Movie Review: Creepshow 2 (1987)

I’m not really a fan of the original Creepshow, but it certainly had its merits. I was disappointed to see that George A. Romero didn’t direct this (he does have a writing credit, though), and Tom Savini’s role is lessened, though the makeup team includes Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, so that seems like a fair tradeoff.

We start with a little opening scene with Tom Savini playing the Creep, who delivers the Creepshow comics to an overzealous young boy.

And then, following an animated title sequence that looks pretty good, we start our first tale proper: “Old Chief Wood’nhead,” starring George Kennedy as Ray Spruce, a general store owner with a cigar store Indian. His store is eventually robbed at gunpoint by a group of three men, including one, Sam (Holt McCallany), whose Native American father is friends with Spruce.

Things get out of hand and Sam murders both Spruce and his wife. And of course the cigar store Indian comes to life (you could see him moving a bit in an earlier scene as well, though I don’t think that was intentional), and the story goes exactly how you’d expect it to go from here on.

It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely racially insensitive, but not as bad as I was expecting, to be honest. There are Native American actors in it, and in hindsight I’m kind of glad Sam wasn’t played by a Native American, but it’s also weird seeing the actor in redface.

In the second segment, “The Raft,” a group of four teens, including quiet girl Rachel (Page Hannah), head out to a raft in the middle of a lake to I guess just hang around. The water’s really cold, so I’m not really sure what the hell they think they’re up to.

As they all get on the raft, it’s surrounded by some weird blob that resembles an oil slick. Rachel gets pulled in and killed rather horrifically, leaving just the three others.

This is my favourite segment, I think, based on the strength of the makeup effects, which are truly amazing and disgusting.

It’s far from being well acted or well written, or really all that ineresting as far as the story is concerned. But damn. Nice effects.

There’s then an extended animated interlude that just feels like a waste of time and has me truly wondering who this movie is made for. It does have a plot, and the Creep does promise that we’ll come back to it after the next story, but who cares?

“The Hitch-Hiker” is fairly forgettable, but also has some nice makeup effects. It’s probably the least memorable story here, but I think it’s a bit better than the first one.

I mean anything’s better than the animated stuff. What is even going on there?

Rating: 4/10