Film

Creepshow 2

Name: Creepshow 2
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Fantasy
Released: 1987
Cast: Lois Chiles, George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour, Daniel Beer, Jeremy Green

Creepshow 2 is a horror-comedy anthology where three separate stories unfold from a comic book's pages. It's deliberately silly—a wooden cigar-store Indian comes to life, a shapeless lake monster terrorizes swimmers, a hitchhiker won't stay dead. If you like your scares mixed with laughs and don't mind bargain-basement effects, this is pure midnight-movie fun. Peak 1980s creature feature energy.

TMDb rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love anthology horror that plays like a pulpy comic come to life, with broad grins, gleeful gore and three stories that each commit fully to their own silly premise.

Skip it if you want slow dread or real scares; this one leans on cartoonish splatter and campfire humor, and its tales feel more like playful shudders than genuinely unsettling nightmares.

What it asks of you: Ninety-two minutes split into three short, self-contained segments, each one quick to escalate and happy to be ridiculous, so you can settle in without committing to a long arc.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Twilight Zone: The Movie1983

Four distinct horror-fantasy stories by top directors (Spielberg, Dante, Miller, Shue). Each hits a different register—dread, dark comedy, social terror, straightforward scares. Perfectly paced anthology filmmaking.

But The tone swings wildly between segments; if you want consistency, you'll feel whiplashed. One segment (the racist time-travel one) has not aged well.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie1990

Three horror stories wrapped in a meta-narrative that's genuinely clever. Mixes genuine scares with pitch-black comedy. The second segment alone justifies the rental, but all three deliver.

But Lower budget shows in the effects. Deliberately broad acting in places; some will find it campy rather than charming.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie poster

Dead of Night1945

The original horror anthology, British and atmospheric. Five stories nested inside each other, building to a genuinely disturbing climax. The ventriloquist's dummy sequence still unnerves. Influential on everything that followed.

But Post-war British filmmaking moves slowly; you need to sit with the dread. The horror is psychological, not visceral—if you want gore and monsters, look elsewhere.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Creepshow 2

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Creepshow1982

Direct prequel with the same DNA: horror anthology that lives in the gap between scares and laughs, pulling from comic-book visual language. Same tone, better execution.

The original, and it's better: Stephen King and George Romero collaborated on five stories that balance horror and dark humor with more skill. The comic-book aesthetic is more integrated. Every story lands. If you loved the sequel's spirit, the first is required.

But It's a different beast—less cartoonish, more genuinely unsettling. If you came for cheap thrills, the original's ambition might slow things down.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter1984

Pure 1980s slasher energy—Jason is unstoppable, the kills are creative, the cast is likeable. It knows exactly what it is and executes that vision with style. Corey Feldman's kid protagonist is genuinely endearing.

But It's a body-count film; character development happens between murders. If slasher movies bore you, this won't convert you.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter poster

The Howling1981

Werewolf horror-comedy with practical effects that still impress and a script that understands comedy as a tension release. Fast, clever, never takes itself seriously enough to become laughable.

But The effects, while good for the era, are dated. The plot hinges on a few convenient coincidences that don't quite hold up to scrutiny.

Gremlins1984

Joe Dante's creature-comedy masterpiece. Tiny monsters destroy a small town with anarchic glee. It's funny, grotesque, surprisingly mean-spirited, and the practical effects are phenomenal. A template for '80s horror-comedy done right.

But Tonal whiplash between cute and violent; the sweetness early on makes some viewers unprepared for the genuine darkness later.

Evil Dead II1987

Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi's horror-slapstick masterpiece. One man vs. demonic possession as elaborate physical comedy. It's gory, absurd, hilarious—watching Campbell sell increasingly ridiculous damage is its own reward.

But Relies heavily on sight gags and physical comedy; if you need plot coherence or dramatic weight, you'll feel frustrated.

Puppetmaster1989

Low-budget puppet-horror that commits fully to its ridiculous premise. Marionettes that come alive and murder people. It's creative within strict constraints and entertaining in its gleeful B-movie sincerity.

But Shot on a shoestring, the dialogue can be wooden and the pacing uneven. The puppets are genuinely cheap-looking; you have to be okay with that.

Colombiana2011

Features Lois Chiles in the lead, but playing a hardened assassin rather than a comic-relief victim. Seeing her in a different register entirely—commanding instead of exasperated—reframes her as an actor.

Lois Chiles (Annie in Creepshow 2) leads this slick revenge thriller. Entirely different genre—action, not horror—but she commands it with the same dry authority. It's a fun surprise to see her outside the comedy-horror space she's known for.

But Lionsgate action-thriller formula: predictable plot, style over substance. The revenge narrative is satisfying but not surprising.

Beetlejuice1988

Both are horror-comedies from the '80s that prioritize fun and weirdness over scares, using practical effects and deliberate silliness as selling points. But Beetlejuice is infinitely more ambitious in its world-building—it's what Creepshow 2 could have been with ten times the budget and a visionary director.

Tim Burton's comic-horror masterpiece from the same era. Dead people haunt the living, a mischievous ghost becomes their unlikely ally. Practical effects, wild production design, Michael Keaton's anarchic performance. It's genuinely strange and endlessly inventive.

But Burton's visual maximalism overwhelms plot. If you prefer clarity and straightforward storytelling, the constant design flourishes become noise.