Jeepers Creepers (2001) Reviews

• Where didja get those eyes?

  Smells_Like_Cheese2001-09-02

  How rare is it that we get a good monster movie? The 1950's were filled with monster movies that as cheesy as they were, they were also a ton of fun. Victor Salva was a fan of those movies and it shows when he wrote Jeepers Creepers, a fun horror film with a great new movie villain. Not to mention it was a nice break from all the crazy CGI films of late, this was an old fashioned make up horror movie. With two good lead actors and their silly clichés that are guilty pleasures, this was a fun road trip movie with the great creeps. Trish and her brother Darry are coming home from college. As they drive through the countryside, a mysterious driver in a rusty old delivery truck tries to run them off the road. After letting the vehicle pass them, they later see the same truck, in the distance off the side of the road, with a hulking man sliding what looks to be bodies covered with blood stained sheets, into a large pipe sticking out of the ground next to an old, abandoned church. Darry insists they go back and investigate. At the bottom of the pipe, he finds hundreds of bodies sewn together, covering the walls of a massive cavern beneath the church. They go to a restaurant and call the cops, they are phoned by a local psychic, Jezelle, who warns them that they are in terrible danger. She plays the song "Jeepers Creepers" on the phone, and tells them that when they hear that song, they will be in extreme danger. There may be cliché moments with why these two "smart" adults go back to find the dead bodies, the psychic lady who everyone think is a psycho and never listens to her, and the chase scenes are a bit predictable. But I absolutely loved this movie and the risks it took. The creeper is one of the best horror movies I have seen in a long time. His make up effects and the way he hunted down his pray was just terrifying and gross at the same time. He sniffs his victims, their items and when they have something that he wants, he won't stop until he has it. Justin Long and Gina Philips did a good job and had great chemistry. One of the things I loved about the film that instead of a cliché boyfriend/girlfriend story, they're brother and sister. Their relationship seemed genuine, the way they played off each other was perfect. My only complaint is that sometimes Gina did play the role a little dead, though I can get past it since her character seems to have a tougher edge probably from a tough break up before we meet them on the road trip. I also like that the film reminded me a little bit of Steve Spielberg's first film Duel and I wouldn't doubt that Victor got some inspiration from that film. The cars are also play a major role as a villain and what a haunting honk the creeper's truck made. I really liked Jeepers Creepers, it's scary, funny and clever and people need to lighten up because this is one of the better horror movies to come out in years. 8/10

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• Nice premise, squandered

  RJC-992003-02-20

  Victor Salva's auteur turn in B-horrorland is better than most, mainly because he is so much more interesting a storyteller than many of his genre contemporaries. "Jeepers" has several things going for it: suspense, developed characters, above-average acting, and visual style. That's not to say it's great or even very good. The movie is wildly uneven, a problem bound to disappoint anyone grabbed by its beguiling opening. About that opening: like the low-budget filmmaker he most resembles, George Romero, Salva has built his story upon simple, elemental horror. Kids witness what look like bodies being dumped down a sewer pipe next to a rotted church; their curiosity must be satisfied. What he accomplishes in the first act is a quite masterful bogeyman set-up, disturbing yet inviting, and for a moment, we may think we hear Tobe Hooper's chainsaws. Especially good is Salva's patience in developing his sibling protagonists, their dialogue and reading good enough to establish what most genre work can't even dream of -- plausible characters. But where Romero is famous for exploring the dimensions of his (deceptively) simple premises, Salva retreats from them into mannered predictability. Narrowing his scope to a cat and mouse game, the writer-director fritters away too many possibilities even before the second act is out, and the third act is plainly bad. Why bother subverting expectations early on if you're only going to resort to cliché later? The clairvoyant character is lifted from "The Shining"; the police station siege is a "Terminator" retread. And why establish an aesthete-predator at all if you're only going to have him jump out periodically and kill, like any Freddy Krueger? Salva has complained about last-minute budgetary restrictions yet so much has gone wrong by the final half hour, dissipating tension, squandering sympathy, indulging in camp, and (the worst misstep) calling in his deus ex machina voodoo chile, that it's hard to see what more money could have done. Salva's imagery, however, is always striking. The production design is shoestring brilliance, helping make his highway and sewer pipe sequences genuinely spooky. And there's subtext aplenty. The current of fetishistic erotic violence invites all sorts of interpretation; in fact, fairly or not, this may be the first horror film for which knowledge of the director's well-publicized past seems likely to make some parts scarier.

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• Lighten up people

  VoodooVince2002-12-01

  I've been reading the reviews for this film and have found myself sighing continually. Why? Because too many people take films like this far too literally. Like the reviewer who questions the characters decision to go back to the church. Hello, this is a horror film and if they weren't stupid we wouldn't have a movie. What were you expecting? Kubrick? Jeepers Creepers does exactly what it says on the tin. It's creepy, it's silly, and, if you can get over yourselves for a minute, lots of fun. Leave your brain at the door and have fun. Niz

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• Way Better Than Expected,WAY Better

  jordansepticeye2016-10-01

  I thought this movie was gonna be mediocre,based on the Scooby Doo like title and the reviews,but this was excellent.First off,the story,the concept was so creepy and unique,I can't really explain it without spoiling the movie,so I'll just say it was great.Second,the atmosphere,yes there is gore,but the movie doesn't focus on that,it focuses on tension and suspense.Third,the characters,they are well acted,well developed,and feel real.The effects are great,and so is the main villain,the Creeper,you don't know much about him,which makes him even more scary.The setting was good,but last,the pacing,it may have been slow,but I was glued to the screen the whole time.Now onto the negatives,I thought although the movie was overall dark and creepy,there was many cheesy moments that took me out of the movie and some bad dialogue,but that's it.Jeepers Creepers is a well made,suspenseful movie with some stupid moments

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• Outstanding horror film

  michaelanderson652006-11-30

  Every once in a while a new horror film comes along that reinvents the genre (Jaws, Halloween, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street). These films not only prove to be entertaining, but they add something new and visionary to a market that seems to thrive mostly on rip-offs, sequels and spoofs. JEEPERS CREEPERS should be counted among them. While it doesn't maintain the level of thrills it achieves during the first 45 minutes or so, at just 90 minutes it does still manages to keep an effective level of adrenaline pumping shocks and scares and has one heck of a creepy ending to boot. The acting is first rate and the movie looks terrific. The CGI effects are thankfully kept to a minimum and its just a fun ride! There's nothing more to say. Rent it. Buy it. Enjoy it.

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