If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I loved George Romero's CREEPSHOW. I was a fan from the first moment I laid eyes on the trailer. When it was released I was working as a theater manager showing the film and I would pop in to watch moments from the film when time provided. To this day I consider it a classic. Had it not been for the success of the film we might never have seen anthology shows like TALES FROM THE CRYPT, MONSTER or Romero's own TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE come about. When I heard back then that CREEPSHOW 2 was being made I was ecstatic. The end result left much to be desired though.Once more we're presented with tales to frighten straight from the comic book pages of Creepshow, a homage to the horror fueled comics of the fifties. A wrap around story involving a young boy who loves the comic and is tormented by bullies keeps the film moving. Add to that the Creep in the film, this time portrayed by effects artists Tom Savini rather than an animated dummy.The first story has us in a small town out west gasping its last dying breath. General store owners Ray and Martha Spruce (George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour) provide a helping hand to those in need in the way of store credit even though they could easily retire and live comfortable on their own. When a criminal Indian from the nearby reservation and his gang rob the store killing the pair it seems justice will not be served. But then they never counted on the wooden Indian standing out front.The second story is perhaps the best here, based on Stephen King's novella THE RAFT. Two young couples are headed out to the local lake with the intent of swimming out one last time to the floating raft in the middle despite the chilly temps of the water. Fueled by beer and false bravado they swim out completely ignorant of the large patch of something floating on top of the water. That is until they see it engulf a bird floating on top. When one of the girls is taken from the raft and eaten by this glob a standoff follows. The only way to get help is for one of them to reach the shore. But how will they avoid the creature? The final story here is about a woman having an affair who plows down a hitch-hiker on her way home. If she reports it or takes the man to the hospital she'll have to explain why she was driving where the accident occurred. Rather than do so she drives off hoping someone else will find him. Except that he continues to pop up, more battered and bloody with each appearance, always saying "Thanks for the ride, lady." Will she ever be free of this damaged image? The film ends with an animated piece featuring the aforementioned story of the young boy pursued by bullies on his bicycle. So how does the film hold up? It doesn't come close to the original. That could be in large part because the film went from a high profile studio like Warner Brothers to the low budget line New Horizons, Roger Corman's company. It could be because Romero was no longer directing or that King and Romero weren't on set daily to discuss the script they had written. In any case while a decent movie it placed side by side with the original leaves it lacking.And yet there is a legion of fans out there who love this one as well. For them the news that the film was being released on blu-ray by Arrow Video was a Godsend. Now they could have it in a pristine format to enjoy over and over again. And, being an Arrow release, you knew that the extras would be better than most and that the version offered would indeed be the best ever found. The film is presented here in a 2k digital restoration with original stereo audio. Other extras include audio commentary from director Michael Gornick moderated by Perry Martin, a new interview with Daniel Beer, a new interview with Tom Wright, and interview with Romero, and interview with Savini, a featurette with make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, a featurette on Rick Baker, behind the scenes footage, trailers and TV spots and a reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Mike Saputo.Fans have already been buying this one up like crazy with special editions that include a collector's booklet fetching top dollar. I'm glad that this version now exists but I doubt I'll watch it over and over again. It is worth watching once and fans will delight that they can have this version on their shelves now.

"Creepshow 2," in the tradition of its predecessor, frames a series of shorts as a part of a horror comic book. This offering features three stories: one about a wooden Native American statue that comes to life, another about a mysterious entity devouring swimmers in a lake, and the last about a woman stalked by a hitchhiker she's killed on a lone country road.The original "Creepshow" was a part of my childhood, and a semi-classic of the genre. This followup historically seems to have gotten short shrift in some regards, though it's far from a great film, and in many ways is an obviously weaker production. The writing of the segments themselves feel less developed and considerably more gimmicky, and they are marred by some weak dialogue (this is particularly true of the last two). That said, each of the three segments do attain a considerable sense of atmosphere that is admirable; the first has a well-established dusty desert setting; the second utilizes an ominous lake to claustrophobic extremes; and the last plays on the utter creepiness of driving alone in the country at night. The special effects are also a strong suit here, which, though dated in some respects, are still very elaborate and well-done. The performances are a mixed bunch given the size of the cast, ranging from good to very bad, but in context, the acting is not a major problem.Overall, "Creepshow 2" is a fun but flawed sequel. Where it fails most is in its individual segments which, though they have well-developed atmospheres and aesthetics, feel conceptually underdeveloped and gimmicky at times. It is not a bad sequel, but it does feel considerably less toned than its predecessor; however, even in spite of this, there is undeniable fun to be had. 6/10.

