Movie Scene
'Jeepers Creepers' frighteningly good film
By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
United Artists
JEEPERS CREEPERS Rated R with strong and frequent gore, violence, nudity and language Two-and-a-Half Stars (Fair-to-Good) A fabulous first half and strong final punch make this a worthwhile fright flick, despite some second-half stumbling. A young brother and sister are pursued down country lanes by a monstrous, flesh-eating figure. Gina Philips and Justin Long co-star for writer-director Victor Salva. United Artists, 92 mins.
The first half of the new horror flick "Jeepers Creepers" is as tense and unnerving as any you'll ever see, a nightmarish combination of "Duel" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" that'll keep filmgoers riveted.
"Jeepers Creepers" manages to avoid the camp and self-consciousness that has tainted every similar film since "Scream."
But the second half of the Victor Salva film is much weaker.
That's when the film's high-tension originality gives way to fright-flick cliches. They pile up, along with the victims' bodies.
Gina Philips ("Boston Public" and "Ally McBeal") and Justin Long ("Galaxy Quest" and TV's "Ed") are well-cast as siblings Trish and Darry, driving home from college for spring break.
They've decided to take the road less traveled — the country lanes — which, of course, is their first mistake.
They're nearly run off the road by an unseen figure in a giant, tank-like truck. Later, they see the truck parked by an abandoned country church, and the driver seems to be dumping human bodies down a drainage pipe.
Trish and Darry get out of their car to investigate — their second mistake — because they're afraid one of the victims might still be alive and need help.
Thus begins the film's most intense sequence, as Darry stumbles down the dark drain pipe, and ends up in a pit of horrors, filled with corpses.
Before long, our young heroes are once again in flight, the terrifying mystery man in pursuit. And the guy soon shows himself as more powerful, and more horrifying than any man. Can you say Beelzebub?
So far, so good. But then writer-director Salva apparently feels the need to explain things, so he brings a neighborhood psychic into the film who seems to understand everything. It's a disappointing, time-honored and utterly unnecessary technique.
Another cliche — a wacky lady with a hundred cats — also clutters the film's landscape.
Part of the fun of the film is the fear of the unknown. Salva undermines it with too much explanation. He also gets fancy with all sorts of musical references ("Jeepers Creepers," etc.), which don't always make sense.
Fortunately, the film rights itself just in time to deliver a potent finale, bringing the film back to the visceral edge we expected way back when Darry was trapped in the drain pipe.
That ending — and the film's first 45 minutes — make "Jeepers Creepers" a worthwhile recommendation for fans of the fright genre.
Rated R, with strong and frequent gore, violence, nudity and language.
