Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Reviewed by Eugene Novikov
http://www.ultimate-movie.com/

"Jeepers... Creepers... Where'd you get those
peepers?"

Starring Justin Long, Gina Philips. Directed by Victor
Salva. Rated R.

Jeepers Creepers is a functional, crafty, genuinely scary little chiller that delivers exactly what it promises and more. There's nothing extraordinary about it - except, perhaps, the ending; more on that later - but it's a masterpiece of utilitarian effectiveness. My friends tell me that copious amounts of movies have desensitized me to the thrills of a good horror flick; it's saying something, then, that during Jeepers Creepers I had to look at the people around me and remind myself that it's only a movie.

Horror movie characters are almost invariably "hip" now, flouting the clichés of the genre while at the same time bowing to them. So I was pleasantly surprised to see one that - with the exception of a single, inconsequential line of dialogue - plays it completely straight. It begins with Trish and Darry, a brother and sister - the lack of a token "romance" is also refreshing - driving on a deserted rural road. Their bickering is interrupted when they are hassled by an old farm truck that pulls up behind hen, bumps them, swerves, honks, and finally runs their car off the road and into a field. They dust themselves off, recover, mutter something to the effect of "crazy asshole" to themselves and continue on their way.

A few minutes later, they pass an abandoned church. The menacing truck is parked nearby, and a shady-looking man is throwing elongated objects wrapped in red-stained sheets down a pipe. Rattled, they pull over a couple of miles down the road. After deliberation, they decide to go to the nearest police station, alert the authorities and be on their way.

Well, that would have been the smart thing to do, at least. But then we wouldn't have a movie, would we? Actually, they decide to go back and investigate, with the hopes of helping anyone who is still alive. And though this action is undoubtedly stupid, Darry's childlike curiosity is almost believable, like a preteen's fascination with the hospital morgue or the graveyard. What they find matches both of those descriptions, and before long they are chased by that same old farm truck, the driver's identity remaining a secret until they get a mysterious phone call from a psychic who tells them that once it has their scent, it won't chase them to the end of the earth and back.

Though Jeepers Creepers does not occupy a respected genre, it is charged, masterful filmmaking. It cuts through the crap associated with teen horror films - pop-culture-filled dialogue, corny in-jokes, love triangles - and gives us what we want: white-knuckle suspense, good jolts, serviceable acting and a villain who is actually scary. Even the title, which seems at first like the creation of a mildly retarded publicist, has a logical and frightening relevance to the plot.

Justin Long and Gina Phillips are competent in the lead roles, which is all that the plot requires. We sympathize: they're frightened and so are we. The opening sequence, the only part of the film that can be described as "low-key" also establishes their characters as likeable, which is a plus because it ensures that we won't be cheering for them to be eaten.

Then there's the ending, which is as abrupt as it is surprising. I'll say nothing more about it, except to mention that though others in the theater were shouting "That's it?!" I found it more satisfying than any number of conventional dispatchings of the villain that you always see in monster movies. I expected another fade-in, and had to sit there and blink for a while when the credits unexpectedly began to roll. That sort of incredulous shock is what Jeepers Creepers is all about.

Grade: B+

Up Next: Serendipity

©2001 Eugene Novikov

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X-Language: en
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X-RT-TitleID: 1109558
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X-RT-RatingText: B+