Creepshow 2
Encyclopedia
Creepshow 2 is an American horror
comedy
anthology film
directed by Michael Gornick, who was George A. Romero
's cinematographer on the original Creepshow
. Released in 1987, the screenplay for Creepshow 2 was penned by Romero (director of the original film), and once again based upon stories by Stephen King
. It is the follow-up to Creepshow
, featuring three more "Jolting Tales of Horror": Old Chief Wooden Head, The Raft, and The Hitchhiker.
Creepshow 2 was followed by an unofficial sequel in 2007 (that had no involvement from Stephen King
or George A. Romero
), titled "Creepshow III". Creepshow make-up artist and Creepshow 2 actor, Tom Savini
, has said that Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
(1990) is the real Creepshow 3.
The cover of the special edition DVD released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
in both the U.S. and UK is an homage to the Tales from the Crypt comic books from EC.
) arrives eagerly waiting for it. The truck's back shutter opens to reveal a sinister figure who drops off a package onto the sidewalk: the latest issue of Creepshow, much to Billy's delight. As the package opens of its own accord, Billy begins to read and the delivery man reveals his true identity as the Creepshow Creep.
and Lamour
) in a small, fictional, southwestern town called Dead River, oversee a general goods store with a cigar store Indian
named "Old Chief Wood'nhead" (Dan Kamin) who adorns the front porch and are humbled to see their old, run-down town coming to a bitter end. The Spruces are then visited by a Native American
elder named Benjamin Whitemoon from a local tribe
who gives them turquoise
jewellery, which are his tribe's sacred treasures, as collateral for the debt the tribe has incurred.
The elder bids them farewell and returns to his tribe. When the Spruces go back inside their store, the couple are then subject to a vicious robbery led by Benjamin's nephew, Sam (Holt McCallany
) armed with a shotgun
, and his two friends. After ransacking the store, Sam demands that Ray hand over the turquoise. Ray resists, and as a result, the Spruces are then shot and killed by Sam. The three thugs then leave in their car and begin preparations to run away to Hollywood, California. Old Chief Wood'nhead then comes to life and goes out on a vicious warpath
to kill Sam and his friends and avenge the murdered Spruces. After brutally killing Sam's two friends, Old Chief Wood'nhead corners Sam in his home, with Sam being unable to fight back as the shells from his shotgun have no effect on his wooden assailant. Sam attempts to lock himself in his bathroom and escape through a window but Old Chief Wood'n Head breaks through the wall, grabs Sam by his hair, pulls him through the wall and scalps
him as he screams in terror. When Benjamin Whitemoon wakes up in the morning he finds the bag containing the turquoise jewellery by his side. He visits the Spruce's general store to find Old Chief Wood'nhead on his pedestal, holding his nephew's hair. Now aware of what has happened, Benjamin wishes the old warrior a peaceful afterlife and drives away.
. The clerk doubts the actuality of the package and Billy sets off for home and the Creep presents another tale.
) gets up from bed after sleeping with her extramarital lover (who is a gigolo), realizing that she has to get home before her wealthy attorney husband to avoid suspicion. Annie hops into her Mercedes-Benz
and makes way for home several miles away. On the way, she accidentally kills an innocent hitchhiker (Wright
) as a result of her speeding down the dark road, eager to beat her husband to the house. Seeing that no one witnessed the incident, Annie takes off without much thought. Shortly after Annie takes off, the area of the incident is crowded by passersby, with many reporting the hit-and-run
to the police.
Miles away from the scene, Annie stops along the road and begins thinking about what she has done and the consequences involved, but she ultimately concludes that no one has anything on her and thinks everything will be fine. Before she can continue, however, the hitchhiker she killed suddenly appears outside her window and utters "Thanks for the ride, lady." (A line repeated by the hitchhiker throughout the story). The frightened Annie then speeds off in terror, but everywhere she goes, the hitchhiker always reappears and becomes her tormentor throughout the trip as she repeatedly runs him over, hurls off the top of her car, slams his body into trees, etc. as he only gets more and more battered and bloody without dying. Annie eventually loses control of her car in which she drives off the road and down a hill and into a tree, knocking herself out.
She awakes a short while later, not seeing the hitchhiker anywhere in sight, believing it to be a bad dream. She gets back on the road and drives home, succeeding in getting there before her husband. As she begins to step out of her car, the hitchhiker appears from under her car, completely mangled from the trip, still uttering "Thanks for the ride, lady." The hitchhiker begins attacking her as she vainly attempts to fight him off. Later, Annie's husband finally arrives home to find his wife's dead body in her car, dead from carbon monoxide poisoning
caused from the still running car, with the hitchhiker's sign showing his targeted destination (reading DOVER).
