[7]

It’s not quite as good as its predecessor, but Creepshow 2 is still a fun horror sequel. George Romero (Dawn of the Dead) returns as the screenwriter, adapting story ideas by Stephen King, but he turns the directing duties over to Michael Gornick (cinematographer on the first Creepshow and Day of the Dead). The first of the three tales in this anthology is Old Chief Wood’nhead, about a wooden statue that comes alive to avenge the murder of a kindly old couple played by George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour. Kennedy and Lamour are sweet, but the episode is probably the weakest of the three — more predictable in its plotting and arguably the least visceral entry. In The Raft, four teenagers end up trapped in the middle of a lake by a mysterious, man-eating oil slick. The episode mixes sex and horror in the classic tradition and has a nice payoff. It’s a simple and inspired segment, widely considered the best. The last episode is The Hitchhiker, about a nervous adulterer (Lois Chiles) who accidentally runs over a hitchhiker (Tom Wright)… again and again and again. It’s the most darkly comedic tale in this anthology, escalating nicely and featuring perhaps the film’s strongest performance in Chiles. The wraparound story involving a boy and some school bullies features a lot of animation and “The Creep” character played by makeup guru Tom Savini.