Fred Dekker
Fred Dekker (born April 9, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director best known for his cult classic horror comedy films Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad (written with Shane Black). He contributed the story ideas for House (1985) and Ricochet (1991), and also directed and co-wrote RoboCop 3 with Frank Miller. One of his earliest movies was a short film he made in college titled Starcruisers, directed in the early 1980s.
Fred Dekker

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- Name
- Fred Dekker
- Born
- 9 April 1959
- Birthplace
- San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Film director
- Awards
- Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Silver Raven Award
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Fred Dekker (born April 9, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director best known for his cult classic horror comedy films Night of the Creeps and The Monster Squad (written with Shane Black). He contributed the story ideas for House (1985) and Ricochet (1991), and also directed and co-wrote RoboCop 3 with Frank Miller. One of his earliest movies was a short film he made in college titled Starcruisers, directed in the early 1980s.
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Fred Dekker (born 1959) is a film director, film producer and screenwriter, among other activities, of American nationality. The film director was born in San Francisco. Fred Dekker is a member of Writers Guild of America West. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1452257 · wikipedia · Fred Dekker
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Fred Dekker • Born — 9 April 1959 • Birthplace — San Francisco, California, U.S. • Occupation — * Film director • film producer • screenwriter • Awards — Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Silver Raven Award
Life and career
Life and career
Dekker was born on April 9, 1959, in San Francisco and was raised in the Bay Area. He attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in the mid-1980s. In 1983, film director Steve Miner hired Dekker to write the script for Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 3D, a project which went unproduced. Dekker's first success came in 1985: a 15-page Twilight Zone-inspired script and an original story that was expanded into a full screenplay by writer Ethan Wiley for what would become the comedy horror film House. The film was nominated for the International Fantasy Film Award at the Fantasporto Film Festival, and earned its director Steve Miner the Critics' Award at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. The next year, Dekker made his directorial debut with Night of the Creeps, the script for which was written in only a week. The film, an homage to B-movies of the 1950s and 60s, has since become a cult classic. His next film The Monster Squad was co-written with his friend and long-time collaborator Shane Black. It is an homage to the Universal "monster cycle" of films produced between the early 1930s and mid-1950s. Like his previous film, it has since become a cult classic. Dekker subsequently wrote five episodes of the Tales from the Crypt television series, and directed one. He co-wrote the neo-noir Ricochet and the spy comedy If Looks Could Kill. His return to the director's chair came in 1992 when he directed the third installment in the Robocop series, co-writing the screenplay with comic book writer Frank Miller. The film, which had its release delayed by a year due to the bankruptcy of Orion Pictures, received negative reviews from critics and audiences. Dekker has since gone on to accept blame for the film's negative reception. Dekker worked as a script doctor, making uncredited contributions to films including Lethal Weapon 4, and Titan A.E.. He also wrote three episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise in the early 2000s. In 2015, after a lengthy hiatus, he returned to filmmaking by co-writing a television pilot, Edge, for Amazon Studios, with Black. He co-wrote the 2018 film The Predator with Black, who also directed the film.
Uncredited works
Uncredited works
• Demolition Man (1993) • Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) • Titan A.E. (2000)
Unproduced works
Unproduced works
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 3D (1983) • Shadow Company (1988) • Jonny Quest (1995)
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Notes • 1989–92 — Tales from the Crypt — Wrote 4 episodes Directed episode "The Thing From the Grave" • 2001–02 — Star Trek: Enterprise — Also consulting producer Wrote 3 episodes • 2015 — Edge — TV movie
Identity
Identity
Fred Dekker is recorded as writer, film director, screenwriter and film producer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1959–1995
The full dated record · 7 entries
1959
Fred Dekker born at San Francisco.
1988
Shadow Company (Shane Black & Fred Dekker) digitised by Internet Archive.
1988
Shadow Company (Shane Black & Fred Dekker) (1988) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1989
Ricochet - the Fred Dekker Screenplay (06/17/1989 - Revision) digitised by Internet Archive.
1989
Ricochet - the Fred Dekker Screenplay (06/17/1989 - Revision) (1989) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1995
Jonny Quest (Fred Dekker) (Live Action Screenplay, 1995) digitised by Internet Archive.
1995
Jonny Quest (Fred Dekker) (Live Action Screenplay, 1995) (1995) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
Film
• Year — Title — Director — Writer • 1985 — House — story • 1986 — Night of the Creeps • 1987 — The Monster Squad • House II: The Second Story — story • 1991 — Ricochet — story • If Looks Could Kill — story • 1993 — RoboCop 3 • 2018 — The Predator
Awards
• 1988 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival Silver Raven Award: The Monster Squad (won)
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Fred Dekker: Life at 24 Frames Per Second Moxie Sozo. Moxie Sozo. 2017-01-24.
- 2.WORDPLAY/Special Notice. www.wordplayer.com.
- 3.Archived copy.
- 4.Simon. Roger Cobb's House - The Official Site for the House Movies. www.rogercobbshouse.com.
- 5.Ocala Star-Banner - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com.
- 6.Dean, Rob. It's the 30th anniversary of Night Of The Creeps? Thrill me. News.
- 7.Knight, Jacob. Over My Dead Body: Fred Dekker's NIGHT OF THE CREEPS. Birth.Movies.Death. 2016-06-20.
- 8.The Lasting Legacy of 'The Monster Squad' - Bloody Disgusting. bloody-disgusting.com. August 14, 2017.
- 9.Fred Dekker [Interview]. TRAINWRECK'D SOCIETY. 2013-09-23.
- 10.Mendelson, Scott. The 5 Best Sylvester Stallone Movies That Aren't 'Rocky' Or 'Rambo'. Forbes. November 25, 2015.
- 11.Cecchini, Mike. The Godzilla Movie You Never Saw. Den of Geek. August 24, 2017.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,200 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Fred ChappellAuthor
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- Fred De BruyneAuthor
- Fred EbbAuthor
- Fred HendersonAuthor
- Fred HoyleAuthor
- Fred JohnstonAuthor
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