Old Chief Wood'nhead
The Raft
The Hitchhiker
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
anthology film
Anthology film
An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
directed by Michael Gornick, who was George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
's cinematographer on the original Creepshow
Creepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
. Released in 1987, the screenplay for Creepshow 2 was penned by Romero (director of the original film), and once again based upon stories by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. It is the follow-up to Creepshow
Creepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
, featuring three more "Jolting Tales of Horror": Old Chief Wooden Head, The Raft, and The Hitchhiker.
Creepshow 2 was followed by an unofficial sequel in 2007 (that had no involvement from Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
or George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
), titled "Creepshow III". Creepshow make-up artist and Creepshow 2 actor, Tom Savini
Tom Savini
Thomas Vincent "Tom" Savini is an American actor, stuntman, director, award-winning special effects and makeup artist. He is known for his work on the Living Dead films directed by George A. Romero, as well as Creepshow, The Burning, Friday the 13th, The Prowler, and Maniac. He directed the 1990...
, has said that Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is a 1990 movie directed by John Harrison based on the anthology television series Tales from the Darkside...
(1990) is the real Creepshow 3.
The cover of the special edition DVD released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
in both the U.S. and UK is an homage to the Tales from the Crypt comic books from EC.
Prologue
A delivery truck pulls up to a newsstand in a small town where a young boy named Billy (named after and confused with the boy from CreepshowCreepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
) arrives eagerly waiting for it. The truck's back shutter opens to reveal a sinister figure who drops off a package onto the sidewalk: the latest issue of Creepshow, much to Billy's delight. As the package opens of its own accord, Billy begins to read and the delivery man reveals his true identity as the Creepshow Creep.
Old Chief Wood'nhead
An elderly couple named Ray and Martha Spruce (KennedyGeorge Kennedy
George Harris Kennedy, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. He is perhaps most familiar as the convict Dragline in Cool Hand Luke , airline troubleshooter Joe Patroni in the Airport series of disaster movies from the 1970s and...
and Lamour
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
) in a small, fictional, southwestern town called Dead River, oversee a general goods store with a cigar store Indian
Cigar store Indian
The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an advertisement figure, in the likeness of an American Indian, made to represent tobacconists, much like: barber poles advertise barber shops; Show globe for an apothecary; or the three gold balls of the pawn shop. The figures are often three-dimensional...
named "Old Chief Wood'nhead" (Dan Kamin) who adorns the front porch and are humbled to see their old, run-down town coming to a bitter end. The Spruces are then visited by a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
elder named Benjamin Whitemoon from a local tribe
Indian tribe
In the United States, a Native American tribe is any extant or historical tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Indigenous peoples in the United States...
who gives them turquoise
Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue...
jewellery, which are his tribe's sacred treasures, as collateral for the debt the tribe has incurred.
The elder bids them farewell and returns to his tribe. When the Spruces go back inside their store, the couple are then subject to a vicious robbery led by Benjamin's nephew, Sam (Holt McCallany
Holt McCallany
Holt McCallany is an Irish American actor, writer, and producer working primarily in film and television.-Early life:...
) armed with a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
, and his two friends. After ransacking the store, Sam demands that Ray hand over the turquoise. Ray resists, and as a result, the Spruces are then shot and killed by Sam. The three thugs then leave in their car and begin preparations to run away to Hollywood, California. Old Chief Wood'nhead then comes to life and goes out on a vicious warpath
Warpath
Warpath may refer to:* Warpath, a hostile mood in which a person goes at War against one another.*Warpath , a mutant superhero in Marvel Comics*Warpath , a FPS video game by Digital Extremes for the PC and Xbox...
to kill Sam and his friends and avenge the murdered Spruces. After brutally killing Sam's two friends, Old Chief Wood'nhead corners Sam in his home, with Sam being unable to fight back as the shells from his shotgun have no effect on his wooden assailant. Sam attempts to lock himself in his bathroom and escape through a window but Old Chief Wood'n Head breaks through the wall, grabs Sam by his hair, pulls him through the wall and scalps
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
him as he screams in terror. When Benjamin Whitemoon wakes up in the morning he finds the bag containing the turquoise jewellery by his side. He visits the Spruce's general store to find Old Chief Wood'nhead on his pedestal, holding his nephew's hair. Now aware of what has happened, Benjamin wishes the old warrior a peaceful afterlife and drives away.
