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Posted: |
Jul 16, 2017 - 8:18 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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George A. Romero burst upon the movie scene in 1968 as the Pittsburgh-based writer, director, photographer, and editor of the groundbreaking zombie film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. The film was shot in and around Evansville, PA, north of Pittsburgh. Two hundred local extras were cast in the parts of townspeople and zombies.
The film's first scene, the initial cemetery attack on “Barbara” (Judith O'Dea) and “Johnny” (Russell Streiner), was actually the last scene to be filmed, in November 1967. The actors had to hold their breath to avoid visible condensation in the frosty autumn air. Romero chose Evans City Cemetery for the scene due in large part to its isolated location. The crew did not want to be interrupted by onlookers or police inquiring about their presence, and the cemetery being situated atop a hill in a heavily wooded area allowed them the opportunity for privacy. Ironically, it has become a popular tourist attraction and destination for fans of the film in the decades since its release.
During the filming of the cemetery sequence, shot on two separate days, an unexpected accident caused a fast change of script. The car driven by Barbara and Johnny into the cemetery was actually owned by the mother of co-producer Russell Streiner. Unfortunately, sometime between the two filming sequences, someone ran into the car and put a dent in it that would easily be visible on camera. Romero rewrote the scene so the car would come to a stop by crashing into a tree. Romero was the one operating the camera when S. William Hinzman (the cemetery zombie) attacks Barbara in her car by smashing the window with a rock. When Hinzman shattered the window, the rock barely missed Romero.
The house in which much of the later action in the film takes place was loaned to the filmmakers by the owner, who planned to demolish it anyway, thereby ensuring that they could do whatever they wanted to the house.
The music used in the film was from a Capitol/EMI Records Hi-Q stock music library, on which the copyright was in the public domain, and cost the filmmakers $1500. Much of it was originally used in TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE (1959).
The day the final editing and voice-over dubbing was complete, Romero and co-writer John A. Russo put the reels into the cans, threw them into the trunk of a car, and drove straight to New York City that night in hopes of having the film screened at any willing theater. While driving through New York on the night of April 4th, 1968, Romero and Russo heard news on the radio that Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated.
Understanding little about the commercial film business, Romero and Russo were surprised when no one would agree to show their film without it being handled by a distributor. So Romero remained in New Yok to try to arrange a distribution deal.
Columbia Pictures was the only major Hollywood studio interested in distributing the film, but eventually passed because it was in black-and-white at a time when movies had to compete with new color televisions. American International Pictures considered releasing the film, but wanted Romero to shoot an upbeat ending and add more of a love story subplot. Eventually, a deal was struck with Continental Distributing, wherein the company and the filmmakers would receive a 50-50 split of the rentals, after deducting the cost of prints and advertising.
The U.S. film rating system was instituted on November 1, 1968. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD premiered on October 1 1968, making it one of the last films released in the US without a rating. Unfortunately, this meant children were able to see this strongly potent horror film in theaters. The review of the film by critic Roger Ebert included his concerned observations of the children watching with him and becoming genuinely traumatized at an adult horror story they were completely unprepared for. One of the distributor's publicity stunts was a $50,000 insurance policy against anyone dying from a heart attack while watching the film.
Continental wanted the film cut before they would release it, but not to remove any violence or gore. In fact, Continental wanted additional cannibalism scenes inserted into the film, but the filmmakers had little such footage that they hadn’t already used. Continental wanted some of the dialog scenes shortened. There are two known deleted scenes that were removed at the insistence of the distributor. They were an 8-minute expository scene in the basement between “Helen” (Marilyn Eastman) and “Harry” (Karl Hardman) at the bottom of the stairs (which explains the abrupt jump cut shown), as well as a wide shot of numerous zombies covering the landscape, which was replaced with footage of zombies eating near the end of the film. The deleted footage was presumed lost when a flood damaged the storage facility years later at Latent Image, Inc.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD became one of the most successful independent movies ever made. Made for $114,000 (equivalent to $798,000 in 2017), it grossed approximately $30 million (equivalent to $210 million in 2017) - over 263 times its budget. However, Romero and Russo saw very little profit from the film. In part, this was due to the nature of the independent film distribution business at the time. Such films were released on a regional basis, with only a few prints made at a time, and the distributor often had trouble collecting from the theaters. And apparently, in the case of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, Continental failed to take advantage of the hot property that they had, and did not quickly expand the number of prints or territories.
