Directed by Michael Gornick, who was the cinematographer for Romero’s Martin, Dawn of the Dead, Knightriders, Day of the Dead and the original Creepshow, this follow-up is based once again on King stories (but screenwritten by Romero).

Creepshow 2 was originally going to be five stories (Pinfall and Cat from Hell went unfilmed, although Cat does appear in Tales from the Darkside: The Movie), but a lower budget forced the film to only include three tales.

Pinnacle was to be about the rivalry between two bowling teams, with one coming back from the dead to kill the other. It reminds me a lot of the story in Haunt of Fear #19, Foul Play!

Instead of what wasn’t filmed, let’s get into what was: In Dexter, Maine, a delivery truck pulls up and drops off the latest issue of Creepshow, with the driver being the Creep himself!

In Old Chief Wood’nhead, an elderly couple named Ray and Martha Spruce (George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour in her last role) live in an old town on its last legs. No one in the city has money, and soon, the store they own — and their lives — will fade away, too. Chief Whitemoon comes to visit and gives them sacred jewelry to pay back his debt. It’s not money, but the thought is what counts.

As the wise old man leaves, the wooden Indian that stands guard in the store nods to him, which frightens him. It foreshadows what happens next, as that night, the chief’s nephew, with Sam and his gang, rob the store and kill the kindly old couple. Their blood splashes all over the old wooden chief as they depart with the stolen sacred jewels.

The gang plans to go to Hollywood, where Sam thinks his long hair will make him a star. But he and his entire gang are killed, with their scalps and the jewelry left for the old chief.

In The Raft, four teens (one of them is Page Hannah, the sister of Daryl and all of the characters share the surname of the actor playing them) try to go swimming but have to contend with a black blob that wants to kill them all. Again — this is a straightforward tale told well. I’d say it’s the highlight of the film, but the more I write about these, the more I remember how much I genuinely enjoy this movie.

Finally, The Hitchhiker concerns a businesswoman who is trying to get home from a tryst with her lover before her husband notices. Along the way, she hits a man who keeps coming back. And coming back. And coming back. Again, a simple idea, but told really well. Ironically, the hitchhiker is played by Tom Wright, who played the civil rights activist who comes back from the head in Tales from the Hood. It’s an amazingly similar role! Even stranger is that Barbara Eden was to play the woman before her mother’s illness caused her to drop out.

Ed French was the original effects guy for this, but got upset when director Gornick asked Howard Berger for advice, as he wasn’t happy with the look of the creature in The Raft. Greg Nicotero and Berger finished the movie, and they enlisted Tom Savini to play The Creep.

Creepshow 2 doesn’t have the gloss of the original. That doesn’t make it a horrible movie. The longer I’ve been around, the more I’ve come to like this film. Over the past few years, I’ve re-evaluated it and have come away liking it so much more than I did on first watch.

The Arrow Video release of Creepshow 2 has a brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original negative. Extras include an audio commentary with director Michael Gornick; interviews with screenwriter George A. Romero, actor and make-up artist Tom Savini and actors Daniel Beer and Tom Wright; a special effects featurette; behind-the-scenes footage; an image gallery; Howard Berger discussing Rick Baker; trailers and TV ads; screenplay galleries; Creepshow 2: Pinfall, a limited edition booklet featuring the comic adaptation of the unfilmed Creepshow 2 segment Pinfall by artist Jason Mayoh; an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Mike Saputo. You can order this from MVD.