Interlude 1
After reading Old Chief Wood'nhead, Billy is seen at the town post office, receiving a package from when he sent a product ad from his copy of the Creepshow magazine. Incensed by the skeptical clerk's dismissal of paying $9.99 for a toy from the "funny papers," Billy reveals that the package actually contains the bulb for a carnivorous Venus FlytrapVenus Flytrap
The Venus Flytrap , Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces...
. The clerk doubts the actuality of the package and Billy sets off for home and the Creep presents another tale.
The Raft
Four college students, Deke, Laverne, Randy, and Rachel decide to go swimming in a desolate lake far away from civilization. As they make their way to a wooden raft in the middle of the lake, they realize that they are being terrorized by floating black blob when it grabs a hold of Rachel and consumes her. The frightened students begin to panic and mourn the loss of Rachel. Deke then contemplates quickly swimming to shore so he can bring back help as he is a fast swimmer. But before he can carry out his plan, the blob seeps through the raft's cracks and pulls Deke through the raft, killing him in the process. Randy and Laverne manage to evade the creature long enough to where it gives up trying to grab them from under the raft as well. Randy and Laverne spend the entire night on the raft, afraid to fall asleep in fear that the creature will attack them while they sleep. They do manage to fall asleep and Randy is the first to wake up in the morning, relieved to find that Laverne and himself made it through the night. With Laverne still sleeping, he begins caressing her body and fondling her breasts. She soon awakes screaming in agony as the creature has seeped through the cracks and has a hold of her face, much to Randy's horror. As the oil-like blob pulls her off the raft and begins consuming her, Randy uses the opportunity to jump off the raft and swim to shore. He ultimately makes it, barely escaping the creature and yells "I beat you!" However, the oil creature rises up from the water like a wave and engulfs Randy. The blob returns to the lake, with no evidence of the four students even visiting the lake other than their car which was left running the whole time. The camera pans out to reveal a "No Swimming" sign barely visible from behind some growth.Interlude 2
On his way back home from the post office and reading The Raft, Billy is ambushed by a gang of neighborhood bullies, who harass him and take his package from him. The gang's leader Rhino then smashes and opens the package, finding the Venus Flytrap bulb, and throws it on the ground, crushing it with his foot. In retaliation, Billy kicks Rhino in the groin and flees, with Rhino and his gang in hot pursuit. The Creep then appears and presents another tale.The Hitchhiker
An adulterous businesswoman named Annie Lansing (ChilesLois Chiles
Lois Cleveland Chiles is an American actress and former fashion model known for her role as Dr. Holly Goodhead in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker.-Early life:...
) gets up from bed after sleeping with her extramarital lover (who is a gigolo), realizing that she has to get home before her wealthy attorney husband to avoid suspicion. Annie hops into her Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
and makes way for home several miles away. On the way, she accidentally kills an innocent hitchhiker (Wright
Tom Wright (actor)
Tom Wright is a television and theatre actor. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and attended West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania....
) as a result of her speeding down the dark road, eager to beat her husband to the house. Seeing that no one witnessed the incident, Annie takes off without much thought. Shortly after Annie takes off, the area of the incident is crowded by passersby, with many reporting the hit-and-run
Hit and run
Hit and run typically refers to:* Hit and run , the crime of failing to stop and identify oneself after a vehicular collision* Hit and run , a baseball play in which runners are in motion before the ball is hit...
to the police.
Miles away from the scene, Annie stops along the road and begins thinking about what she has done and the consequences involved, but she ultimately concludes that no one has anything on her and thinks everything will be fine. Before she can continue, however, the hitchhiker she killed suddenly appears outside her window and utters "Thanks for the ride, lady." (A line repeated by the hitchhiker throughout the story). The frightened Annie then speeds off in terror, but everywhere she goes, the hitchhiker always reappears and becomes her tormentor throughout the trip as she repeatedly runs him over, hurls off the top of her car, slams his body into trees, etc. as he only gets more and more battered and bloody without dying. Annie eventually loses control of her car in which she drives off the road and down a hill and into a tree, knocking herself out.
She awakes a short while later, not seeing the hitchhiker anywhere in sight, believing it to be a bad dream. She gets back on the road and drives home, succeeding in getting there before her husband. As she begins to step out of her car, the hitchhiker appears from under her car, completely mangled from the trip, still uttering "Thanks for the ride, lady." The hitchhiker begins attacking her as she vainly attempts to fight him off. Later, Annie's husband finally arrives home to find his wife's dead body in her car, dead from carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
caused from the still running car, with the hitchhiker's sign showing his targeted destination (reading DOVER).
