**This post contains spoilers**
The alien invasion has begun! Send the military, send tanks, send all of the fire power that’s available, because the world desperately needs heroes to fight back! What about Chris Romero (Jason Lively) and his best friend, J.C. Hooper (Steve Marshall)? But Chris and J.C. don’t have big muscles. They’re not skilled in hand to hand combat, and while you could say Chris knows the basics about using weapons, J.C. and Chris really don’t check off any of the boxes for a duo that’s capable of stopping crafty alien slugs.
Chris and J.C. are nerds. Chris is still carrying a heavy heart and moping around after losing his high school sweetheart. He’s socially awkward, and he’s scared to talk to women. J.C.? He’s a comedian with a quick and snappy sense of humor, a jokester, who doesn’t mind poking fun at himself and his disabilities. For a kid who’s forced to get around on crutches, J.C. still manages to have a positive outlook on life.
J.C. is the true definition of a good and loyal friend. When Chris spots Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow), J.C. does everything he can do to help Chris. Pulling off a prank to join a fraternity, lead by a despicable tool named Brad (Allan Kayser)? Done. When Chris starts whining about J.C.’s habit to make a joke out of everything, J.C. gets annoyed and irritated, but he doesn’t abandon Chris. Chris and J.C. stick together, no matter what, even if they’re staring at an old frozen corpse!
During her first appearance, Cynthia Cronenberg gets the spotlight, complete with fitting background music for someone, who’s presented as the perfect dream girl. She’s sweet, innocent, and Cynthia has a majestic aura about herself. Okay, she’s dating Brad, but when Cynthia learns the truth about the slug infested walking corpse, who showed up at her window, she dumps Brad. Tricking two good guys into doing a prank that involves a dead body, when you had no intentions of accepting them into your fraternity, is probably a line you shouldn’t cross. And Brad kicking away one of J.C.’s crutches didn’t help things. Everyone has a breaking point.
Night Of The Creeps shows us college life can be fun. Chris has a fresh tuxedo, Brad is out of the picture, and he’s finally ready to go on his first date with Cynthia! Things are looking up for Chris…..but the invading alien slugs have other plans. J.C. is dead, after coming out on the losing end of an attack from the slugs in the bathroom. So who else is available to help Chris fight against the aliens? Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins)! Yes, Ray is still haunted by the memories of finding the dismembered corpse of his high school sweetheart. But Ray is a tough wisecracking ball of fire, who won’t quit.
Still, Chris needs one more person to join his team. Outnumbered with their backs against the wall, Cynthia steps up to help Chris and Ray. One of my absolute favorite shots from Night Of The Creeps shows Chris and Cynthia together, armed with a flamethrower and Ray’s trusty twelve gauge shotgun, slowly walking towards the basement in Cynthia’s sorority house. Chris is serious, while he’s urging Cynthia’s sorority sisters to get out of the house, knowing they’re all risking their lives, if they stay inside. A cool handful of moments, and, well it’s kind of a bad ass shot, in a comical way of course.
Ray Cameron jokingly used the nicknames Spanky (Chris) and Alfalfa (J.C.) for Chris and J.C. Fitting nicknames for the duo, because you could say Chris and J.C. are two Little Rascals in their own ways. Chris starts out as a bumbling and nervous geek, but he finds his courage, as the story develops. Chris found the motivation to fight back, after he listened to J.C.’s emotional farewell message on a tape recorder. He couldn’t sit back and hide, or wait it out. No, Chris had to avenge his best friend’s death.
Did Chris, J.C., Cynthia, and Ray stop the alien invasion? Well, no. If you’ve seen the theatrical cut and the director’s cut for Night Of The Creeps, you’ll know both versions ended with cliffhangers. But Chris fought back. Chris, with Cynthia by his side, marched right into the fire to take on the alien slugs. It’s an unlikely and ironic story for an alien invasion, because Chris, J.C., and Cynthia are not exactly the cast of characters you’d expect to try and save the world.
As far as Chris goes, he survived. Filled with a strong sense of pride, while standing tall with his new girlfriend, Cynthia, Chris finally had a reason to be happy again after Ray’s sacrifice. J.C. is gone, but Chris finally pulled himself out of a miserable stupor, AND he fought through hell to transform himself into a gutsy hero? Not a bad ending for a guy, who started out as someone, who was genuinely terrified at the thought of simply talking to Cynthia.
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