By Kevin Scott
Written by Stephen King and George Romero
Directed by Michael Gornick
Starring George Kennedy, Lois Chiles, Daniel Beer, Dorothy Lamour, Holt McCallany, Page Hannah, Don Harvey, David Holbrook, Frank Salsedo
I don’t exactly know what it is, but sometimes installment number two can be something special. Some of the particularly unique ones have a common formula made up of the return of the original creators, a lighter tone to the same winning formula, a new production or releasing company, and a divided camp of rabid lovers and haters. I can cite just a few like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”, “Evil Dead 2”, and of course “Creepshow 2”. I guess I’m a lover. All three of those are some of my favorites, and all meet the previously mentioned criteria. I’m a huge fan of the original Creepshow. It seemed dirty and subversive like the comics that inspired it. It broke fertile ground that had been considered barren. Anthologies had went out of vogue when the original “Creepshow” was released. They ended their run in the 1970’s with shows like “Night Gallery” and films like “Trilogy of Terror” and the Amicus films. Early 80’s revivals like ‘Darkroom” with James Coburn only lasted a few episodes. “Creepshow was a game changer. Films like “The Twilight Zone” and televisions shows like “Tales from the Darkside” brought the anthology back to the masses. Romero and King were behind “Tales from the Darkside”, so it made sense that the timing was right for a “Creepshow” sequel.
The original was released by Warner Brothers. “Creepshow 2” was released by New World Pictures, second only to Cannon Films as a beloved progenitor of eighties VHS gold. The poster art with the Creep sitting in the back row of theater and the New World logo still make me nostalgic for the summer of 1987. A good summer for movies with an unusually high number of sequels released as well. Matter of fact, another number two sequel that also adhered to the same afore mentioned requirements but did not cement its place in the “different but good” elite, Revenge of the Nerds 2 was also released. I’m still trying to recover from that let down.
Anyway, Creepshow 2 didn’t let me down. It was a little more bare bones that the original (pun intended). The Creep was no longer an actual real skeleton fashioned into a makeshift marionette of the macabre, but Tom Savini in some bookend live action segments with some animated segments that reminded of some Filmation cartoons I used to watch on Saturday morning. All good though. Instead of five segments, it got whittled down to three. “Old Chief Wood’n Head” tells the tale of a Mom and Pop store robbery avenged by a resurrected wooden Indian. It reminds me of a “Highway to Heaven” episode where instead of the robbers seeing the error of their ways through divine intervention, everyone dies through impalement, gunshot, or scalping. Hal Holbrook’s son plays one of the hoods that rob the store in a nice call back to the original.
“The Raft” has always been my favorite. From the 80’s vibe of the car bra on the Camaro, and the “Breakfast Club” ensemble of stereotypes, it’s the creature feature installment of the anthology. Alas, the lone survivor’s ultimate undoing was a fleeting moment of overconfidence coupled with the desire to see the hot girl naked.
Lastly, “The Hitchhiker” features a former Bond girl that has a problem with a hanger-on in the worst kind of way. On her way home after a routine roll in the hay with her on-staff gigolo, she hits a hitchhiker. Instead of doing the right thing she runs, but not without some serious baggage in tow.
Creepshow 2 is just as endearing as the original, just not quite as polished. It finally gets an upgrade from Arrow with the recent release of a remastered version with some sick extras. My favorite is an interview with Daniel Beer from “The Raft”. The packaging also features brand new stunning artwork and special effects featurettes also. I needed this bright spot after “Creepshow 3”.
http://www.arrowvideo.com/product/creepshow-2-/767
