Showrunner Greg Nicotero had no shortage of ambition for Shudder’s upcoming Creepshow series. With twelve segments spread over six episodes, this anthology series boasts an all-star level of talent at every level and department. From rising voices in horror to original George A. Romero collaborators, Creepshow aims to offer a wide variety of stories in tone and horror all within that EC Comic framework of the original 1982 film.
Visiting the set, it became clear immediately just how remarkable the craftsmanship involved is, as well as how practical effects-driven it is. From blood-splattered newsrooms to moldy carcass-filled homes, the minutiae is impressive. While the segment being filmed that day was Rob Schrab’s “Bad Wolf Down”, we picked up a few key details about the series and other segments as well. Here’s eight cool tidbits and Easter eggs to be on the hunt for when Creepshow premieres on September 26 on Shudder.
The Return of the Ashtray
In the 1982 film, the very first segment featured a marble ashtray as a murder weapon. For eagled eyed viewers, that ashtray popped up in the four remaining segments as well. Showrunner Greg Nicotero gave us insight onto how that Easter egg came to be, as well as its inclusion in the new series, “There’s this famous prop from the original Creepshow, which is the ashtray. That came about, because they put it in one episode, and Nick Mastandrea, who was George’s key grip at the time, he would slide the ashtray into every episode, and it became a joke. One of my best friends owns the original ashtray, so I said, ‘Dude, you’ve got to send it down.’ So it’s in every episode, we’ve been doing that.”
Tom Savini’s Original Segment Twist
Savini directed a segment for the new series based on Joe Hill’s By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain, but that wasn’t the initial story he was offered. Savini shares with a laugh how John Harrison has now twice ended up with projects he was set to direct, “The first segment [Greg Nicotero] offered me was the Monkey’s Paw segment that John Harrison ended up directing, and I just thought of this, this is pretty funny. I was set to direct Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Greg talked me out of it, he did, a long time ago. And John Harrison directed it. So here I am, I had Monkey’s Paw, but John Harrison directed it. But I prefer this story, no doubt about it.”
Greg Nicotero’s Original Creepshow Memento
Nicotero tells us of a letter he took from George Romero’s office that was destined for the trash pile, “Years ago, when I lived in Pittsburgh, and it was after Creepshow and Day of the Dead and they were cleaning out, Romero was moving his offices. Michael Gornick, who was his office manager and cinematographer, called and said, ‘Hey Greg, we’re moving offices, we need a bunch of kids to come help clean out the basement.’ I was like 16, I was like, ‘Sure, I’ll come help.’ So, moving all these boxes, and it was like paperwork and all this shit. Half of it, Mike would say, ‘Just throw it away.’ And it was a letter that he said, ‘Just toss all that shit out.’ It was from Stephen King to George Romero, typed on the old onion paper with the typewriter and the fucking white-out and all that shit. It was a three-page letter about Creepshow, and it was some of Steve’s ideas for the script. The last page on the side, handwritten, ‘What do you think about Joe playing the kid in the opening of the movie? Wouldn’t that be cool? I don’t know if he can act, but it would be great.’ It’s handwritten. I still have, of course, I keep everything, so I still have the letter.
You’re Going to Fall in Love with The Monster in “The Finger”
One of the segments directed by Nicotero, “The Finger,” features DJ Qualls as Clark, who befriends a little monster. A monster that Nicotero describes as, “It goes off and kills people, and brings little pieces of those people back like a kitten. Julia [Hobgood], who’s one of the producers, I say, ‘Record your cat.’ Because her cat makes all these crazy noises, and gives it so much personality, because I love that the contrast of it there with blood all over it, and it’s all sinewy and creepy and weird looking. So, I can’t wait, that stuff was really fun. I’ve done so much of that stuff, and honestly, this is the first non-zombie thing I’ve directed. I get to build my own scares, and create these moments in a way that I’ve never done before.”
Nicotero Pays Tribute to His Heroes, Too
In this series, Nicotero pulled in talent old and new to craft this extensive labor of love. He also made sure to be pay tribute to his personal heroes, which included a nod to Larry Cohen, “You really want to let them know how important their work is. The craziest thing is, in “The Finger” episode when Bob is asleep in the freezer, we made a little Stuff container, and put it in the freezer. Part of it is like, ‘I want to pay tribute to these guys, and let them know how important their work was to me and is to me as soon as I can.’”
The Easter Egg Count is Insane
Nicotero wasn’t the only one slipping in visual nods and homages; his art department had plenty of ideas, too. “Even “House of the Head,” which is the Josh Malerman story, and it’s a really great psychological thriller about this little girl comes home, and her dollhouse is haunted. She goes to the store, and gets an Indian, and we did a little Chief Woodenhead from Creepshow 2 as the Indian.” Having had a chance to see the dollhouse up close, we also spotted a miniature TV with Ted Danson’s head buried in the sand from “Something to Tide You Over” and the eponymous crate from “The Crate” inside the dollhouse.
The Frighteners Connection
On the Rob Schrab directed “Bad Wolf Down” segment, Jeffrey Combs plays a villainous Nazi general. Schrab gives us fun new insight on Combs’ costume, “He brought the gloves that he wore in The Frighteners, so when you see him in “Bad Wolf Down,” just know, he’s wearing The Frighteners gloves. And this is how big of a nerd I am, I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. Because I love The Frighteners. I love him in The Frighteners.”
Prepare to Rewatch “Gray Matter.” A Lot.
Nicotero also directed the segment based on Stephen King’s “Gray Matter.” The set for this segment looked extremely gross and fitting of this short, which should thrill Constant Readers. Moreover, Nicotero once again proved his uncanny knack for detail, “You see I got my Harrow’s Supreme Beer on the desk, and it’s literally like SlimFast chocolate. And the actor that played Richie drank like 30 of them, I was waiting for him to fucking spew. I really, he probably lost 12 pounds. I was waiting for him to just vomit chocolate milk all over the set, I felt so bad.”
That’s hardly the only nod to the story or King’s works, either, “There’s probably 30 Stephen King Easter eggs in there, just because I want people to look and go, ‘Oh, oh, oh.’ And then they’ll watch it a couple times. There’s a lot of little things, the comic books, and the voodoo doll, they’re everywhere. I forget half of them, because we’ve been shooting for seven weeks. I’ll probably go back and go, ‘Oh shit, I forgot about that one,’ which will be fun.”
