movie shark deblore Film Critic to the Culver City Observer and over 132 Publications Worldwide including: The Observer, Inc., John Schimmenti, Inc., CCN, Inc., Santa Monica Observer, Inc., Beacon-Times, Inc., Columbus-Register, Inc., and a Host of Others
Jeepers Creepers 2
by
debbie lynn elias
"Jeepers, creepers,
where’d ya get those peepers? Jeepers, creepers, where’d ya get
those eyes?" And so our story begins. "Every 23rd spring, for
23 days, it gets to eat..." Oh yeah....he’s back - The Creeper,
that is - and just in time for the back-to-school feeding frenzy. For
those of you that missed Victor Salva’s 2001 "Jeepers
Creepers", The Creeper is the ultimate bogeyman (sorry Freddy!).
Showing his ugly self every 23rd spring for a period of 23
days, he feeds on various body parts from very select victims in order
to complete its own "body", i.e., eyes to see, feet to walk,
lungs to breathe, and mysteriously, winged arm attachments to fly. The
scent of fear is used to select its specific organ entrees. (Maybe
Hannibal should hook up with this guy!)
Set a few days after the original, it’s now the 22nd
day and The Creeper is still a tad hungry. Eyeing a potentially fruitful
cornfield, The Creeper "pretends" to be a scarecrow, luring in
an innocent child, whom he snatches, grabs and snacks on. (Known for
having a taste for teens, it’s a bit out of character for The Creeper
to go after a child; an action never explained by director/writer Salva.)
Too bad for the Creeper, his appetizer was the son of local farmer Jack
Taggart who is determined to seek vengeance on his son’s abductor.
On Day 23, we meet up with a busload
of high school jocks and cheerleaders on their way home after winning a
basketball championship. While driving the somewhat deserted Highway 9
(a favorite dining spot of The Creeper), one of the bus tires is
mysteriously blown out, stranding the gang as they try to find a way out
of their predicament. Adding panic to an already unsettling situation, a
radio report has relayed some rather gruesome details about multiple
burning bodies found by the local police, which reports provide the fuel
to fire nightmarish visions for one of our cheerleaders, Minxie Hayes,
who it seems is receiving warnings from an earlier victim. Stranded
teens, deserted highway, burning bodies, mysteriously blow outs, visions
of doom and Day 23 - - ah, the perfect set-up for some real horror. But
remember - be careful what you wish for because you just might get it
and boy do we get it!
Gruesome, bloody, brutal, pee-in-your-pants terror
emanates from the screen as this go round, director Salva gives us more
than shadowy views, glimpses and backlit outlines of The Creeper.
Providing us with full-on, close-up detailed shots, Salva adds new
elements to the already known package as some of the "unknown"
is eliminated and attention is now paid with excruciating detail to The
Creeper, the physical detail of which, thanks to cinematographer Don E.
FauntLeRoy, is even more frightening than unknown shadows.
Richard Redlefsen returns to handle the Creeper
make-up and costuming and does another incredible job. Thanks to a
budget double that of the first installment, Creeper 2 has a superior
level of make-up and effects, all of which only add to the story and
never moreso than with the Creeper itself. Previously a rather
lumbering, albeit winged creature, The Creeper now takes more to the sky
with far greater speed and stealth, giving him wider meal selection and
the ability to swoop own and effortlessly pluck his dinner as if an
apple from a tree. Oooh yeah, there’s nothing like having The Creeper
winking and smiling at you as he licks his lips in anticipation of what’s
to come! Creepy and a little tongue-in-cheek at the same time. Perfect.
The special effects are grandly and gloriously gruesome creating a fear
factor that will make you wish you brought Band-Aids with you to the
theater to tape your bloodied fingers (either from gripping your seat or
digging your nails into your date)
As with the original, character development is minor
with just enough involvement and interaction from the humans as is
necessary. As opposed to our prior brother-sister pairing, here the main
focus is on Jack Taggart played by 50 year tv and film veteran Ray Wise
(who you can also see this week in Project Greenlight’s "The
Battle of Shaker Heights). He makes Taggart interesting by adding some
depth and believable emotion as a father who has lost his child, evoking
an air of sympathy, and at times even a cheer, from the audience as he
takes on The Creeper. And thankfully, Jonathan Breck returns as The
Creeper.
Salva has given "Jeepers Creepers 2" legs
sturdy enough to stand on its own without relying on the original. A
brief set-up early on, some skillful manipulation of classic horror
effects, increased action and kill-time, the added dimension of some
outstanding special effects and increased detail and attention to The
Creeper itself gives "Jeepers Creepers 2" all that is needed
to be one ruthless, gruesome, terrifying delight.
Now, if we can only get Freddy and The Creeper to go
head to head........
Jonathan Breck: The Creeper
Ray Wise: Jack Taggart
Nicki Avcox: Minxie Hayes
Written and Directed by Victor Salva. MGM Pictures.
Rated R (104 minutes)
