Creepshow 2 (1987)

 

The "no swimming" sign was a nice touch. I always find that a neat little wink-wink. That and the "garbage bag" oil slick "eco-creature" belching after devouring its final human victim. It is easy to see how plenty of folks in an audience might desire to throw some popcorn at the screen when Daniel Beer mocks the eco-creature after reaching the shore instead of running right for the fucking car. When the creature "leaps" and drops onto Beer with the screen going black (also a stylistic touch that popped me because it feels like we are "caught", too), it's hard to feel the least bit sympathetic. Not that he deserves any after laying down Jeremy Green, pulling up her shirt, and kissing her body while she sleeps, after knowing that the creature can reach through the cracks of the raft, doing so, pulling the poor gal into the water to be absorbed. After that, I was cheering for the eco-creature to devour his ass. Poor Page Hannah is the first to go, oddly drawn to the creature when she wasn't aware of how dangerous it was to her. Her death -- reaching from within the creature, its substance clinging to her and gradually absorbing her into its "digestive system" -- is chilling. Not that Satterfield's fate isn't...how he's pulled through the raft, one of his legs snapped, unable to break from the creature, is jarring and uneasy. That Beer would lay Green down on the raft so he could see her breasts and kiss her body after that grisly piece of business, he wasn't exactly a hero!

As much as I had great feeling and affection for Kennedy and Lamour, just a long-time married couple who have felt the weight of economic plight in their dead AZ desert town, the first tale of the film never quite felt overall satisfying. While a good portion of the tale has Kennedy and Lamour discussing their unfortunate predicament -- anyone left in their area owes them credit debt and very few buy anything from the store anymore -- the revenge of the wooden War Chief statue on the three hoods who terrorize them, their leader (McCallany) shotgunning them to death in cold blood seemingly for no other reason but for the hell of it just didn't quite have enough punch to feel rewarding. Each revenge death -- arrow from bow, tomahawk to the head, scalping by knife from sheath -- isn't all that impactful despite all the build up of the tale. How much we care about the murdered old couple, how they are just dispatched and left for dead, and the statue coming to life should build to something worthwhile. But these dirtbags' deaths off screen leave much to be desired. Kennedy and Lamour deserved better than that.

Chiles leaving a gigolo with her lawyer husband's money, preparing to meet him again the next week, needs to get home in a hurry. Lighting a cigarette, dropping it in the floor, Chiles goes for it, takes her eyes off the road, and hits hitchhiking Tom Wright. She doesn't want to stick around, Chiles opting to leave the bloody body of Wright behind. But Wright's "spirit" isn't about to let her get away with his death. He continues to haunt her on the drive home. This sort of feels like Wright is all in Chiles' guilty mind, not allowing her to just drive home and disregard his memory. And her drive is a never-ending process of Wright grabbing at her, telling her thanks for the ride, returning repeatedly to get even with Chiles for mowing him down without any regard at all. I loved the makeup effects on Wright and thought the added touch of Chiles constantly talking to herself about her fault and how to put it all out of her mind was important because that state of her mind told to us told a story. Janet Leigh did this more with her face in "Psycho" (1960), but Chiles goes through the process of the hit and run, weighing the pros and cons of either coming forward or never reporting her involvement.

The Creeper (Tom Savini), voiced by Joe Silver

The child in animated form with his Creepshow mag

The Creeper in animated form

The film features animated wraparounds for the most part, forgoing the similar wraparound of "Creepshow" (1982) where the son (King's boy, Joe Hill) of a mean father (Tom Atkins) gets even with his dad for taking his comic book away from him. In Creepshow 2 (1987), Savini, in makeup that leaves him unrecognizable, is The Creeper, a Creepshow comic book delivery man in the back of a truck. He gives a little boy one of the first books off the truck, with the film then changing the kid actor to the animated version, allowing the filmmakers to avoid spending more of their limited budget on makeup effects. No way there was budget for giant Venus Fly Traps gobbling up bullies tormenting the little boy when he can no longer avoid them on his bike as they followed him to a dead end. Plus, animation allows for the interludes and breaks between tales to go without the need of Savini and the kid actor. And "Creepshow" had animation, too, just not to as much degree as the sequel. It was clear the animation was a necessity to save on funds.

What a great poster, though. The 80s sure was the decade for such great wall and theater posters. Creepshow 2 wasn't a big hit, unable to capitalize on the success of the first. Perhaps five years was too long a gap without a sequel. But, from what I remember, this sequel gained a following on HBO and home video, where it was better received. "The Raft", in particular, was the tale often considered in the same league and better -- I feel similarly -- than many tales in the first film. But the first film's star power and makeup effects work by Savini, not to mention, Harrison's thrilling score which just sticks in the mind, are such icons of 80s horror...the sequel just can't reach those heights. 2.5/5