Thirty years ago, four young actors and a big black tarp terrified the world.
Those who know me know that I stay away from any body of water that’s not contained within in a pool in someone’s backyard. Like most, I blame Jaws and sharks in general for my fear of the water, but I’d be remiss to not also give a good deal of that credit (if you can call it that) to the most memorable segment from Creepshow 2 – released 30 years ago on this very day.
I’m of course talking about “The Raft.“
I’d be lying if I said that I remember the first time I saw Creepshow 2, but I damn sure do remember watching it as a kid and being absolutely horrified by “The Raft” in particular. Directed by Michael Gornick and based on Stephen King’s short story (first published in 1982 and then released as part of Skeleton Crew in 1985), the anthology sequel’s second of three segments centered on four young friends who decided to swim out to a raft in the middle of a lake to smoke pot, have fun, and just generally do the sorts of things that horror movie victims are wired to do.
Of course, there’s a monster on the loose: a floating blob-like creature that the characters initially believe to be a harmless oil sick. And it’s incredibly hungry, no matter how much it eats.
Watching “The Raft” today, as a 30 year old grown man in the year 2017, it’s of course not nearly as terrifying as it was when I was a child; at the same time, I was surprised to discover just how well the short film’s three main attack sequences hold up to this day. Sure, the monster may often look like little more than a black tarp and a pile of ’80s toy slime, but it’s undeniably horrifying to see it attack and slowly consume its victims, often melting away their flesh in the process. The most horrifying moment in the segment is also the single most iconic image in Creepshow 2 as a whole: the sentient oil slick’s first victim, a young woman, is pulled into the water and swallowed alive while her friends watch on – she desperately reaches out to them for help, to no avail.
“IT HURTS!!!” she repeatedly screams. And you feel her pain.
Shortly thereafter, a dude in a revealing yellow speedo is pulled through the cracks of the raft, his body literally folded in half. The blob monster’s third victim has her face agonizingly melted off before being pulled into the water, and it strikes one more time by essentially taking the form of a wave and proving that even those on the shore are not safe from becoming its next meal.
Looking back, I don’t at all fault my young self for being terrified of stepping foot in the water after seeing Creepshow 2. Sharks may be a realer threat, but I’d watch out for oil monsters too…
