Creepshow 2 (1987)

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

I loved George Romero's CREEPSHOW. I was a fan from the first moment I laid eyes on the trailer. When it was released I was working as a theater manager showing the film and I would pop in to watch moments from the film when time provided. To this day I consider it a classic. Had it not been for the success of the film we might never have seen anthology shows like TALES FROM THE CRYPT, MONSTER or Romero's own TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE come about. When I heard back then that CREEPSHOW 2 was being made I was ecstatic. The end result left much to be desired though.Once more we're presented with tales to frighten straight from the comic book pages of Creepshow, a homage to the horror fueled comics of the fifties. A wrap around story involving a young boy who loves the comic and is tormented by bullies keeps the film moving. Add to that the Creep in the film, this time portrayed by effects artists Tom Savini rather than an animated dummy.The first story has us in a small town out west gasping its last dying breath. General store owners Ray and Martha Spruce (George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour) provide a helping hand to those in need in the way of store credit even though they could easily retire and live comfortable on their own. When a criminal Indian from the nearby reservation and his gang rob the store killing the pair it seems justice will not be served. But then they never counted on the wooden Indian standing out front.The second story is perhaps the best here, based on Stephen King's novella THE RAFT. Two young couples are headed out to the local lake with the intent of swimming out one last time to the floating raft in the middle despite the chilly temps of the water. Fueled by beer and false bravado they swim out completely ignorant of the large patch of something floating on top of the water. That is until they see it engulf a bird floating on top. When one of the girls is taken from the raft and eaten by this glob a standoff follows. The only way to get help is for one of them to reach the shore. But how will they avoid the creature? The final story here is about a woman having an affair who plows down a hitch-hiker on her way home. If she reports it or takes the man to the hospital she'll have to explain why she was driving where the accident occurred. Rather than do so she drives off hoping someone else will find him. Except that he continues to pop up, more battered and bloody with each appearance, always saying "Thanks for the ride, lady." Will she ever be free of this damaged image? The film ends with an animated piece featuring the aforementioned story of the young boy pursued by bullies on his bicycle. So how does the film hold up? It doesn't come close to the original. That could be in large part because the film went from a high profile studio like Warner Brothers to the low budget line New Horizons, Roger Corman's company. It could be because Romero was no longer directing or that King and Romero weren't on set daily to discuss the script they had written. In any case while a decent movie it placed side by side with the original leaves it lacking.And yet there is a legion of fans out there who love this one as well. For them the news that the film was being released on blu-ray by Arrow Video was a Godsend. Now they could have it in a pristine format to enjoy over and over again. And, being an Arrow release, you knew that the extras would be better than most and that the version offered would indeed be the best ever found. The film is presented here in a 2k digital restoration with original stereo audio. Other extras include audio commentary from director Michael Gornick moderated by Perry Martin, a new interview with Daniel Beer, a new interview with Tom Wright, and interview with Romero, and interview with Savini, a featurette with make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, a featurette on Rick Baker, behind the scenes footage, trailers and TV spots and a reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Mike Saputo.Fans have already been buying this one up like crazy with special editions that include a collector's booklet fetching top dollar. I'm glad that this version now exists but I doubt I'll watch it over and over again. It is worth watching once and fans will delight that they can have this version on their shelves now.

It's the sequel to the anthology series by Stephen King and George A. Romero. There are three main stories with animation in between. The first has Ray Spruce (George Kennedy) and wife Martha (Dorothy Lamour) as the owners of a tiny general store in the middle of nowhere. The wooden Indian has been out front for some 30 years. When the Spruces are killed in a robbery, the wooden Indian comes alive to right the wrong. It's a slow start. The tension isn't high. The Indian isn't that scary. He looks like a guy in makeup. There is no drama.The second story has four young people driving to an isolated lake. The water is cold and there's a blackish blob. It looks like an oil slick and the foursome gets stranded on the wooden raft in the middle of the lake. It is very simple and very effective. The special effects aren't that sophisticated but are also very effective. This is a much better section.Annie Lansing (Lois Chiles) is cheating on her husband. She's rushing to drive home late at night when she hits a hitchhiker (Tom Wright). She takes off but gets haunted by him. Stephen King does some over-acting. Annie is not an appealing character and nobody should care what happens to her. The tone should be moody but it overplays its hand. The music cues are too loud. It doesn't work. This is basically one out of three. The animated connecting scene don't work either. The middle section is very memorable even after many years since I last saw it. That's not enough.

As good as the first Creepshow - almost. These three twisted tales are fun but scary too. If you enjoyed the first film then you should enjoy Creepshow II as well."Chief Wooden Head" is by far a more of a drama or serious story to me. It's just a good horror story. "The Raft" is good but my least favorite of the trilogy. It's good, but typical young kids out for a good time that end up dead - the twist is it's not a slasher. "The Hitchhiker" is my favorite as far as comedy goes. This one had me laughing very hard. "Thanks for the ride lady" still rings in my head and I laugh every time.Anyway, Creepshow II is worth watching if you like a bit of comedy with your horror.9/10

Three stories are featured this time, two down from the original which might have been one too long. A cheap animated wraparound surrounds the stories and is a far cry from the original. 'Old Chief Wood'nhead' has an elderly couple (Kennedy & Dorothy Lamour) running a small town grocery store that is nearly bankrupt like the town. Outside the store is a life-size wooden Indian statue that comes to life to seek revenge on a gang of idiots who kill the old couple. The second story is 'The Raft' that tells of four teenagers who swim out to a barge in the middle of a lake and get trapped on it because of a black ooze floating in the water. The ooze graphically swallows and devours the group one by one. The final story is 'The Hitchhiker' which features cheating wife Anne Lansing (Chiles) returning home one night where she runs over a derelict (Wright) in the road killing him. She panics and leaves the scene battling with her conscience. Soon the dead hitchhiker begins appearing on the road and then everywhere she looks. This terror filled ride home has the hitchhiker attempting revenge on Anne until the very end. The stories are from Stephen King again and George A. Romero wrote the screenplays but directing chores went to Michael Gornick Romero's cinematographer on the original and other Romero films. Gornick does a decent job but the stories just aren't as good this time around. Where the original could have lost a story, this one could have added one. The three stories seem one shy of a full load. The cheap wraparound animation and simple sets make you wonder if there were budget issues because the production is surly lacking a big feel. The gore is decent and the stories are certainly watchable if not entirely compelling. As an anthology movie, Creepshow 2 can hold its own, but compared to the original it is a bit of a letdown.