So deep is my love for 1982’s Creepshow that, although I already had paid $20 for a brand-new VHS of it back in the day, I happily parted with a similar amount once the George A. Romero film debuted on DVD. Only one problem existed with that disc, as well as the eventual Blu-ray: It was bare-bones, featuring a trailer and nothing else. (Chapter selections and interactive menus do not count, Warner Bros.)
In the category of Better Late Than Never comes Michael Felsher’s Just Desserts: The Making of Creepshow, a feature-length documentary previously available only in the UK. Remarkably, it’s worth the decadelong wait. Even if Stephen King declined to participate, Romero is all aboard, as are FX wizard Tom Savini, actress Adrienne Barbeau, actor Tom Atkins, comic artist Bernie Wrightson — hell, even that noted ray of sunshine Ed Harris! (And yes, thank the Lord, he does discuss his improvised disco-dancing skills.)
No stranger to the world of documentaries for genre pictures, Red Shirt Pictures head Felsher doesn’t waste time with reiterating EC Comics history lessons, because, really, if you do not already possess at least a primer-level understanding of the once-controversial Tales from the Crypt and its companion titles, would Just Desserts even be up your alley? Topics of relevant discussion instead include Romero’s approach to coaxing King in his first acting role, how they faked Ted Danson’s drowning and the in-camera methods used to give Creepshow its unique, comic-book look. Best of all, however, are the anecdotes — and they number many — surrounding the challenges of cockroach wrangling … and the unavoidable mishaps.
The highest praise one can give such a thorough behind-the-scenes undertaking is that he or she could have sat through another half-hour or more. With Just Desserts, the Creepshow superfan in me says, “Duh, you lunkhead.” —Rod Lott