Release Date: August 29, 2003
Starring: Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Travis Schiffner, Nicki Lynn Aycox, Eric Nenninger
Directed by: Victor Salva
Written by: Victor Salva
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
MPAA Rating: R (horror violence, language)
Horror sequels generally take pride in their own silliness, and that’s always made painfully clear by the preposterous plot twists that conveniently allow the villain to keep killing film after film. Jeepers Creepers 2 is a horror movie that actually makes the best of its lame premise by creating real excitement and terror, somethng its predecessor failed to do. The problem with this sequel is that writer-director Victor Salva doesn’t maintain that excitement as long as he should have. The final product, a movie that could have easily been a catastrophe but manages to be a somewhat decent horror flick, is a little disappointing considering its promising beginning.
Creepers 2 comes two years after the original Jeepers Creepers, Salva’s surprise box office success. What some may not know is that that film’s critical praise was mild for the most part and its overall ticket sales were rather modest in the long run. In short, it was overrated and not very deserving of a sequel. But because it quadrupled its $10 million budget (still a small total by Hollywood standards), we now have Jeepers Creepers 2.
Salva keeps a respectable amount of continuity between both films, something for which horror sequels have never gotten exemplary marks. This one takes place four days after the original and it’s now the 23rd and final day of a killing spree perpetuated by a flesh-eating monster known as the Creeper -- which means he’s due to return to the depths of Hell for another 23 years. After he makes a meal out of a local farmer’s youngest son, the Creeper terrorizes a bus load of teenagers on their way back from a basketball championship. The teens have nowhere to go on the completely (and conveniently) desolate road, and all they’re left to do is sit tight, yell at each other, and occasionally get picked off by the winged demon who is taking great pleasure in their fear.
The confined school bus setting helps Salva’s film reach a higher level of terror, and it allows the writer-director to tell a new story that relies very little on the lackluster plot of the original film. Overall, this sequel is better as a standalone movie than it is a second installment, and in fact the only thing Salva draws directly from the original is the character played by Justin Long, who’s seen very briefly in a hallucination. The rest of the back story is told all over again here, making this possibly one of the first times in history that the orginal film is the unnecessary one in the series.
After the opening, Victor Salva establishes a different and more interesting film than what he introduced in 2001. The best thing he did in that movie was to keep the monster hidden for a short while, but its ultimate unveiling was less than impressive. In Jeepers Creepers 2, Salva doesn’t have to hide the creature, but he does and we only see it completely -- ridiculous wings and all -- when there’s appropraitely dim lighting. Trapped inside the immobile school bus, the teenagers are like the people caught inside the house in Night of the Living Dead, which is a truly scary concept. They have nowhere to go because the Creeper could be anywhere outside, and it’s a risk to merely sit close to a window.
The third act reintroduces the farmer who lost his son in the very beginning, and he’s seeking revenge. Though it has rousing potential, it’s at this moment that the story steps back over the line of silliness that the rest of the movie had successfully stayed away from. The actors are acceptable and the plot is somewhat plausible to that point, but the finale lowers the movie’s standards closer to those of the mindless first film. As a matter of fact, througout the movie Salva relies on surprisingly little gore compared to other slasher films, and he almost has a repectable piece of work on his hands. But too many other unnecessary or unexplained things ruin it -- like the completely incongruous dream one girl has about the Creeper’s back story; or why all the young men seem to like walking around without shirts (though Salva’s unpleasant history as a sexual offender might have something to do with that); or, while we’re at it, why the military hasn’t been called into the area even though a radio bulletin reveals that over 300 lives have been claimed by the unstoppable demonic killer.
There’s only so many unrealistic things a movie can do, and Jeepers Creeprs 2 tries to get away with too much, even for a senseless horror film. Still, the movie gets more things right this time around, and that may be enough to call it watchable. It should certainly satisfy those who enjoyed Victor Salva’s first film, and it may even be adequate to those who have their doubts about the horror genre. But in general, there are plenty of better places to get your horror fix.
-- Andy Zientek (zfilm@earthlink.net)