The Creeping Terror (1964)

Interesting facts

The Creeping Terror is a 1964 horror–science fiction film directed and produced by, and starring, Vic Savage. The plot is centered upon an extraterrestrial, slug-like creature that attacks and eats people whole in a small American town.

Production

The Creeping Terror was directed, produced and edited by Vic Savage under the alias of A. J. Nelson. Although Robert Silliphant is the credited writer, the original story was written by his younger brother Allan. Silliphant's other brother Stirling was a successful television writer, having written extensively for shows including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Perry Mason, and he cocreated Naked City and Route 66.

When interviewed by director Pete Schuermann for The Creep Behind the Camera (aka Creep!) (2014), a docudrama film about the making of The Creeping Terror, Allan Silliphant claimed he was paid $1,500 by Savage. Following this payment, Silliphant returned three days later with the original nine-page film treatment that he had written based only on an earlier, vague idea for the story.

Principal photography began in late 1962, but instead of shooting at scenic Lake Tahoe as Silliphant had expected, a muddy pond at Spahn Ranch in Simi Valley, California was used. When the film's special-effects creator was not paid for his work, he allegedly stole the original creature costume on the day before shooting was to commence, forcing Savage and his remaining crew to assemble a poorly constructed replica.

There is minimal dialogue in the film, with nearly all vocalization provided in expository format by a narrator. The exact cause of the missing dialogue is uncertain. Savage may have filmed scenes without regard to the professional quality of the sound, the sound might have been improperly transferred (or not transferred at all, as a cost-saving measure) to 35mm mag stock or the original soundtracks were lost.

Savage quickly edited the film with a silent picture-only Moviola. Prior to the film's release, Savage was repeatedly sued, and, facing a possible indictment on charges of fraud, he vanished. He would never again become involved in film production, and he reportedly died of liver failure in 1975 at the age of 41. In 2009, Savage's wife Lois wrote a novel based on her life with him.

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