But the biggest error made by the filmmakers and the distributor was not realizing that, at the time of the film's release, any work that did not include a copyright notice on the prints was assumed to be public domain. Since the filmmakers forgot to include this notice, the film slipped into the public domain. It was not until the copyright law was changed on 1 March 1989 that a copyright notice was no longer required. Thus, Romero lost all of the profits made by the film in the video era. This was the primary reason that Romero, Russo, and Streiner remade the film in 1990.
The original working print and working elements and materials for the film no longer exist - they were destroyed as a result of a flood that filled the basement where the materials were stored (which was the same basement used to film the basement scenes in the movie). NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was one of the first films added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
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Posted: |
Jul 16, 2017 - 9:02 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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The release title of 1971’s THERE’S ALWAYS VANILLA was taken from a scene near the end of the film in which "Roger Bradley" (Roger McGovern) uses the analogy of an ice cream parlor to suggest to his son "Chris" (Ray Laine) that when he cannot make up his mind about the direction of his life, the mundane is always available.
Romero’s second film follows a young man (Ray Laine) who returns to his home city of Pittsburgh and moves in with an older woman (Judith Streiner) whom he begins to rely on for emotional and financial support. THERE’S ALWAYS VANILLA marked the film debut of Ray Laine, a Pittsburgh actor and drama teacher. Before his death in 2000, he appeared in approximately one dozen films that were shot in Pittsburgh. Judith Streiner (“Lynn”), also known as Judith Ridley, had appeared in Latent Image's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Roger McGovern and Richard Ricci ("Michael") appeared as zombies in the same film.
Romero considered this to be his worst film. He stated that the writer, Rudolph J. Ricci, was "very lazy" and showed little interest in the production, leaving halfway through the shooting. The film has rock music by the group Barefoot in Athens and electronic music performed by Steve Gorn. Although a copyright statement appears on the title card listing the film's date as 1971 and the claimant as At Play with the Angels, the film was not registered for copyright. While registration was not required for copyright protection at the time, the notice was, so the film remains under copyright. Currently Anchor Bay claims the copyright.
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Posted: |
Jul 16, 2017 - 9:31 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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HUNGRY WIVES is about a bored, unhappy suburban housewife (Jan White) who gets mixed up in witchcraft and murder. George Romero has three onscreen credits, one each for directing, for writing, and for "Cinematography & Editing." Editing for this film is legendary. Rumor has it that, when Romero was finished with the final edit, nearly half of the film lay on the cutting room floor. Reviews of the film at its May 1972 premiere listed its running time at 89 minutes. Distributor Jack H. Harris later changed the title of the film to SEASON OF THE WITCH, which is the title of the current DVD of the film. That DVD version runs 104 minutes, suggesting that some of the cut footage was restored.
The film was shot in Pittsburgh, PA, home of the production company, Latent Image, Inc. Although there is a 1972 copyright statement in the onscreen credits, the film was not registered for copyright. New York Times reviewer Vincent Canby wrote about the film: "HUNGRY WIVES has the seedy look of a porn film but without any pornographic action." Romero has said that this is the only one of his films he'd like to remake. He cited lack of money as a reason for his unhappiness with the production as it turned out. Steve Gorn provided an original electronic score for the film.
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Posted: |
Jul 16, 2017 - 9:57 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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In 1973’s THE CRAZIES, the military attempts to contain a man-made combat virus that causes death and permanent insanity in those infected, as it overtakes a small Pennsylvania town. The budget for the film was approximately $270,000 and it was Romero's first union film, but he also employed a lot of actors from Pittsburgh and non-professionals from Evans City and Zelienople, PA, where the film was shot. No Hollywood stunt men were used in THE CRAZIES. Local firemen and licensed fireworks professionals handled all of the action sequences, including the creation and employment of blood squibs.
