Jeepers Creepers
3/4
Starring: Justin Long, Gina Philips, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Eileen Brennan
Rated R for Terror Violence/Gore, Language and Brief Nudity
"Jeepers Creepers" is a low-budget monster movie that, while no classic, works. It's creepy, has a sufficient amount of gore, and sustains its tension throughout the film. This is one movie where you're smiling at the genre conventions while still getting creeped out.
Siblings Darry (Long) and Trish (Philips) are taking the long way home in Trish's nearly-dead beater. They trade quips, play stupid games involving license plates, and other stuff to pass the time. Then they're nearly run off the road by a rusty truck. Things get even weirder when they see the driver of the truck drop large white objects down a large pipe. Since they're about five to six feet long and are probably 150 to 200 pounds, so it's not hard to guess what they are. Darry can't resist a peek down to see if their suspicions are correct. What he sees puts them both in the sights of a mysterious creature who wants something from them.
The acting by Long and Philips is quite strong, especially for a horror movie. Their chemistry is natural and unforced; anyone who has a sibling will see themselves in these two characters. What's good about this is that Salva recognizes their chemistry and keeps this interaction going throughout the film. It allows our affection for Darry and Trish to grow and adds some relief to the tension. Jonathan Breck has nothing to do other than look menacing under a lot of makeup, and he accomplishes that with scariness to spare. Eileen Brennan is on hand as a cat lady who isn't as crazy as she seems. The one character that doesn't work is the part of the psychic Jezelle Hartman. The character isn't as well written as the others, but the real problem is that Belcher is awful. She's annoying.
Victor Salva's career started with short films, which brought him to the attention of Francis Ford Coppola. His career was halted after his first theatrical feature, "Clownhouse" (which was Sam Rockwell's first film) when he was convicted of having sexual relations with a 12 year old on the set of that film. Salva quickly made his way back to being a director who was getting work (and yet careers have been destroyed for things that aren't even illegal...disgusting, isn't it?) with the smash direct-to-video hit of "The Nature of the Beast" (based on his experiences in prison, and the theatrical release of "Powder" starring Sean Patrick Flannery. "Jeepers Creepers" was an unexpected hit for the now-defunct MGM, and it set a Labor Day weekend box office record (which has never been a weekend that had any competition, but never mind).
Salva's work is effective. He knows what he's doing, and he creates the sort of backwoods atmosphere that is such a common setting for many horror movies like this. He also includes some one-liners (most given by Trish), but this isn't a "wink wink nudge nudge" horror movie like "Scream." Salva's goal is to scare his audience, and he does that. Sure, it's a little overlong and silly, but it is consistently tense. And yes, the characters do some really stupid things, but they do more things that are pretty smart.
For those who like good old-fashioned horror movies but are tired of masked psychos impaling curvaceous females and brainless morons with sharp objects, "Jeepers Creepers" is a way to get the nape hairs on end for 90 minutes.
Starring: Justin Long, Gina Philips, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Eileen Brennan
Rated R for Terror Violence/Gore, Language and Brief Nudity
"Jeepers Creepers" is a low-budget monster movie that, while no classic, works. It's creepy, has a sufficient amount of gore, and sustains its tension throughout the film. This is one movie where you're smiling at the genre conventions while still getting creeped out.
Siblings Darry (Long) and Trish (Philips) are taking the long way home in Trish's nearly-dead beater. They trade quips, play stupid games involving license plates, and other stuff to pass the time. Then they're nearly run off the road by a rusty truck. Things get even weirder when they see the driver of the truck drop large white objects down a large pipe. Since they're about five to six feet long and are probably 150 to 200 pounds, so it's not hard to guess what they are. Darry can't resist a peek down to see if their suspicions are correct. What he sees puts them both in the sights of a mysterious creature who wants something from them.
The acting by Long and Philips is quite strong, especially for a horror movie. Their chemistry is natural and unforced; anyone who has a sibling will see themselves in these two characters. What's good about this is that Salva recognizes their chemistry and keeps this interaction going throughout the film. It allows our affection for Darry and Trish to grow and adds some relief to the tension. Jonathan Breck has nothing to do other than look menacing under a lot of makeup, and he accomplishes that with scariness to spare. Eileen Brennan is on hand as a cat lady who isn't as crazy as she seems. The one character that doesn't work is the part of the psychic Jezelle Hartman. The character isn't as well written as the others, but the real problem is that Belcher is awful. She's annoying.
Victor Salva's career started with short films, which brought him to the attention of Francis Ford Coppola. His career was halted after his first theatrical feature, "Clownhouse" (which was Sam Rockwell's first film) when he was convicted of having sexual relations with a 12 year old on the set of that film. Salva quickly made his way back to being a director who was getting work (and yet careers have been destroyed for things that aren't even illegal...disgusting, isn't it?) with the smash direct-to-video hit of "The Nature of the Beast" (based on his experiences in prison, and the theatrical release of "Powder" starring Sean Patrick Flannery. "Jeepers Creepers" was an unexpected hit for the now-defunct MGM, and it set a Labor Day weekend box office record (which has never been a weekend that had any competition, but never mind).
Salva's work is effective. He knows what he's doing, and he creates the sort of backwoods atmosphere that is such a common setting for many horror movies like this. He also includes some one-liners (most given by Trish), but this isn't a "wink wink nudge nudge" horror movie like "Scream." Salva's goal is to scare his audience, and he does that. Sure, it's a little overlong and silly, but it is consistently tense. And yes, the characters do some really stupid things, but they do more things that are pretty smart.
For those who like good old-fashioned horror movies but are tired of masked psychos impaling curvaceous females and brainless morons with sharp objects, "Jeepers Creepers" is a way to get the nape hairs on end for 90 minutes.
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