You have to be in the mood to watch this sort of thing late at night and I was definitely in the mood although I was about to turn the film off after the first story about the wooden Indian. I just wanted to watch that to see what DOROTHY LAMOUR was doing in a horror film. I notice she won a Saturn award for the role but I was underwhelmed by her performance.
However, if you stay with it, CREEPSHOW 2 improves with each story. There are no real touches of originality in any of them except for the clever use of animation used quite extensively and very effectively to bridge the gap between stories.
CHIEF WOODEN HEAD gets the film off to a start about a couple running a store in the middle of the desert without paying customers who are left some valuables by an Indian who owes them a debt. What they don't know is that their store is about to be invaded by a trio of ruthless thugs led by an Indian lad who is willing to kill in order to grab whatever loot he can. Their death is avenged by--well, guess who? Some clever touches here, but nothing that really stands out. Nice performance by GEORGE KENNEDY gives the whole tale some much needed class.
THE RAFT is compulsively watchable once you see the set-up wherein four attractive young couples decide to swim out to a raft where they are all about to meet their grisly deaths. PAUL SATTERFIELD in his yellow speedos is the standout among these and his demise is particularly chilling. It's got all the requisite suspense and horror you'd expect from King and the special effects are particularly gruesome. DANIEL BEER as Satterfield's worried pal does a nice job, especially in the scene where he almost takes advantage of the sleeping gal.
THE HITCHHIKER could easily have been the one that steals the show, but it becomes a little too repetitious and fond of its own dark sense of humor to be taken seriously. Howevere, LOIS CHILES is very convincing as the distraught woman at the wheel who does everything she can to get rid of a dead man who keeps coming back for more.
Summing up: Give it a chance and it becomes compulsively watchable in the old tradition of horror king Stephen.
However, if you stay with it, CREEPSHOW 2 improves with each story. There are no real touches of originality in any of them except for the clever use of animation used quite extensively and very effectively to bridge the gap between stories.
CHIEF WOODEN HEAD gets the film off to a start about a couple running a store in the middle of the desert without paying customers who are left some valuables by an Indian who owes them a debt. What they don't know is that their store is about to be invaded by a trio of ruthless thugs led by an Indian lad who is willing to kill in order to grab whatever loot he can. Their death is avenged by--well, guess who? Some clever touches here, but nothing that really stands out. Nice performance by GEORGE KENNEDY gives the whole tale some much needed class.
THE RAFT is compulsively watchable once you see the set-up wherein four attractive young couples decide to swim out to a raft where they are all about to meet their grisly deaths. PAUL SATTERFIELD in his yellow speedos is the standout among these and his demise is particularly chilling. It's got all the requisite suspense and horror you'd expect from King and the special effects are particularly gruesome. DANIEL BEER as Satterfield's worried pal does a nice job, especially in the scene where he almost takes advantage of the sleeping gal.
THE HITCHHIKER could easily have been the one that steals the show, but it becomes a little too repetitious and fond of its own dark sense of humor to be taken seriously. Howevere, LOIS CHILES is very convincing as the distraught woman at the wheel who does everything she can to get rid of a dead man who keeps coming back for more.
Summing up: Give it a chance and it becomes compulsively watchable in the old tradition of horror king Stephen.