The basis of the film was a script by Romero's friend and co-worker Paul McCollough entitled “The Mad People.” McCollough gave the script to Romero with his blessing to re-write it, and Romero turned out a revised version of it that was made into THE CRAZIES. The burning house at the beginning of the film was a bit of serendipity for the film's crew. The local fire department was burning down an old house to practice putting out the fire, and agreed to let the filmmakers set up and film the event.
According to Romero the only problem that ever came up with the people of Evans City was about the filming of the final scene. In the conclusion, “Col. Peckem” (Lloyd Hollar) has to strip down and change clothes before being lifted off by the helicopter. Some of the locals saw the scene as it was being shot and took offense to the sight of a nude man outside. Romero said lawyers had to be called in to resolve the issue.
Bruce Roberts provided the score for the film. Although THE CRAZIES contains a copyright statement for Pittsburgh Films, it was not registered for copyright. The film was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1973, and was also exhibited at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival's retrospective showcase.
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Posted: |
Jul 16, 2017 - 10:38 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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MARTIN was about a young man (John Amplas), who believes himself to be a vampire, and goes to live with his elderly and hostile cousin (Lincoln Maazel) in a small Pennsylvania town where he tries to redeem his blood-craving urges.
The 1978 film was budgeted at less than $1 million, with private funding from investors based in Pittsburgh, PA, where the film was also shot. Romero was partnered with producer Richard Rubinstein in The Laurel Group, the production company behind MARTIN. According to Rubinstein, Romero was in serious debt (almost a million dollars) after the back to back failures of the films he'd done after NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Rubinstein told Romero it was alright to declare bankruptcy and start over again. However Romero refused because he felt it was inappropriate to back out on the people who had helped invest in his films. Rubinstein, having a lot of respect for Romero for not walking out on those people, partnered up with him so he could help him get out of his debt. This was their first film together but it wasn't until they made DAWN OF THE DEAD, which became a financial success, that they were able to pay back Romero's debts.
Romero fought with Rubinstein over whether to release the film in color or black-and-white. Although Romero shot the film using color stock, he believed the horror picture would be better suited with black-and-white imagery, as with his 1968 film, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. MARTIN was ultimately released in color with black-and-white sequences representing “Martin’s” flashbacks and dreams.
MARTIN was the first collaboration between Romero and special effects wizard Tom Savini. Savini also acted in and did the stunts in the film. His face can clearly be seen in the scene where a street person is hit by a car and rolls over its hood and roof.
MARTIN was completed two years before its release and had been “on the shelf” in the meantime. In May 1977, Irvin Shapiro, president of Films Around the World, was selling foreign distribution rights to MARTIN at the Cannes Film Festival. A 10 May 1978 Variety brief reported that the film was set to open that day in thirteen theaters in and around Washington, D.C. In July 1978, Boxoffice predicted that MARTIN might become a cult success like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD because New York City’s Waverly Theatre was set to show the film at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, beginning 28 July 1978; NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was still playing midnight shows around the country as late as mid-1977.
The original cut of the film ran nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes, but at a screening of the film in New York City, Romero confirmed that there is no known existing copy of that cut. MARTIN was released at 95 minutes. The film received a [R] rating from the MPAA after Romero trimmed a shot of Martin slicing someone's arm open with a razor blade. The entire shot would've earned the film the notorious [X] rating, and so he had to trim it by several seconds. The length of the shot, not the subject matter, was objectionable.
Donald Rubinstein’s score for the film was released on a Varese Sarabande LP, which was re-issued on CD by Percepto in 1999 and then by Perseverance in 2007. The film’s Italian version was completely re-edited. Martin's flashbacks were placed at the beginning so that the story is chronologically linear. The Italian version was scored by the group Goblin and Claudio Simonetti.
Often said to be Romero's personal favorite of his films, MARTIN received mixed reviews but was later hailed by Elliott Stein in the 8-14 January 2003 Village Voice. Stein reviewed a retrospective of Romero’s films at the American Museum of the Moving Image and described MARTIN as “arguably the director’s masterpiece” and “clearly his most deeply felt work.”
