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Welcome to The World of The Freak
This is a history of the work of Chris Woods. We will take a look
back at the short lived horror series 'Creeping Death' and the
host, The Red Freak. This show was made for campus television
at The University of Tampa and spawned a cult following in the
mid to late 90's. Here's how it started.
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In the fall of 1995, Chris Woods went to The University of Tampa
to study communications. He also helped start a TV station to
air in campus dorms. The one thing the station needed were shows
of course, so Woods came up with a horror anthology series called
'Creeping Death'. The series would be like The Twilight Zone and
Tales from the Crypt but with a heavy metal soundtrack. He started
to shoot the first episode 'Flash of the Blade' in November of
'95. But the show needed another element to it to give it a look
and style of it's own.
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At the end of '95, Woods came up with a character to host the
show, The Red Freak. The Freak was man named Vinnie LaRusso, whose
life was cut short at a young age of 17. But when he died he didn't
go to heaven or hell. He was lost in limbo. The Grim Reaper took
his soul and transformed him into a Warrior of Death. Dressed
in a red and black robe and splattered with red make-up with a
trim of black on his face. Now he was known as The Red Freak.
His mission was to show the living what death is. The Freak would
begin every episode with introducing the viewer to the next tale
of death with Metallica's 'Creeping Death' song screaming in the
background.
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'Creeping Death' debuted in April of 1996 on WUTV, the University
of Tampa's television station. The show started getting some buzz
in the fall of '96. The Red Freak also added a co-host to the
show, The Mistress of Death, Madame Eve, which featured two beautiful
women playing the role over the season. In 1996-97, 'Creeping
Death' had much success with episodes such as, 'Night Time', Warhammer',
and 'Blood Feast 1997', which was a remake of the H.G. Lewis cult
classic of the same name. Also in 1997, The Red Freak started
his own live show right before 'Creeping Death' went on the air.
'The Freak Show: Live with The Red Freak' debuted in February
of that year. The Freak would take calls from students on live
TV and they would also witness his outrageous antics. He also
introduced another character, The Freak's servant, D.O.A. The
show hit it's peak in the spring of '97, but once they started
their third season in the fall of that year they didn't capture
the same magic as the did the pervious season and ended in December
of 1997. But now through the web, The Freak is back! In Woods'
first full-length feature 'Bleed', The Red Freak is introduced
to the world, as the character in the film, Vic Van Viper has
a series on local television called, what else 'Creeping Death'
and plays the host, you know who. The Freak lives on. Remember,
you can't kill what's all ready dead!
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Clip from 'Live with The Red Freak'
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See List Of Episodes From 'Creeping Death'
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Bleed Chameleon Creeping Death Gallery Cast Index Icon Home
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