Epilogue
As the Creep is about to drive away, he spots Billy still being chased by the bullies. Billy leads his pursuers into a vacant lot swarming with out of control plant growth. As he rides into what seems to be a dead end, the bullies move in to pummel him only to learn that the bulb they smashed was not the first one Billy had ordered, as a quintet of Giant Flytraps emerge from the surrounding weeds and devour the thugs one by one. The spectacle is witnessed by the Creep himself, who cackles in glee as he drives off in his delivery truck to deliver the latest issue of Creepshow to another town.Cast
Prologue- Domenick John as Billy
- Tom SaviniTom SaviniThomas Vincent "Tom" Savini is an American actor, stuntman, director, award-winning special effects and makeup artist. He is known for his work on the Living Dead films directed by George A. Romero, as well as Creepshow, The Burning, Friday the 13th, The Prowler, and Maniac. He directed the 1990...
as The Creep - Joe SilverJoe SilverJoe Silver was an American stage, television, film and radio actor. His distinctive deep voice was once described as "the lowest voice in show business; so low that when he speaks, he unties your shoelaces."Silver made his Broadway debut in 1942 in a revival of Tobacco Road...
as The Creep (voice)
Old Chief Wood'nhead
- George KennedyGeorge KennedyGeorge Harris Kennedy, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. He is perhaps most familiar as the convict Dragline in Cool Hand Luke , airline troubleshooter Joe Patroni in the Airport series of disaster movies from the 1970s and...
as Ray Spruce - Philip Dore as Curly
- Kaltey Napoleon as Indian #1
- Maltby Napoleon as Indian #1
- Tyrone Tonto as Indian #2
- Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
as Martha Spruce - Frank SalsedoFrank SalsedoFrank "Grey Wolf" Salsedo is a Native American actor. He is often cast in smaller parts centered on his Native American heritage.-Film:-Television:1990Quantum Leap Episode: "Freedom, November 22, 1970Grandfather: Mr. Washakee 1998...
as Ben Whitemoon - Holt McCallanyHolt McCallanyHolt McCallany is an Irish American actor, writer, and producer working primarily in film and television.-Early life:...
as Sam Whitemoon - David Holbrook as Fatso Gribbens
- Don HarveyDon Patrick HarveyDonald Patrick Harvey II is an American actor and voice actor, known as Don Harvey.He was born and raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, the sixth of eight children. He started acting in high school. He did several shows before graduating and moving on to the University of Michigan where he studied...
as Andy Cavanaugh - Dan Kamin as Old Chief Wood'nhead
- Dean SmithDean Smith (actor)Dean Smith is an actor and comedian from Leeds, England. Dean is best known for playing Philip Ryan in the BBC 1 Drama Waterloo Road. Smith also played Vinnie Dupe, the geek without chic, in STV's comedy Being Victor. Most recently Dean revisited the role of Philip Ryan in the BBC online Drama...
as Mr. Cavanaugh - Shirley Sonderegger as Mrs. Cavanaugh
The Raft
- Paul SatterfieldPaul SatterfieldPaul Satterfield, Jr. is an American actor.Satterfield was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Paul Satterfield a Nashville firefighter who was killed in the line of duty and Singer Songwriter Priscilla Coolidge...
as Deke - Jeremy Green as Laverne
- Daniel Beer as Randy
- Page HannahPage HannahPage Hannah is an American television and film actress. She is married to Lou Adler and the couple have four sons, Manny, Ike, Pablo, and Oscar. She is the sister of actress Daryl Hannah...
as Rachel
The Hitchhiker
- Lois ChilesLois ChilesLois Cleveland Chiles is an American actress and former fashion model known for her role as Dr. Holly Goodhead in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker.-Early life:...
as Annie Lansing - David BeecroftDavid BeecroftDavid Beecroft is an American actor noted for his television appearances, having played both regular and recurring roles in shows such as Falcon Crest , Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Melrose Place. In 1992 he starred on the short-lived series Hearts are Wild...
as Annie's Lover - Tom WrightTom Wright (actor)Tom Wright is a television and theatre actor. He was born in Englewood, New Jersey and attended West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania....
as The Hitchhiker - Richard Parks as George Lansing
- Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
as Truck Driver - Cheré Bryson as Woman at Accident