Creepshow 2 4K (1987)

The sequel to George A Romero's hugely successful 1982 CREEPSHOW (the series spinoff is still playing on Shudder) is getting a 4K UHD release from Arrow Films.

The first film boasted five Stephen King stories, and there were supposed to be five in this one but two (Pinfall and Cat From Hell) were removed due to budgetary constraints. The three that remain kick off with Old Chief Woodenhead, in which store proprietor George Kennedy and his wife Dorothy Lamour are threatened by three thugs who rob the place. But the giant wooden statue of a native Amercian that stands outside their shop comes to life and gets revenge for them. It's a slight story that takes up over 30 minutes of running time. The animation of the wooden statue is rendered nicely, but the kills are skimmed over and opportunities for suspense during the robbery neglected, with way too much time wasted on small talk at the beginning. 

Second is The Raft from King's Skeleton Crew collection. Four teenagers who go swimming in a remote lake are threatened by a bin liner-like something in the water that's hungry for human flesh. Some of the acting is a little ropey but the effects are decent and there's a good argument to be made for this being the highlight of the film.

The third story has Lois Chiles hitting and killing a hitch hiker in her rush to get home. Unfortunately for her the man won't stay dead. Almost all of this takes place on the road and builds to a satisfying denouement at Chiles' character's house. The stories are linked by some animated sequences that always looked cheap, especially on the big screen, and the lacklustre score by Les Reed and Rick Wakeman (plus one suspects some library tracks) doesn't help either.

Extras are all archival, including a commentary track with director Michael Gornick. Most are from the previous 2016 Blu-ray release and include interviews with screenwriter (in this case) George A Romero (11 minutes), Tom Savini (8 minutes), and actors Daniel Beer from The Raft (15 minutes) and the hitch hiker himself, Tom Wright (14 minutes). There's a 32 minute interview from 2004 with effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, Berger's memories of Rick Baker and six minutes of Behind the Scenes with Tom Savini, plus the usual trailers and image galleries. 

        Arrow's limited edition set also includes a comic book with the omitted story 'Pinfall', plus a booklet featuring new writing on the film. 

CREEPSHOW 2 is out on 4K UHD from Arrow on Monday 29th September 2025