This cheesy comedy horror sequel is worth a laugh or two if you're in the right silly mood… but it's far from being a good movie. Where the first CREEPSHOW had five or so stories and a snappy, blink-and-you'll-miss-it pacing, CREEPSHOW 2 is laborious, slow-moving and downright boring. This time around, there are only three tales, surrounded by an ultra-cheesy CARTOON wraparound that has really bad animation – and seems to be aimed at 4 year-olds rather than a mature horror fanatic looking for some blood. In fact, the only thing interesting about the wraparound is the appearance of Tom Savini, unrecognisable as the Creep, who chucks things from the back of a van a couple of times.The first story in CREEPSHOW 2 has the best cast, but is ironically the worst of the three. This is the most boring, laborious and uninteresting story you'll see, a simplistic revenge story in which a giant wooden Indian statue takes revenge after its owners are murdered. George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour, two old-timers from the heyday of cinema, put in good work here, but their efforts are wasted in a story that boasts a few decent FX shot of the wooden Indian and little else. You may recognise one of the thugs, Don Harvey, from DIE HARD 2.The second story is based on a Stephen King story, and is definitely the most exciting of the bunch. Four teenage tearaways are trapped on a raft in a lake in the middle of nowhere by a gloopy blob that is pretty similar to the one in THE BLOB (surprise). There's a memorable scene in which the hero forgets about his peril and sneaks a peek up his (female) companion's shirt, and lots of slimy, sticky and quite disgusting special effects to stay in the mind. The segment's final image proves to be unforgettable, the only thing I could remember about this film 6 years after I first saw it.The final story is notable in that it stars Lois Chiles, better known as Holly Goodhead in MOONRAKER. Chiles is seemingly down on her luck here, whipping off her top within the first minute of appearing, and her acting isn't too good – far too over-the-top. However, the rest of the story ingredients are also over-the-top, so it seems somehow appropriate. This is the one with the famous quote "thanks for the ride, lady!", as a woman driver kills a hitch-hiker in a hit and run accident, and is subsequently haunted by his rapidly-falling-apart body. Tom Wright (the Jamaican cop from MARKED FOR DEATH) is the black hitch-hiker, and, despite the comedy, this is the film's strongest segment with some really icky gore effects. Stephen King also pops up in an amusing cameo as a trucker.CREEPSHOW 2 suffers from the lack of decent direction – Michael Gornick should stick to camera-work, as he shows no attempts at style, his direction bland throughout. George Romero's stories display a pleasingly macabre streak of humour but fail in the horror department, so this should definitely be viewed by comedy, and not horror, fans.

While I was aware of this movie and the King stories it contained, I'd never actually seen it until today. Certainly Mr. King has some stinkers attached to his name, but I have to say that Creepshow 2 has to be the absolute worst. Dreadfully executed and ineptly casted it was a real chore to sit through.Story the First, Chief Wood'nhead, has George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour in it, which is sad considering they've been in much better films. From the get go there's no doubt in your mind that the damn Indian statue is gonna come to life because they have it moving in the first shots. No suspense at all. So much of the opening is devoted to setting up the couple as nice old people that when revenge time comes around it's rushed through way too fast. The shotgun guy acts well and it's a shame he isn't given much more to do. Really lame. Also, they should have called the Indian Chief Rubberhead.Story the Second, the Raft, a genuinely unsettling and creepy King story is turned into....something. HORRIBLY acted. Line delivery is so bad you don't want to pay attention to what they're saying. In the setup they say how the raft is left on the lake, which means people DO swim in it, and it's not some other lake or raft they're talking about. So it makes the whole NO SWIMMING ending kind of stupid. I guess the monster has the summers off. The trash bag on the water monster effects brought me back to the Creeping Terror. The characters are really unlikable, and i can't tell if that's intentional or just really bad acting. By the time the kids have been whittled down to two, they decide to go soft-core for no reason. It makes no sense at the time or for the characters to do that.Story the Third, the Hitchhiker. The lady driver's constant monologue is so bland and flatly delivered it refused to go into long term memory. The rest of it is so-so for a horror short, less to gripe about than the previous two, but still not free from the flick's many flaws.Then there's the animation. Uncle scrotum-chin (if the animation is any indication) gives some kid the comic book version of Creepshow 2, it's probably better than the movie version. I know it's Creepshow, but the animation is just ugly and off-putting. When the Uncle Scrotor character turns real it makes you wonder why they bothered making Tom Savini up like that in the first place. It adds nothing to the film. It ends with him throwing a bunch of comics off the back of a truck and driving away (much like the creators of the movie did with a good story and technical expertise). The closing music is very odd and out of place for a horror film. It made me wonder if they had stock closing credit music in the public domain that they could just use for free. Cutting down the production costs on this to negative dollars.Kind of upset I watched it finally, but I guess the stories are still there. AVOID.