Films based on comic books. There’s a few too many of ‘em about these days. And what’s worse is that they all seem determined to sap everything that’s remotely fun out of comic books in their transition from page to screen. Take that new Batman franchise, for example. It’s all so po-faced and pseudo serious, posing the question; “What if Batman was, y’know, a real guy?” Well, he’s not a real guy. He’s fucking Batman.

Anyway, if you want a masterclass in how comic books should be adapted for the screen, look no further than George A. Romero’s Creepshow. And since it’s Halloween, that goes double.

Creepshow is based on the notorious E.C. horror comic anthologies of the 50s. The video nasties of their day, these comics offered up surprisingly grim and gory fare for disaffected youngsters during the frightening first wave of the Cold War. These youngsters counted among them both Romero and legendary horror scribe Stephen King, who collaborated with the director to bring the lurid tales of their youth to life.

Creepshow bears the traces of both men’s love of these macabre comics, and the film could probably claim the prize for being the “fun-est” horror film ever made (second only to Gremlins, at any rate). What you get here is five fiendish fables, written with wry zest by King and realised with warped relish by Romero. There’s ‘Father’s Day’ in which a murdered dad seeks bloody, zombified revenge. ’The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill’ sees King himself give a surprisingly assured slapstick performance as a slacker hillbilly who goes through some frightening changes after contact with a fallen meteorite. ‘Something to Tide You Over’ concerns a betrayed husband plotting diabolical revenge on his wife and her lover, while ’The Crate’ sees a bloodthirsty ancient beast coerced into performing a similar task. Things come to a suitably creepy climax with ‘They’re Creeping Up On You!’ which pits a bitter, housebound recluse against an army of invading cockroaches.

Each segment is joyously witty and weird, but the entire film never shies away from the nihilistic darkness at the heart of horror comics, and there’s more than enough morbid mayhem on display to leave you at least a little unsettled. The best sequence is probably ‘Something to Tide You Over’, and not least because it boasts the dream double casting of Ted Danson and Leslie Nielsen. It also features an extraordinarily grim and inspired twist, in which Danson discovers the tragic fate of his missing paramour, that predates George Sluizer’s highbrow thriller The Vanishing by a good six years.

But George Romero’s direction is the real star of the show, and his use of luminous/ominous comic book colours (including, on occasion, animated frames and backdrops) gives Creepshow a unique and special feel that grants comic book fans cause to cherish it even today. Stephen King, overhyped hokum peddler that he often is, should also be applauded for a brilliant, barmy screenplay.

You can watch a fantastic trailer for Creepshow below!