One of my foundational memories as a horror fan growing up, was going to a sleepover at my friend house on a Friday Night, after picking up Pizza Hut, and Creepshow 2 on VHS the week it came out. It’s the kind of night, with a high fueled by great horror, a 2 liter of Pepsi and the buttery crusted goodness of Pizza Hut that I have spent my entire life chasing. When I heard Arrow Video was releasing Creepshow 2, I was easily in the bag, given not only my strong nostalgic connection to the film, but my belief that it actually eclipses the original.
George Romero’s love letter to EC Comics Creepshow (1982), was oddly enough the only time in the genre masters career that he had the number 1 movie at the box office. Making 21 million on an 8 million dollar budget, which solidified a sequel, this time directed by frequent Romero collaborator Michael Gornick, who shot the first film along with Day of the Dead and a few others for the icon. Like the first film it featured a script based on five Stephen King short stories, adapted for the screen by Romero. Two of those stories sadly were never filmed for this project due to budget, The Cat from Hell and Pinfall. While Cat eventually made its way into another Romero horror anthology – Tales from the Dark Side, Pinfall was never filmed, but it is included in comic form with this set.
The three stories we got however are a trio of moral tales that deliver the scares along with giving the baddies their comeuppance. While there are fewer stories I will argue less is more, especially here. The film starts strong with Old Chief Wood’nhead about a robbery gone wrong and a wooden native american statue that is brought to life to exact revenge. This story personally sets the moral barometer for the stories going forward, while injecting the camp and gore you’d expect. It’s a story that perfectly lets you know what you’re in for, because I feel like Creepshow 2 pulls back a bit on the cartoonish over the top creepiness of the first one, with stories that while still outlandish feel a bit more grounded.
This is where I first really noticed the new 4K UHD transfer. When the film would cut away to Old Chief Wood’nhead, I never noticed the nuanced reactions in my previous viewings. There are definitely very subtle movements that you’d miss on a muddy VHS or DVD transfer, also the practical effects still hold up surprisingly well, which is a common theme in this release. The next story, The Raft, features a pair of teen couples driving out to a lake in the middle of nowhere to party, only to get stranded on a raft in the middle of the lake. This is due to a creature that looks like an oil slick in the lake hunting them. This one definitely had more teeth than I remember, with a dark undercurrent that really hit hard when it was over.
This was another one where I noticed the detail on the creature for the first time below the water and its eerie tapeworm-like texture. It’s something that definitely surprised me given my memory was of something akin to a trashbag, but it was much more stomach turning in 4K. Finally, my favorite of the trio, The Hitchhiker. This has a rich married woman speeding home after cheating on her husband, who is also on his way back from a business trip. She’s decked out in 80s old money and driving a Mercedes, when she becomes distracted and hits a black hitchhiker. She then sees him over and over again, uttering the infinitely quotable – ‘Thanks for the ride lady’. What started out as a warning of 80s excess has aged like a fine wine, revisiting it today.
Like the two before it, the image clarity has only reinforced the ghoulish practical effects that hold up shockingly well. Every time the hitchhiker is run over, his body is damaged and that is gruesomely captured here in these very realistic and blood curdling make-up effects. It was something that was reinforced by the 4K UHD in ways I didn’t think possible, because I am so use to the seams splitting on horror films when you get past Blu-ray.
The extras collect the previous release contents, since this release appears to be all about the new transfer.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio Commentary with director Michael Gornick, moderated by Perry Martin
- Nightmares in Foam Rubber – featurette with special make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero
- My Friend Rick – Berger on working with make-up legend Rick Baker
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
- Trailers and TV Spots
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Mike Saputo
The last time I caught Creepshow 2, was probably when the blu-ray first came out, so I was due for a rewatch and it was truly a sight to behold. Not only did the film still feel as relevant as ever with the thematic tissue of its stories, but it looks equally as gnarly as well. This is one of those rare cases with 80s horror, where the 4K UHD unlocks the visuals that have been obfuscated by lesser formats in the past. Creepshow 2 for me really takes what worked about the first film, and uses that as a springboard to reach more thought provoking and ambitious ideas for a sequel. It’s easy to go for more gore, this film tries to also engage the audience on a deeper level with more personal stories of greed, lust and pride.
