You’ll have a tough choice if you’re looking to check out the films opening Labor Day weekend: there’s “Jeepers Creepers 2,” “Jeepers Creepers 2” — oh, and “Jeepers Creepers 2.” Film studios have figured out that the last weekend of the summer is not the best time to release new movies: after all, no one’s in town. MGM, however, after having a “surprise” hit in August 2001 with the original “Jeepers Creepers,” is hoping to repeat the success of the previous movie by opening the sequel — you guessed it — during the 2003 holiday weekend.
For those of you sticking around the old homestead for the three day holiday, however, it might not hurt to give “Jeepers Creepers 2” a try (I’ll qualify that by saying it would probably help if you are a fan of the horror genre, or like to play the “guess which teen actor will go on to have a film career after this movie” game). It’s creepy, suspenseful and at times (intentionally) hilarious.
If you missed the first picture two years ago, that probably won’t matter. Just know that for the last several millenium a ghastly winged creature with a voracious appetite wakes every 23 years and proceeds to snack on as many people as it can for 23 days. In the original film two teenagers (TV actors Justin Long of “Ed” and Gina Philips of “Boston Public”) driving home from college come across this unpleasant dinner guest in the basement of a church. Needless to say, things don’t end well for them.
“Jeepers Creepers 2” picks up where the last film left off, on the creature’s 23rd day of feasting. The film’s opening sequence builds up the right kind of creepiness and atmosphere in a late summer cornfield, as farmer Jack Taggart (Ray Wise) instructs his younger son to secure a trio of scarecrows to their posts. Unfortunately, one of the forms happens to have massive talons for feet, and the first victim is pounced upon like a hawk on a field mouse.
Meanwhile, a busload of high school basketball players, cheerleaders and coaches is rolling along a remote highway, returning from a championship game. When one, then two tires blow and a horrific weapon is discovered to be the culprit, it becomes obvious that there’s a problem. Especially when the herd quickly begins to thin out.
“Jeepers Creepers 2” is by no means a classic horror film (in fact, more accurately, it’s really a monster movie). But it has its moments. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, director Victor Salva seems to have graduated from the Sam Raimi “Evil Dead” school of filmmaking — though his method still has some fine-tuning to work out. The legion of “not-yet-a-household-name” teen actors keep up with the pace pretty well, too. Jonathan Breck’s Creeper is just a foul, nasty creature, made all the more terrifying by some decent CGI flying effects. The highlight of the film has to be Wise’s performance as Taggart — best known as Laura Palmer’s anguished father on the TV series “Twin Peaks,” the actor’s facial contortions have only ripened with time.
The R rating really doesn’t seem necessary. The film is not particularly gory and leaves the graphic skewering of the creature’s prey mostly to the imagination. Only the rapid fire succession of profanities from the teen cast is keeping the under 17 crowd out of the theater — which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, because they would seem to be the film’s primary demographic. So if your teenager is lobbying for you to accompany them to the theater, don’t despair — you’ll probably have a better time than you think.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