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Posted: |
Jul 17, 2017 - 12:04 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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George Romero’s sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, was 1978’s DAWN OF THE DEAD. In the film, following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia S.W.A.T. team members, a traffic reporter, and his television executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
By this point, Romero had decided that the film would be the second chapter of his planned “Dead” trilogy about zombies. Each film would depict a stage of the zombies’ gradual takeover of civilization. Romero described DAWN OF THE DEAD as the balance point in the series, when zombie and human societies are on equal footing.
Principal photography began in November 1977. The shooting schedule was approximately four months and took place entirely in and around Pittsburgh, PA. The primary location was the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, PA, just outside Pittsburgh, which at the time was one of the largest shopping malls in the U.S. The $50 million shopping complex inspired Romero to conceive the story.
Dario Argento was an admirer of Romero's work, and vice-versa. When Argento heard that Romero was contemplating a sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, he insisted that Romero come out to Argento's native Rome to write the script without distractions. Romero knocked out the script in 3 weeks and, though Argento read the script as it came out, he left all the writing to Romero. Argento also provided most of the film's soundtrack and, in return for the rights to edit the European version of the film, assisted in raising the necessary funds.
Filming at the Monroeville Mall took place during the winter of 1977-78, with a three-week reprieve during the Christmas shopping season because it would have been too costly to nightly remove and then later re-hang all the seasonal decorations. During the mall hiatus, other scenes, such as at the TV studio, were shot. Filming at the mall began around 10 p.m., shortly after the mall closed, and finished at 6 a.m. The mall didn't open until 9, but at 6 the Muzak came on and no one knew how to turn it off.
The living quarters where the four heroes shacked up wasn't located in the mall. It was a set built at George Romero's then production company, The Latent Image, located in Pittsburgh. The elevator shaft was located there as well.
Extras who appeared in the film were reportedly given $20 in cash, a box lunch, and a Dawn of the Dead T-shirt. Several members of the marauding band of bikers were played by members of the local chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club. The elaborate motorcycles they drove were their own.
Dario Argento created an international version of the film, first released in Italy in September 1978 under the title ZOMBIE, which was five minutes shorter than Romero’s cut for the U.S. market. Romero acknowledged that the differences between the two versions were often unnoticeable to some viewers, but he explained that his cut included comedy and slang that was more appropriate for American audiences, while Argento’s release incorporated more action and exposition.
Tom Savini choose the gray color for the zombies' skin, since NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was in black-and-white and the zombie skin-tone was not depicted. He later said it was a mistake, because many of them ended up looking quite blue on film. Savini was also unhappy with how the blood mix (produced by 3M) photographed; it looked fluorescent. But Romero felt it was perfect for the film's comic book style.
In order to save on production costs, director-editor Romero had all the 35mm film stock developed onto 16mm, and used that as his work reel. After choosing the scenes and takes he wanted, he had those alone developed into 35mm prints for the master reels.
To avoid an X-rating for excessive violence, and to avoid cutting the film, Romero was able to persuade his distributors (United Film Distribution Co.) to release the film in the U.S. as “unrated,” without an official seal from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The film’s advertising included a warning that no one under seventeen would be admitted, while stressing that “There is no explicit sex in this picture.” The filmmakers felt that the stigma of an [X], which suggested pornography and obscenity, misrepresented the film and would jeopardize its box-office prospects. In a 1979 address to the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), Romero argued for the economic benefits of a new rating, such as an “A,” to designate adult films that do not contain sexually explicit material. Eventually, the X-rating was discontinued in late 1990 and replaced with the [NC-17] rating.
However, the film was advertised in some theaters and press materials as R-rated. The MPAA threatened to take legal action against these exhibitors for “‘unwarranted use’” of the trademarked rating classification. As late as 1982, the MPAA issued a similar warning, complaining about the continued misuse of the R-rating in regards to DAWN OF THE DEAD.
