in particular is full of interesting information. "Birth of the Creeps" is an hour-long series of video pieces on the making of the film featuring interviews with the cast & crew. "Tom Atkins: Man of Action" is a 20-minute interview with the actor. "Creator of the Creeps" is a 31-minute interview with director Fred Dekker. There are also 9.5-minutes of deleted scenes, the original theatrical ending, and trailer. The first run edition also has a booklet featuring a new essay by critic Craig Ian Mann.

Night of the Creeps holds a special place in the hearts of many cult sci-fi/horror fans. The film is clearly a labor of love, made with absolute reverence (and tongue firmly in cheek) of the genre much like Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Eureka have a wonderful collection of extras here, and the transfer ever-so-slightly edges out the previous Sony release. Fans may debate upgrading their previous disc, but I absolutely recommend this Eureka Blu-ray to anyone without the Sony release.