- Two macabre masters - writer Stephen King and director George A. Romero - conjure up five shocking yarns, each a virtuoso exercise in the ghouls-and-gags style ofic '50s horror comics. A murdered man emerges from the grave for Father's Day cake. A meteor's ooze makes everything . grow. A professor selects his wife as a snack for a crated creature. A scheming husband plants two lovers up to their
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Release Date: 28-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVDWhat is it about hitchhikers that makes them such a sure-fire bet for horror? This question is addressed in the final segment of Creepshow 2, another Stephen King-George Romero collaboration. "The Hitchhiker" is the simplest and best of the three tales on display here, with Lois Chiles as a cheating wife who just can't seem to get rid of a hitchhiker... no matter how hard she tries. The collection gets off to a slow start with "Old Chief Wood'n Head," a sleepy story of Native American justice. "The Raft" is a passable teens-in-peril number, but it worked better on the page than on screen. Romero adapted the King stories but emphatically did not direct, which ac! counts for the drop-off from the kicky fun of the first Cre! epshow. King appears as a dimwitted truck driver--a foreshadowing of Maximum Overdrive? In any case, this one's for diehard fans only. --Robert HortonWhat is it about hitchhikers that makes them such a sure-fire bet for horror? This question is addressed in the final segment of Creepshow 2, another Stephen King-George Romero collaboration. "The Hitchhiker" is the simplest and best of the three tales on display here, with Lois Chiles as a cheating wife who just can't seem to get rid of a hitchhiker... no matter how hard she tries. The collection gets off to a slow start with "Old Chief Wood'n Head," a sleepy story of Native American justice. "The Raft" is a passable teens-in-peril number, but it worked better on the page than on screen. Romero adapted the King stories but emphatically did not direct, which accounts for the drop-off from the kicky fun of the first Creepshow. King appears as a dimwitted truck driver--a foreshadowing of Maximum Overdri! ve? In any case, this one's for diehard fans only. --Robert HortonGeorge A. Romero and Stephen King pay tribute to the old E.C. comics with this anthology of frightening and funny tales. You'll see a family patriarch come back from the dead to exact revenge on his relatives, outer space goo transforming a farmer into a giant plant, two lovers returning from a watery grave, a horrific monster released from its crate, and icky bugs terrorizing a reclusive old man. Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, Fritz Weaver, Ed Harris, and E.G. Marshall star. 120 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English.Inspired by the controversial E.C. Comics of the 1950s--which also provided the title and inspiration for the popular Tales from the Crypt TV series--director George Romero and screenwriter Stephen King serve up five delightfully frightful stories. Utilizing comic-book panels, animated segues, and exaggerated lighting and camera angles, Romero and cin! ematographer Michael Gornick come very close to replicating a ! horror c omic in film format. The results mix fine acting with the morbid sense of humor and irony that made the E.C. books so popular in their heyday. Actors such as Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, Ted Danson, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Harris, E.G. Marshall, and even King appear in the stories, which include tales of a sinister father's day celebration, a mysterious meteor, seaweed-draped zombies, a monster in a crate, and a cockroach-phobic millionaire. Fiendishly fun fare from one of horror's most famous directors. --Bryan Reesman
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