Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Episode 22: Creepshow 2 (1987)



“Thanks for the ride, lady!”

You have no idea how difficult it was to begin this essay without addressing my readers as “kiddies” or using some sort of twisted pun. The Creep has evidently inhabited my psyche and has taken over my voice, so bear with me while I do my best to regain my ordinarily maudlin persona. Deep breath, deep breath. Okay, here we go.

Welcome back, kidd—DAMNIT! HE’S IN THE BLOODSTREAM, I tell you! Let’s try this again, shall we?

Welcome to another nauseating edition of B-Movie Bonanza! For this  titillating episode, I examine one of my favorite anthologies: 1987’s Creepshow 2 (okay, so I haven’t completely exorcised the demon, but I’m trying, mmmkay?).

Stephen King and George Romero take us on another strange, horrifying, and ultra campy journey, where we encounter a murderous cigar store Indian (which comes to life, I’m still not sure how); a gelatinous monstrosity with an insatiable appetite for obnoxious college kids (I still think that thing provided a much-needed service); and lastly, a philandering housewife who inadvertently mows down an unwitting hitch-hiker and flees the scene, not knowing her nightmare has only just begun.

Decent horror anthology films are often hard to come by (I still don’t get the fanfare surrounding Trick ‘r Treat). It’s no easy feat assembling stories that differ in plot/theme (who wants to feel like they’re watching the same movie on a loop?), yet seamlessly blend to create a “morbid masterpiece” of the macabre. Harder still is finding a compelling wraparound that holds the attention of the audience in between segments. Much like its predecessor, Creepshow 2 delivers the goods, and in spades.

My only qualms are the running time and the number of stories. As happy as I was and have always been with the film, I would’ve loved it so much more had they stuck with the formula introduced in the original film: five stories and a running time closing in on two hours.

But Creepshow 2 wasn’t as large a production and they didn’t have that Warner Bros. cizash money backing them, so I understand why they had to take a different route. I still think they did a great job with the budget, tools, and talent they were provided with (c’mon, who doesn’t love the animated sequences?) and I can honestly say that this is a sequel I can’t get enough of.

In this episode, you’ll find the usual: my oh so witty and astute observations, fond memories of seeing the film for the first time, admissions of a crush I once had on a certain cast member (no, not George Kennedy), and...a phantom Blu ray no one seems to know about. As a source, I used Anchor Bay’s DiViMax DVD edition, which runs 1:29:34.

Though they’re both mentioned in the actual commentary, I wanted to give Steve and Pete a quick shout-out and say thanks for helping provide me with some information I needed for the episode.

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