It's the sequel to the anthology series by Stephen King and George A. Romero. There are three main stories with animation in between. The first has Ray Spruce (George Kennedy) and wife Martha (Dorothy Lamour) as the owners of a tiny general store in the middle of nowhere. The wooden Indian has been out front for some 30 years. When the Spruces are killed in a robbery, the wooden Indian comes alive to right the wrong. It's a slow start. The tension isn't high. The Indian isn't that scary. He looks like a guy in makeup. There is no drama.
The second story has four young people driving to an isolated lake. The water is cold and there's a blackish blob. It looks like an oil slick and the foursome gets stranded on the wooden raft in the middle of the lake. It is very simple and very effective. The special effects aren't that sophisticated but are also very effective. This is a much better section.
Annie Lansing (Lois Chiles) is cheating on her husband. She's rushing to drive home late at night when she hits a hitchhiker (Tom Wright). She takes off but gets haunted by him. Stephen King does some over-acting. Annie is not an appealing character and nobody should care what happens to her. The tone should be moody but it overplays its hand. The music cues are too loud. It doesn't work. This is basically one out of three. The animated connecting scene don't work either. The middle section is very memorable even after many years since I last saw it. That's not enough.
The second story has four young people driving to an isolated lake. The water is cold and there's a blackish blob. It looks like an oil slick and the foursome gets stranded on the wooden raft in the middle of the lake. It is very simple and very effective. The special effects aren't that sophisticated but are also very effective. This is a much better section.
Annie Lansing (Lois Chiles) is cheating on her husband. She's rushing to drive home late at night when she hits a hitchhiker (Tom Wright). She takes off but gets haunted by him. Stephen King does some over-acting. Annie is not an appealing character and nobody should care what happens to her. The tone should be moody but it overplays its hand. The music cues are too loud. It doesn't work. This is basically one out of three. The animated connecting scene don't work either. The middle section is very memorable even after many years since I last saw it. That's not enough.