Jeepers Creepers (2001)

1.5 out of 4

Starring: Justin Long, Gina Philips, Patricia Belcher

Director: Victor Salwa

Time: 87 mins

Ever wondered why characters do the stupid things they do in slasher films like the Friday The 13th and Halloween series? Like, stumbling around in darkness when there's a light switch nearby? Well, Jeepers Creepers takes character stupidity to the nth degree. This aspect is emphasised so much one thinks it's part of the director's technique to build suspense. And, in a way, it works, for a while. We get so caught up in the "Why are they doing this?" syndrome it actually becomes exciting as we anticipate the next entry on the stupid character action list. Once the initial act is over, however, the stupid actions become laughable. The second half of the film is filled with stock horror cliches and an ending that thinks it's smart but just ends up being unsatisfying.

Siblings Darryl (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Philips) are on a cross country trip to see their mother. Along a deserted stretch of highway they are almost run off the road by someone in a souped-up truck. Soon after, they pass a run-down church, where they see the truck's occupant dumping what looks like several bodies down a chute in the ground. The truck driver sees them and gives chase again. This time he/she does force them off the road and into a field before continuing on his/her way to the next town. Shaken, but glad to be alive, Darryl and Trish wonder what was happening back at the church. Inexplicably, they then decide to go back to investigate. What they find there draws them into a hellish adventure that will consume many lives before the night is over.

Most movies of this nature tend to have at least one moment where you want to shout out, "Why don't they..." or "Why are they doing this?" or "Get the hell out of there!" Indeed, the Scream series parodied this aspect until its final entry became the type of film it poked fun at. Jeepers Creepers seems to know this and plays it for all it's worth. It's not a self-referential horror film like the Screams and Urban Legends and I Know What You Did Last Summers are, but it uses this device well enough to create some suspense during the first half hour. Director Salwa manages to fashion quite a menacing atmosphere during this period. The continuous banter between brother and sister draws one into a false sense of security, while the long, lonely stretch of highway recalls eerie moments from Stephen King works like Desperation or even the famous cropduster sequence from Hitchcock's North By Northwest. While the rest of the film isn't as accomplished, those first thirty minutes show a potential that is ultimately unrealised. Less is more, as always, for once the secrets of the church and the truck driver are revealed, the film just becomes another collage of horrific happenings that aren't as innovative or as exciting as they could be. The ending is shocking, but leaves one asking, "Is that it?"

The cast is lean but do an adequate job, given what their characters are forced to do by the script. The focus is on the brother and sister played by Long (Galaxy Quest) and Philips (from various TV shows like Ally MacBeal). Their interplay is effective enough to remind one of traditional sibling frictions, but after a while, their stupidity grates. Who in their right mind would go back and investigate a scary-looking church without help? (The reasons given are pretty pathetic, to say the least.) And there are so many times when the two of them could have just driven away but stay put, rooted to the spot, and wait for something to happen. A couple of times they even get out of the car! You have to see this film to believe it, but anyway, enough of the rant.

The Labor Day weekend is traditionally a bit of a low point for new releases. Jeepers Creepers continues that trend. While initially showing some promise, the film falls apart in the second half and becomes almost a joke. See something else instead.

(c) Joe Wong (3 September 2001)