Dir: Victor Salva
Cast: Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck,
Patricia Belcher, Eileen Brennan
Rated R, Approx: 90 minutes
MGM/United Artists, Video & DVD
is Far Better Than You Might
Think...
and What Lies Beneath (pure crap), along with toothless, tongue-in-cheek slasher films like Urban Legend and I
Still Know What You Did Last Summer, horror films have been in a slump. These films rely on clever endings,
star power, or in the case of those mid to late 90's slashers, focus on 'hip, self-referential' dialogue and 'Scooby-Doo;
let me tell you why I killed everyone' plot tactics to entertain mass audiences or attempt to turn a quick buck. In late
2001 however, a group of genre films converged on the unsuspecting masses and really shook things up. Films like
Session 9, The Others and Joy Ride really frightened audiences and provided viewers with the knowledge of what
it felt like to be scared by a horror film again. For me however, the one film that stood a bit above the rest was the
frighteningly intense Jeepers Creepers.
we meet up with two students kids driving home from college. Almost immediately, the kids (along with the viewer)
are plunged into a horrific situation as brother and sister Derry (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Philips), are almost run
off the road by a menacing truck and later, spot the driver throwing a wrapped up corpse down an old sewer pipe.
When Derry and Trish reluctantly decide to investigate the situation, they discover a pit of corpses and find that
whatever has done this now wants them.
conversation between Trish and Derry where we meet our protagonists. Salva's strong writing really benefits these
two characters as we're forced to go along with them for the duration of the film. Crafting two entirely believable and
likable characters isn't such an easy task, but it all comes off admirably here. Even when these kids do things that
the viewer probably wouldn't agree to or go along with, we're drawn to them because of their believability and accept
their actions, while they're not 'us' in that sense, these kids have become people we know and care about. The
actors in the roles of Trish and Derry are very good. Justin Long and Gina Philips do tremendous justice to Salva's
characters and have a great on-screen chemistry together. These actors convey the brother and sister duo with
remarkable sincerity, we indeed feel like these two are actually brother and sister and that's mainly why Jeepers
Creepers works.
Horror Films of the 1970s.
here. From the terrifying Duel-inspired opening all the way until the genuinely disturbing ending, this is and
effectively scary film for my money. While Salva's script begins like it's grounded in reality, it doesn't necessarily stick
to that realism per se. If viewers can by the fact that what's chasing Derry and Trish might not be human, there's a
lot of savor here. Other stand out moments in the film include an attack on a police car and a very atmospheric
moment taking place at the home of a strange woman known only as the Cat Lady (Eileen Brennan).
the above mentioned Chainsaw Massacre, or Race With the Devil will really like this one. By turns suspenseful and
scary, Jeepers Creepers is loaded with enough scares and thrills to provide for several of those tired
Scream-inspired clones any day.
Followed by Jeepers Creepers 2.
* * * * out of 5
Reviewed by Matt Serafini 1/28/02
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