Horror's Hallowed Grounds: Night of the Creeps
By: Sean Clark
Night of the CreepsBy: Sean Clark
Unlike other genres of film, horror seems to constantly find new audiences that are drawn back to older titles. Films from the eighties like Evil Dead, Re-Animator and Critters that used horror as well as comedy continue to have a growing fan base because they’re all easily available.
Sadly such is not the case for director Fred Dekker’s two cult classics The Monster Squad and Night of the Creeps. Although both films have strong fan followings, it‘s from only the diehards that remember seeing the film back when it was released or own a battered VHS copy. Today’s horror fan hasn’t really been given the chance to discover these great films. Rumors still fly about eventual DVD releases in the future, but until then people like myself hold on tight to our bootleg DVDs.
With that said, please forgive me for the quality of screen grabs from the film, but currently these are the best available!
In the latest installment of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds, we take a look at the filming locations from Fred Dekker’s 1986 debut, Night of the Creeps!
Night of the Creeps was filmed during February and March of 1986 in Southern California. Shot in roughly forty-three days for a budget of close to six million dollars, the bulk of the film was shot on sets created inside an old Woolworth’s department store located at the corner of Chandler and Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. Today in its place stands the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' exact location is 5200 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood right across the street from the karate dojo used in the original Karate Kid.
The film opens inside an alien spaceship. The interior of the alien spaceship was constructed inside the Woolworth’s.
The black and white opening scenes at the lookout point, as well as the road where the axe murderer attacks, were shot at Griffith Park on the Glendale/Pasadena side.
Just one scene was filmed on the campus of UCLA. This was the scene where Brad and the Betas confront Chris and J.C. about the corpse prank.
Director Fred Dekker recalls the scene. "It was also a great moment for me to do our very first day of principal photography at my alma mater, UCLA. I had only graduated three years earlier, and here I was 're-creating' my life as a student."
The exact location of the scene took place right in front of Haines Hall looking down Dickson Court. This is located in the northeast section of the campus.
The scene where Detective Cameron dreams that he is being served drinks on a beach in a white tuxedo and sees a beautiful woman emerge from the water was actually shot at a lake.
The location was Castaic Lake located at 32132 Castaic Lake Drive in the city of Castaic. For more information visit their website right here.
Detective Cameron’s apartment was all a set constructed inside the old Woolworth’s.
Our next location only appears in the film for a moment but has major significance in the Fred Dekker universe. This location is Phil’s Diner.
Ever since Night of the Creeps director Fred Dekker made sure to add a Phil’s of some sort in each of his following films. Phil’s Dinner in North Hollywood was in fact a real place that sadly closed down a few years ago but was not totally destroyed. It was moved around the corner from its original location, which was 11138 Chandler Boulevard in North Hollywood. It sat on jacks for a while with a sign on it asking anyone who was interested in restoring this historical cultural monument to contact the owner. Its current whereabouts is unknown. The location where it originally stood is now the site of a brand-new apartment complex.
Our next location is Chris & JC’s dorm, which in the film is known as Lambeth Hall, named after Fred Dekker’s first college roommate.
This location is actually Live Oak Hall on the campus of Cal State Northridge.
The hallways that led to the Cryogenics lab, as well as the walk Chris and Cynthia take outside, were all filmed at Cal State Northridge. However, the interiors of the Cryogenics lab, Chris & JC’s dorm room and the bathroom with “Stryper Rules” written on the stall wall were all sets built inside the old Woolworth’s.
The boiler room where Chris finds JC’s body was actually the boiler room of the old Woolworth’s.
All of the interiors of the police station including the front desk, interrogation room, morgue and armory were also all sets built inside the old Woolworth’s.
The location where the bus crash happens and all the frat boys become zombies is located at the corner of Radford Avenue and Guerin Street, right across the street from CBS Studios. The exact address is 4024 Radford Avenue in Studio City.
The only location I could not find was the alley where Detective Cameron corners the zombie axe murderer. Fred Dekker couldn’t remember the exact location but believes it is somewhere in either North Hollywood or Van Nuys.
All of the fraternity houses were filmed next to the USC campus in the location known as sorority row located just off of Figueroa on 28th Street. When we first see sorority row circa 1987, the house with all of the toilet paper in the trees is right across the street from the Beta house.
The party that Chris & JC go to is at the Beta Epsilon house, which is where Brad lives.
Director Fred Dekker told me the interior of the Beta house was used in the film; however, when I visited, it did not resemble the interior as seen in the film. My guess is it has been remodeled over the years, and sadly the famous rock wall no longer exists.
Now we get to the main sorority house in the film, which is the Kappa Delta house where Cynthia lives. The house is located at 716 28th Street in Los Angeles right next to the USC campus and just a few doors down from the Beta house. From the front the house still has the same basic look; however, it doesn’t look nearly as nice as it used to. The French windows and fancy balcony have all been substituted for a much more generic appearance.
The houses across the street haven’t changed too much over the years; just the trees and bushes have grown in a great deal more.
The house has undergone a major remodel that added a whole new section to the rear where the Housemother’s cottage used to stand. The exterior of the cottage was actually just a dressed up garage. Check out the diagram below to see how it was laid out in comparison to today.
The interior of the Housemother’s cottage was built inside of the same garage.
In the photos below you can see where they added the addition to the rear of the sorority house and notice where the original roof ends.
As for the interior of the Kappa Delta, it was all shot inside the sorority house with the exception of Cynthia’s bedroom, which was a set built inside the old Woolworth’s. With the addition added to the house, the interior has changed a great deal. The curving staircase that was once just to the left as you entered the front door is now gone, and a standard stairway has been added to the right of the doorway.
The hallway that leads from the front door to the back room is still intact as well as the back room; however, it has undergone a complete remodel.
The basement of the house was a set built inside the old Woolworth’s. Basements are not common in homes in California.
Director Fred Dekker talks about an early test screening and re-shoots. "After a disastrous preview, we went back and did a few days of re-shoots, which comprised the 'tool shed' sequence. The side of the sorority house, including the fire escape and the tool shed, were built INSIDE the old Woolworth's building off Lankershim in North Hollywood (no longer there, of course)."
"We also re-built the living room in the sorority there (where cat-loving girl meets zombie cat) in order to shoot Detective Cameron's face off with the zombies crashing through the French doors."
If you look at the photo earlier in this article and compare it to the photos below, you can tell the difference between the rebuilt room and the real room at the sorority house.
Dekker talks about the infamous alternate ending. "As scripted, the movie ends with Detective Cameron's zombified, still-smoking corpse shambling away from the sorority."
"He plops face-first onto the ground and his head splits open, emitting the usual torrent of squiggling creeps."
"Camera follows them across the concrete, and under a wrought-iron gate. We then boom up to reveal the Crestridge Cemetery sign, then see the alien spacecraft from our opening lumbering overhead with searchlights roving the grave stones in search of the canister that started this mess in the first place."
The gate of Crestridge Cemetery is actually the gate to the Wattles Garden Park a block north of Hollywood Boulevard where Franklin Avenue meets Sierra Bonita.
Dekker continues: "It was an awesome ending. But the final effects shot (a motion control miniature) was not complete the first time we previewed the movie, and the studio -- in their infinite wisdom -- told me to shitcan the whole thing and come up with a new ending. Hence zombie dog. Once the effects shot was done, I cut it into the TV version, which had to be expanded for time."
I would like to thank Fred Dekker for his time and help. Without him this article wouldn’t have been possible. Until next time ... the hunt continues!
- Sean Clark
|
