Creepshow 2 (1987)

I would like to defend Creepshow 2, defend as strong as many hated it once upon a time in movie history. Well, no. I haven't seen much hate for C2 (that would have been the title it was released in 2011), but many agree that it's very uneven and that the only really good episode is The Raft. I would say that in some parts Creepshow 2 is a stronger movie than the first movie, which is a masterpiece in anthology movies and one of George A. Romero's finest mainstream-gifts to the world. His movie has a five stories in total and two of them are super-strong: The Crate and They're Creeping Up on You! The others are good, but even a classic as Something to Tide You Over feels a bit forced not just that convincing. That's my opinion folks, I don't wanna hurt any feelings here. Father's Day is a bit to uneven have pacing problems and The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill is a bit to long and just plain silly (but I admit I think King does a fine job in the title role). But still, a magnificent movie.

Creepshow 2 only has three stories which I thought as a kid was a bit too few. I wanted more, but these three are also the most well-written in this short-lived series. I have one complain, and that is that the revenge-part of Old Chief Wood'nhead flies by way to fast. The wooden native American is a fantastic creature and stunningly well-made, and kinda scary also. The murders triggers more emotions and the script isn't dealing with them correctly. We, as the audience, wants a better, longer and more brutal revenge. Now it's over in a couple of minutes and that's it.

But the comes The Raft, based on another excellent short story by Stephen King. This is probably one of the best adaptations so far of one of King's short stories and the biggest difference compared with the written piece is the ending - which is a lot more effective in the movie version, more visual and a fun shock for the audience. I love the original ending, but it would have been a boring ending to a great episode.

One of the most hated episodes is the last one, The Hitchhiker, and I can't understand why! Here we have a very bloody, fun and action-packed story with a ghost/zombie/something that just refuses to die. I always loved this story and part of that is the fantastic acting by Lois Chiles who's mostly alone against the desperate hiker, killing him one time after another. She's a cool presence and carries her part with perfection. So even Tom Wright, who plays the very unlucky hiker - even if he's more unrecognizable for each time we see him.

Michael Gornick carries the Creepshow-flag with the same sense of quality as Romero, but with that premise that he had more story to work with in each episode. The first movie was a bit too long for me, but part 2 clocks in around ninety minutes and that's perfect. I hope we someday will see a real (well, Tom Savini still claims Tales from the Dark Side: The Movie is the real part 3) sequel or reboot, because King has way to many short stories that needs a treatment with a bigger budget and not drawn out to feature length movies.