At the time of the film’s release, estimates of the film’s budget ranged between $700,000 and $1.7 million. Years later, producer Richard P. Rubinstein admitted that amount was inflated for foreign buyers, and the actual budget was around $500,000 (including deferred lab fees and Rubenstein and Romero deferring much of their salaries). Box-office results were strong, both in the U.S. and overseas. After a month in release, domestic earnings were over $5 million. That figure climbed to $16 million by February 1980. Worldwide grosses had reached $24 million, aided by solid earnings in Japan, Italy and Germany. The most recent estimate of the film’s worldwide earnings over the years is $55 million.
Critical reaction was mixed. Janet Maslin in the 19 April 1979 New York Times acknowledged that she left the screening after fifteen minutes because of her “pet peeve about flesh-zombies who never stop snacking,” while Kevin Thomas in the 11 May 1979 Los Angeles Times called the film “ambitious in scope as it is terrifying” and “one of the most genuinely original American movies of this or any other year.” Thomas was particularly impressed by how Romero used the shopping mall to stage a metaphor about consumerism.
Since its release, the film has achieved a cult following, represented by zombie fans who converge at the Monroeville Mall. A 22 October 2009 Wall Street Journal article reported on the opening of a zombie museum and an annual zombie walk at the Mall, which drew nearly 900 people in 2006 and established the first Guinness World Record for a zombie gathering.
The film’s score by Goblin was released on a Varese Sarabande LP. It’s most recent CD release came from Cinevox in 2012. Incidental library music also used in the film (particularly in the extended video cut) was released by Trunk Records in 2004.
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Dawn of the dead was a masterpiece. Rip to a legend.
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Posted: |
Jul 17, 2017 - 1:45 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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KINIGHTRIDERS concerned a medieval reenactment troupe who find it increasingly difficult to keep their family-like group together, with pressure from local law enforcement, interest from entertainment agents, and a growing sense of delusion from their leader.
The film was initially titled “Knights” and then “Bike Knights” during the initial stages of pre-production, but was changed to KNIGHTRIDERS. The initial title “Knights” had to be changed because writer-director John Boorman was also working on a film based upon the Arthurian legend and had registered the name “Knights” for his film, which was ultimately released as 1981’s EXCALIBUR. The film was also referred to as “George A. Romero’s KNIGHTRIDERS.”
Romero had been interested in making a film based on T. H. White’s 1958 novel The Once and Future King for five years, but had been unable to obtain financing until he suggested that the story would be more marketable if the knights rode motorcycles and traditional music was replaced with a “rock score.” Producer Samuel Arkoff reportedly understood the “monetary merit” of this concept, and may have served as a producer but he is not credited onscreen.
In 1980, a three-picture agreement was signed between Laurel Entertainment Inc., a production company led by Romero and producer Richard P. Rubinstein, and the United Film Distribution Company. KNIGHTRIDERS, the first production of the deal, would receive fifty percent of its financing from United Film Distribution Company, who would handle domestic distribution. The remainder of the financing would be provided by United Artists, who would have the foreign distribution rights. The film was budgeted at $3.5 million and would film entirely in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh.
Principal photography began 12 May 1980. Seventy-five percent of the film’s budget was spent in PA, filtering approximately $2.5 million into the local economy. The majority of the film’s cast and crew were from Allegheny County, and the 1,000 background actors were locals. Romero was also working with writer Stephen King on future projects during the production of KNIGHTRIDERS. King and his wife, Tabitha King, played small roles in KNIGHTRIDERS as “Hoagie Man” and “Hoagie Man’s wife.” The film marked the first top-billed lead role in a feature film for actor Ed Harris.
A Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike began on 21 July 1980 during principal photography of KNIGHTRIDERS, but the film was not closed down because the filmmakers had not received the required sixty days’ notice prior to the start of the strike. The completion of principal photography came on 26 August 1980. Romero married actress Christine Forrest, who played the character “Angie,” after principal photography was complete.
