Monster of the Day #146

Thanks to long time Jabootuite Sandra for the suggestion. The Creeper is really one of the only monsters of the last several decades to prove even remotely memorable. I think a lot of monsters now are too complicated in their design, largely because of CGI allows for this. The ones that strike a chord, I think, are the simple ones. (This is why, I believe, the early Toho monsters are more generally memorable and just beloved than the more recent ones.) The Creeper is best when he’s just an ominous shape in a long coat and wide brimmed hat. That’s the sort of simple image that just sticks in your brain.

  • BeckoningChasm

    First film was very, very good, I thought. Especially the way things kept escalating and escalating. The second one had its moments but really had nowhere to go from the first.

  • Speaking of simple, can Roy Batty count? He’s technically not human….

  • Tork_110

    He looks like the Grand Nagus from Deep Space Nine.

  • perletwo

    Agree on the long-coat silhouette of creepiness – it’s also effective for the insectoids in Mimic.

  • Lawyer Ku

    Good one, Ken-san.

    Roy Batty is an outstanding suggestion, Hasimir.

  • D

    The convicted child molester who directed these movies, Powder and Clownhouse is far scarier than the Creeper could EVER be.

  • sandra

    I always wondered how the Creeper learned to drive, and where he got his vamity license plate (BE10U – is it “Beating U ” or “Be Eating U”? Did he write to the DMV for it ? What was his return address – J. Creeper, The Abandoned Church, Nowhere USA ?

  • Rock Baker

    I’d have to see it again, but I can’t remember getting just a whole lot out of the first film. I did enjoy the sequel. It was nice to see an Ahab character who was the hero instead of just a nutcase Quint-a-like. Something about a home-made truck-mounted harpoon gun keeps the movie fresh in my mind!

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