Released in 1986 by cult favorite filmmaker Fred Dekker,Night of the Creepstells the story of a small town under attack by residents who have been infected by alien-infested parasites and turned into zombies. The film stars Jason Lively (Blake Lively’s older half-brother) as Chris Romero, a college student trying to survive the zombie infection, while Tom Atkins (Halloween III: Season of the Witch) stars as Detective Ray Cameron, a man who has faced these creatures before. Those two names are very familiar to fans of horror movies.
Named after George Romero and James Cameron, these aren’t the only two characters who were named after legendary horror directors. Dekker, who also served as the screenwriter forNight of the Creeps, took the time to use 10 different horror director names for nine different characters. Heeven named the local universityafter an 11th horror movie icon. He also added just about every B-grade movie cliché known to makeNight of the Creeps, and what resulted was a cult classic beloved by horror fans worldwide.
10Chris Romero (Jason Lively)
Based On George Romero
The main star ofNight of the Creepsis Jason Lively. He plays Chris Romero, a college student who is pining for his lost love. However, while making his way through college by the side of his close friend J.C. Hooper, he meets a new young woman named Cynthia Cronenberg, and instantly falls in love. Unfortunately, this is all interrupted when the zombies attack, including Cynthia’s boyfriend, Brad.Chris then has to take the lead in the battle with the zombies, with Cynthia by his side.
Director Fred Dekker explained naming Chris after George Romero (viaFlashback Files):
“I think anyone of a certain age who’s ever made a horror film has been influenced by George, not to mention his pioneering work in the field of independent film making in general. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was a watershed moment in cinema, and clearly ahead of its time… What I’mnota fan of is the way Romero’s mythology has been stolen and regurgitated ad nauseum, and sadly, that includes my film to a degree.”
Chris Romero is named after George Romero, the director who made his name with the first modern-day zombie movie,Night of the Living Dead. Naming Chris after Romero makes sense. Romero created the zombies in their current form after years of these horror movies being inspired by the Caribbean voodoo legends. With Romero as the grandfather of zombie movies, naming the lead character who has to battle the zombies after the master is the most fitting tribute possible inNight of the Creeps.
9James Carpenter Hooper (Steve Marshall)
Based On Tobe Hooper & John Carpenter
The best friend character inNight of the Creepsis James Carpenter Hooper, although he goes by J.C. The character has a physical disability, with actor Steve Marshall using forearm crutches. When asked about the disability, director Fred Dekker said, “There’s no reason aside except that we just don’t see it. You can make a movie with a character who’s handicapped without the story being about the fact that he’s handicapped.” He also hasthe privilege of being named after two horror icons.
His middle name is based on that ofHalloweendirector John Carpenter, and his last name is based onPoltergeistdirector Tobe Hooper. J.C. is also the best friend in the movie, who ends up dying while also letting his friends know in a posthumous message how to beat the slug-like aliens. In this aspect,Night of the Creepsalsoowes a lot to Carpenter’sThe Thing, with the morphing of main characters into monsters thanks to the alien infection. J.C. learning this makes him perfect for sharing Carpenter’s name.
8Det. Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins)
Based On James Cameron
Tom Atkins wasthe most recognizable name fromNight of the Creeps, a horror icon in his own right. Before this movie, he appeared in John Carpenter’sThe Fog, George A. Romero’sCreepshow, andHalloween III: Season of the Witch. InNight of the Creeps, he plays Det. Ray Cameron, a police officer with a long history involving alien slugs. When he was in college, he killed an axe murderer infected with the slugs who had killed Ray’s girlfriend. Now a police officer, he has to fight them again.
Cameron directedPiranha II: The SpawningandThe Terminator.
His character is named after James Cameron. This film was released the same year as Cameron’sAliens, but Cameron had directedPiranha II: The SpawningandThe Terminatorbefore that. Neither movie had much to do withNight of the Creeps, but both Cameron and Dekker owed a lot to horror icon producer Roger Corman. Naming one of the main police officers after Cameron was a nice homage to the filmmaker, especially with his ultimate sacrifice at the end.
7Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow)
Based On David Cronenberg
The primary love interest inNight of the Creepsis Cynthia Cronenberg, played by Jill Whitlow. When the movie begins, Jill is a college student dating a guy named Brad. However, when Brad becomes one of the infected, Jill must find a way to cope with the loss while still defending herself.She then ends up being Chris Romero’s love interestand even has a fun moment with a flamethrower, where she gets to release a lot of tension before helping to burn the house down and killing the slugs.
Jill Whitlow’scharacter from Night of the Creeps is named after filmmaker David Cronenberg. The iconic Canadian director is best known for his horror movies, includingThe Brood, Scanners, andVideodrome,all of which came out before Fred Dekker’s movie, andThe Fly,which came out the same year asNight of the Creeps. The reason she took on the name is unclear, but her character shares some similarities with other strong female characters in Cronenberg’s body horror movies.
6Det. Landis (Wally Taylor)
Based On John Landis
Wally Taylor plays a police officer named Detective Landis inNight of the Creeps. As with most of the police officers in the movie, they have almost no chance of defeating the infested zombie-styled characters and are mostly just there to fight alongside Ray Cameron. When it comes to this character, he is named after John Landis, another iconic horror director who has a great love for practical effects. Landis’s masterpiece isAn American Werewolf in London.
5Sgt. Raimi (Bruce Solomon)
Based On Sam Raimi
The second police officer who was named after a famous horror movie director was Sgt. Raimi, played by Bruce Solomon. He was yet another cop sent to deal with the zombified infected. Of course, he is named afteranother director who loves practical effects in Sam Raimi. Before the release ofNight of the Creeps, Raimi had made a name for himself by directingThe Evil Deadand was just one year away from completingEvil Dead II. Raimi made his entire breakout movie with practical effects, something that Dekker paid homage to inNight of the Creeps.
4Officer Craven (Jay Arlen Jones)
Based On Wes Craven
A third police officer helping Ray Cameron is Officer Craven, played by Jay Arlen Jones. Of course, Craven is named after legendary horror director Wes Craven. He had several great horror movies to his name beforeNight of the Creepswas released, includingThe Hills Have EyesandThe Last House on the Left, which presented a more realistic horror, andA Nightmare on Elm Street,released two years earlier, which featured one of horror’s most iconic slasher killers.
3Officer Bava (Elizabeth Alda)
Based On Mario Bava
The fourth police officer on the scene to help Ray Cameron take out the dangerous infected zombie was Officer Bava, played by Elizabeth Alda. Alda has only appeared in two movies in her career, and her last one wasNight of the Creeps. Alda’s father, however, is a celebrated icon, Alan Alda, the star of the hit TV seriesMAS*H. Her character is named after Mario Bava, the master of Italian giallo cinema.Bava is considered an influence on names like John Landis, John Carpenter, and Roger Corman.
2Mr. Miner (Robert Kino)
Based On Stephen C. Miner
Robert Kino stars inNight of the Creepsas a character named Mr. Miner. His character was a victim of one of the zombies, with the slugs put in his head by a young scientist named Hollister, played by David Paymer, who himself had his throat ripped out by another zombie before him. He is named after one of the lesser-known directors referenced in the film, Stephen C. Miner. However, he is highly connected to director Fred Dekker.Miner was the first man to hire Dekker as a screenwriter and directed his first screenwriting credit,House, in 1985.
1Corman University
Based On Roger Corman
The last director referenced was not a name given to a human character, but rather to the university attended by theNight of the Creepscharacters. As a road sign shows, they attended Corman University. This is highly important because Roger Corman has influenced almost every horror filmmaker who made movies in the 1980s and beyond. Corman directed or produced over 500 feature films. He gave career starts to everyone from Martin Scorsese and James Cameron to Francis Ford Coppola and Joe Dante.
