Creepshow 2 (1987) Review

Creepshow 2 (1987) Review

After the success of the first Creepshow, a sequel was inevitable. Stephen King and George Romero returned, but not in the same capacity. Romero wrote the screenplay, based on stories by King, and King appeared in a cameo role, but the cinematographer of the first movie, Michael Gornick, was promoted to director this time. 

Right away, there are some notable differences and departures from before. There’s more animation this time, which actually looks really good, and the creepy skeletal dude (now called “The Creep”) returns, played in live-action under heavy makeup by makeup artist Tom Savini, but his voice was dubbed over by Joe Silver, and it’s really obvious (I guess because Savini didn’t sound creepy enough). He looks more troll-like than skull-like this time around, but at least the facial prosthetics are good (I preferred the animatronic Creep from the first one). The whole movie feels more like Tales from the Crypt, with The Creep introducing the segments, acting like the Cryptkeeper. There are only three stories this time, which is disappointing given the first had five stories.

Part one is Old Chief Wood’nhead, about a general store owner given Native American jewellery from a local tribe leader, then later robbed by the leader’s delinquent nephew and his two friends, who also accidently kills his wife, and then kills him. The old wooden statue of a Native American chief outside the store comes to life and gets revenge for the store owners by hunting down the delinquents. 

Simply put, this segment is mediocre. The setup feels more drawn out than necessary, and it doesn’t get interesting until the guys show up to turn the store upside down. It’s also obvious from the start what’s going to happen, and while the build-up to the wooden chief going after them is decent, the ending isn’t anything special and doesn’t really feel worth the wait.  

Part two, The Raft, is like a mini-slasher movie, about four college students who swim out to a raft on a secluded lake in the fall, but uh-oh, there’s a predatory oil slick coming after them! It’s silly but fun. The monster looks like a bunch of garbage bags floating on the lake, but when someone falls on it or is yanked into it, it looks like slimy tar and melts them. It’s not a very interesting monster, visually speaking, but is an inventive concept. Something really random and weird happens at the end of the segment, but that’s part of The Raft’s charm. Despite a simple premise, it has enough little twists to stay interesting and entertaining throughout. 

The Hitchhiker rounds out this trilogy of trepidation, following a woman who, after having fun times with a gigolo, drives home in the dead of night, hits a hitchhiker, then drive off. She talks to herself (way too much, I’ll add, but it establishes how crazy she is) and tries to reason with what she’s done, but soon the hitchhiker is re-appearing all over the place, all mangled, and trying to get her, repeatedly saying “Thanks for the ride, lady!”

This segment is classic Creepshow.  It’s funny and scary, and just keeps going, constantly pushing the boundaries of what you expect will happen. I lost count of how many times the hitchhiker came back, and every time he does, he’s more messed up. The makeup effects aren’t fantastic, and the whole segment is pretty dark (lighting-wise), but it still works. Stephen King’s cameo happens here; he plays a truck driver—no doubt a reference to Maximum Overdrive—and the first line he says is, “What the fuck happened?!” It’s just so perfect. 

While it’s a good segment, there’s a certain scare that should’ve just been a creepy little moment but completely fails instead. When she first sees the hitchhiker mysteriously re-appear, it cuts to her reaction in the car, then cuts back to a shot of the highway, to show he’s disappeared. But, there’s some random guy standing on the road in the corner of the frame! Who is he? It’s not the hitchhiker, it’s not Stephen King, it’s just some random guy who wasn’t supposed to be in the shot. It’s a funny little mistake. 

Like the first Creepshow, this one ends with an epilogue that ties into the prologue, but there are also two interludes between the segments that amounts to a fourth mini-story about a kid who gets his new Creepshow comic and is picked on by bullies. The epilogue is a bit of an underwhelming way to end, and would’ve been more spectacular had it been shot in live-action rather than animation, but once you see what happens, it’s understandable why they didn’t go that route. 

As I said in my Creepshow review, I’m not the biggest anthology fan, so big fans of this kind of horror will probably enjoy it more. The music is excellent and there are several great moments, but the stories are more generic than the original’s. I wouldn’t say Creepshow 2 is inferior to Creepshow, but it’s definitely a step down and not as re-watchable. Still, it’s pretty enjoyable overall, and offers another good mix of fright and fun.