Review of Creepshow 2 (1987) by Anthony L — 08 May 2007

There was a brief temptation to knock this film down by half a star. That temptation faded quickly once I ran Creepshow III through my head again, having just watched that interminable garbage. And while Creepshow II doesn't hold a candl to the first, it is still a solid horror entry, and is leaps and bounds ahead of the supposed third one.

The stories this time around are generally solid, and continue to pay homage to the spirit andd style of the EC comics they emulate. The wraparound is a hoot, with Tom Savini donning the make-up in the live action segments as the Creep, your basica cackling crypt-keeper character, and he's a lot of fun to watch. The movie starts off with its second best story, as an old wooden Indian comes to life to exact gory vengeance on behalf of its owners against those who recently killed them. The second, and strongest story, is a claustrophobic story of vacationing friends who run into a muck monster that traps them on a raft in the middle of a lake. Pure genius! The final, and weakest story is your basic EC tale of revenge from beyond the grave, as a cheating wife kills a hitch-hiker, and lives to regret it. Fun stuff, just my least favorite. the only thing missing, in my opinion, are the overstylized lighting schemes and camera angles that felt right out of a comic book. The make-up effects are uniformly great and the performances and writing are all up to snuff. Overall a fun '80's horror romp. Not necessarily a classic, but one any horror fan should see.