Romero has stated that the first cut of the movie ran for a staggering seventeen hours. Ultimately, he whittled it down to 2 hours and 26 minutes. KNIGHTRIDERS was released on 10 April 1981 in Los Angeles, and in Florida, and opened in New York and Pittsburgh, PA, on 17 April 1981. Boorman’s Arthurian film EXCALIBUR opened 10 April 1981, the same day that KNIGHTRIDERS opened in Los Angeles. KNIGHTRIDERS debuted a year prior to the similarly titled popular unrelated television series “Knight Rider” (1982). Reportedly, the producers of KNIGHTRIFERS received a payment so the producers of “Knight Rider” could retain and not have to change their TV series title. Donald Rubinstein’s score for the film was released on a Perseverance CD in 2008.
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Posted: |
Jul 17, 2017 - 2:19 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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CREEPSHOW is comprised of five unrelated segments, each depicting a different horror story from the comic book owned by character “Billy” (Joe King). The stories are titled: “Father’s Day,” “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” “Something to Tide You Over,” “The Crate,” and “They’re Creeping Up on You!”
It was announced in December 1979 that George Romero’s production company, Laurel Show, Inc., would collaborate with writer Stephen King on two film projects: an adaptation of his 1978 novel, The Stand, and Creepshow, which would mark King’s first original screenplay. Although Variety initially estimated a $5 million budget for CREEPSHOW, articles one year later indicated that the film had reached $8 million in costs and had been acquired by United Film Distribution (UFD) for domestic release.
Producer Richard P. Rubinstein revealed that the filmmakers cast name actors so they could quickly establish their characters within the time constraints of their short-form anthology stories, as well as to increase the movie’s television marketability. In addition, King, who made his major motion picture acting debut as “Jordy Verrill,” was present on set to rewrite dialogue and scenes in order to make them more suitable for television censorship.
Photography took place on location in New Jersey; Squirrel Hill, PA; Fox Chapel, PA, and the Laurel studio in Pittsburgh, PA. The beach house interior for “Something to Tide You Over” was built entirely on set in the Laurel soundstages. Romero told the May 1982 edition of Twilight Zone Magazine that the production encountered various obstacles, including picketers protesting the film’s non-union crew. In addition, the technical and mechanical demands of the makeup, puppetry, and effects created challenges. For example, the monster in “The Crate” segment of the film took nearly five months to create. Sets for “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” required two weeks of building, which included construction of a creek powered by a 500,000-gallon water tank. For “Creeping Up on You!,” filmmakers used thousands of live cockroaches, and consulted entomologists David A. Brody and Raymond A. Mendez with the New York City American Museum of Natural History to select three specific species. Romero said that the cockroaches were the most expensive part of the movie, stating that they cost 50 cents apiece, and they used more then 250,000 of them, for a grand total of $125,000 on roaches alone.
Filming concluded on 23 December 1981, and the movie was scheduled for a summer 1982 release. A screening took place at the Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 1982. A 30 July 1982 release was planned. Laurel, however, had been forced to defer payment on $545,000 worth of bills until they could recoup their costs using CREEPSHOW’s grosses. Laurel sought to up their revenues on the film by changing distributors. On 15 May 1982, it was announced that Warner Bros. had taken over as the film’s domestic distributor, following a bidding war, which also included Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures. Romero agreed to cut 10 minutes from CREEPSHOW as part of the deal with Warner Bros. for distribution, bringing the film down to an even 2 hours.
Although UFD had planned to release the film in the U.S. in July 1982, Warner Bros. rescheduled the national opening for mid-October 1982. However, the studio then delayed the 29 October 1982 release date until 12 November 1982, hoping to maximize box office returns. Their thinking was that a bizarre, R-rated horror film was best positioned as close as possible to Halloween, but that a pre-October 31st release was a non-starter because it would have had to compete with HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, which was scheduled to open on 22 October 1982. Warner forecast, correctly, that the Michael Myers'-less 3rd Halloween movie would burn out quickly and leave the horror field open for CREEPSHOW to do impressive business, which it did. Due to a positive three-week test release in Providence, RI, in August 1982, Warner Bros. chose to open CREEPSHOW on over 1,000 screens. CREEPSHOW grossed just under $20 million in the U.S., while HALLOWEEN III took in less than $15 million (although on a much lower $2.5 million budget).
John Harrison’s score for the film was released on a Varese Sarabande LP. It was reissued on CD by La-La Land in 2003, who released an expanded version in 2014.
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