It's a wonder that Warner Bros. didn't want to touch Creepshow 2 after the critical and financial success of the first film. Returning are many of the creative talents behind the original Creepshow, it's just that this time around they've switched up their tasks. While not nearly as groundbreaking as the original, Creepshow 2 certainly has it's moments (as few and far between as they may be). It's just a shame that the film starts off as a real dud, yet somehow it does manage to climb its way back to horror competency towards the end.

Creepshow 2 treats us to 3 "tales of terror" unlike the first Creepshow which had 5 (stories were dropped this time because of budgetary and time constraints). Tying it all together is a brief live action segment with The Creep (a well disguised Tom Savini) which quickly turns into a nifty animated segment to return again between each story.

The first tale entitled Ol' Chief Woodenhead is nothing more than a tired slasher wannabe. When his owners are brutally slain by a group of annoying delinquents, their wooden Indian comes to life to seek revenge. Utterly boring and really just a waste of time from start to finish, this piece is ultimately predictable and lame. How does this wooden Indian that comes to life know how to use an automatic garage door opener anyway? Skip it. Next up is The Raft and things only get better from this point on. While this segment is not destined to win any MTV Movie Awards (Adam Sandler's not in it), its execution and ultimate punchline allow it to come out on top. A group of sex starved teens are trapped on a raft in the middle of a lake. Something (that looks like a floating trash bag at times) is waiting for them to slip up so it can digest them one by one. What starts out looking more like an oil slick more than anything else, turns out to be one of the coolest creatures I've ever seen in a horror flick (and you can quote me on that!). Third time is a charm as they've saved the best for last. An adulterous leech is speeding home after a night of seedy sex with her male whore lover. She inadvertently winds up the perpetrator of a viscous hit and run. After fleeing the scene the poor woman is haunted by visions of her victim. You'll be screamin' the phrase "Thanks for the ride lady!" all the way home after this one. Way to go out on top Creepshow 2!

Now, I'm not gonna lie to you here folks. Creepshow 2 pales in comparison to its predecessor. While the original stands to this day as one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of terror, Creepshow 2 falls flat more often than not. There's nothing to take to serious here, and if you're looking for scary, well you just won't find it. If you are on the other hand looking for some cinematic nonsense, some cool gore effects, and one of the most disturbing guy/girl molestation scenes ever set to film (that's not a good thing by the way), then you're in for a real treat. The acting is bad, cinematically the film falls completely flat, and its lack of originality is well, painfully obvious. The ticket here is that the last two stories are great fluff, and ultimately they wind up entertaining pretty much right to the last drop. After watching Creepshow 2, you'll know once and for all why they never made a Creepshow 3, that's for sure (although I sure would like to see them try!).

Anchor Bay has treated this flick with the utmost respect; in other words it looks pretty darn good. Colors are nice and sharp, and there are really only minimal amounts of print damage to speak of. Grain is fairly minimal as well (we hate grain, but in an instance such as this some is to be expected), all things considered the film looks good. Most of the compositions are set with soft focus, which is fine, just blame it on that typical 80's photography.

Audio is presented in mono and sounds just fine. Dialogue is nice and clear and there is absolutely no distortion present. It would have been nice to hear Creepshow in a wilder 2.0 mix or above, oh well. Nice job all around on the audio track.

Fluff, fluff and fluff. What more can I say. This film is the farthest thing from a horror classic, but if you're in the right frame of mind, Creepshow 2 can be a really fun ride. Skip story # 1 and check your brain at the door so you can enjoy the final 2 tales. With the recent AB price drops, you can nab this title for a sweet 10 bucks. It's probably worth about 7 out of the 10 you'll spend on it.