Night of the Creeps is a must-see 1980s cult classic that almost seems to get better with age. With its unusually impressive blend of horror and comedy, this low-budget classic should serve as an inspiration to today's independent filmmakers.

I've read that writer/director Fred Dekker wrote the screenplay in seven days, but it's as solid and witty a script as you're likely to find among films in the campy horror genre. The special effects are surprisingly good for the most part, and even the acting is solid all the way around. Dekker's love and appreciation for science fiction and horror is incorporated nicely into the dialogue, granting the film a special appeal to fans of those genres.

Way back in 1959, a pod carrying an alien experiment plummeted to the Earth and -- by infecting those exposed to it -- caused the violent deaths of several young people before it was stopped. Things have been peaceful ever since -- until a stupid fraternity prank by a young man desperate to impress a beautiful sorority girl. While Chris (Jason Lively) sort of draws the line at freeing human popsicles sealed up cryogenically for almost three decades, his gung-ho buddy J.C. (Steve Marshall) has no qualms about such an expulsion-deserving offense. They don't get far with the body, but they do more than enough to turn their bucolic college town into a veritable zombie killing ground.

It's not long at all before zombies' heads start exploding across campus, releasing a myriad of alien worms eager to infect new hosts. As a few random murders escalate into the equivalent of a zombie invasion, only veteran Detective Landis (Wally Taylor) has any real insight into what is truly happening.

When they're not performing idiotic fraternity pledge pranks or running away ("screaming like banshees") from the undead, Chris -- with plenty of help from J.C. -- is trying to figure out how to separate Cynthia (Jill Whitlow) from her obnoxious boyfriend and (forgive the pun) worm his way into her life. I certainly can't blame the lad for that, as Cynthia is flat-out gorgeous. In fact, Whitlow is a perfect example of why I and so many other fellows love the 1980s so much. It's just too bad that the only way for a normal guy to get such a babe is to take on a city full of monsters and somehow survive.

Night of the Creeps is a perfect candidate for multiple viewings. I must admit that Detective Landis's catchphrase and J.C.'s seemingly endless antics eventually got on my nerves, but there is plenty of memorable dialogue scattered throughout the entire film. The gore is satisfying enough to placate the slasher fan without scaring away those with a more delicate constitution, and the comedy and cultural references should appeal to just about everyone. Night of the Creeps is B-movie horror/comedy filmmaking at its best.