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.
Click here to order.
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