[KING'S CORNER] The Raft (1987)
- Joseph
- Aug 8
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 7
The Raft (Creepshow 2) - King's Corner Review
Welcome to King's Corner. A recurring series of reviews based on the film and TV adaptations of Stephen King's novels and collections, reviewed and released in order of the original source material publishing date.
Director: Michael Gornick
Starring: Paul Satterfield, Jeremy Green, Daniel Beer, Page Hannah
Written by: George A. Romero
Produced by: David Ball
Cinematography by: Richard Hart, Tom Hurwitz
Original Score by: Les Reed, Rick Wakeman
Synopsis:
A group of friends visit a lake and find something they could never have imagined in their wildest nightmares.
Thoughts:
A loss of innocence is a theme that has featured prominently throughout the work of Stephen King. The Losers Club in 'It' and the boys in 'The Body' experienced their own coming of age in their respective journeys but it came at the expense of an unpacking of their personal traumas via the torment from an interdimensional creature disguised as a clown and the discovery of a dead body. This dark exploration of themselves gives way to compulsive reactions that show their true nature leading to acts of desperation under pressure. One such story that looks at this in a short format is 'The Raft'.
The first version of the story titled, 'The Float' was published in Adam magazine in 1969. Around the time it was accepted for publication King was arrested in Orono, Maine for removing multiple traffic cones after one damaged his car. He almost faced jail time for the incident as he was unable to pay the fine but luckily the cheque he received for the story arrived in the nick of time allowing him to pay it, making the story a literal "get out of jail card". He never found the copy of the magazine nor the original manuscript but the story always stuck with him.
Ironically it was during the editing process of the first 'Creepshow' film that he started rewriting the story and it was eventually published as a booklet in the adult magazine Gallery in November 1982. Later it was added to his short story collection 'Skeleton Crew' in 1985. The story follows four college students who embark on one last outing before winter by swimming to a raft in the middle of a remote lake in Pennsylvania. Once on the raft they discover a black oily substance surrounding them with deadly intentions leaving them trapped.
After enjoying their time working on 'Creepshow' in the early 80's, the idea of doing a sequel came about when the TV show 'Tales From the Darkside' (produced by Creepshow director George A. Romero) wanted to use King's short story, 'Word Processor of the Gods'. Due to other commitments they were unable to fulfil the same roles on the sequel but Romero wrote the screenplay based on King's ideas. Two of the ideas were the segments for 'Old Chief Wood'nhead' and 'The Hitchhiker' with 'The Raft' being a third based on King's story sitting between the two and the wrap-around section.
Arguably the best segment of the film, 'The Raft' opens with a sense of optimism. The sun is shining and the group of four college students are en route to Cascade Beach for one last hurrah in the dying days of summer. In their Camaro the music is blasting, they're enjoying a few drinks and smoking some weed while wise cracking with each other. They don't have a care in the world, but that all changes as soon as they reach their destination. Once they reach the lake, they swim for the raft floating in the middle of it but they notice something is wrong as some ducks on the water behave erratically. Soon they notice something strange on the lake.
For such a short segment Romero's script is very economical in how it establishes the isolation of the lake and the dynamics within the small group. There is the jock, the brainbox, the eye candy and the socially awkward girl which are dated characteristics by today's standards but they also feel like a call back to a 1950's monster B Movie. Having said that there is a darker slant to how they are presented. Gone is the "aww shucks" clean cut attitude of characters of that era. What 'The Raft' presents are four desperate people in full panic mode trying to do anything to survive which brings out the worst part of themselves.
Deke (Paul Satterfield) is full of bravado and arrogance but you don't hate him (which is a credit to Scatterfield's performance) but once the reality of the situation sinks in he becomes aggressive in his manner (threatening violence against his friends) while his veneer of cockiness fades away. Randy (Daniel Beer) is the supposed biology expert (since he is a medical student) and he spends most of the segment trying to figure out what to make of the creature and how to escape. With this character there is a crucial moment from the story that is very different to the source material. In the short story Randy and Laverne (Jeremy Green) share an intimate (but consensual) moment when trying to keep each other warm but in the adaptation it is undeniable sexual assault as Randy takes advantage of her while she sleeps. It is a change for the worse but one that is made due to the whole ethos of 'Creepshow' being about people who are being punished for their wrong doings or attitudes. Prior to this moment there is a feeling that none of the characters deserved their fate but this tacked on sleazy action from Randy leaves a bad taste.
As for Green, she is virtually a non character as she is reduced to being a hysterical object for the male character's attention. There is also very little to Rachel (Page Hannah) who appears to be someone who is dragged along to this trip and nothing more. Hannah does get a moment to shine though during her death scene. When she reaches out of the water whilst being consumed by the creature she says, "it hurts" but the subdued manner in which she says it makes the moment all the more creepy and disturbing than if she screamed the line.
The big change from the nature of the creature is how in the adaptation it doesn't hypnotise its victims with its colours. What we get in this adaptation is something that resembles a bin bag on the lake. Whilst this sounds incredibly silly on paper, it is executed quite well once we see how gruesome its attacks are. It makes you think twice about your preconceived notions and heightens the suspense over an imminent attack. The special effects in these scenes are quite reminiscent of those from the 1988 version of 'The Blob' (which was released a year after this) in how disgustingly goopy they are. Without them, this segment would not work at all.
'The Raft' is a short, sharp and nasty adaptation but it is also one that makes unnecessary changes from the source material. In opting for shocks rather than impactful horror it works on the level of being a small part of an anthology but there is a feeling that it had so much more potential. The performances are solid (despite some characters being severely underdeveloped), the practical effects are great during the attack sequences but the prolonged feeling of hopelessness is missing, meaning we don't fully get the feeling of lost innocence that is prevalent in King's story.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
-Joseph McElroy