Jeepers Creepers [DVD]

I watched this movie when it came out and it scared the living daylights out of me. The ending haunted me for days. More than twenty years later, I still find it terrifying. Justin Long and Gina Philips are perfectly cast as siblings Trish and Darry - they even resemble each other - and it's their reactions to the horrific events that unfold, that keep us watching. The slick direction, the build up of tension, the photography, the chilling score and the shiver inducing appearance of the creeper, all combine to make Jeepers Creepers one of the best horror flicks of the naughties, that still stands up twenty years later.

Good story. Quite fast paced, well acted.

Well, it’s a tale as old as time, isn’t it? Semi grown up siblings drive across America to spend spring break at home, where their mother will do the lad’s washing. They tell silly jokes and scary stories until a mad trucker with blacked out windows start chasing and bumping them. Naturally, having not been quite frightened enough, the youngish lad decides that the two of them must go to the crazy trucker’s hideout to see what he’s up to.Quite a lot, it turns out. For he is the Creeper, a creature who is only permitted access to the surface every twenty-three years, whereupon, for twenty-three days, he feasts on those bits of people that he can find a use for. It’s a sort of cannibalistic recycling.There’s a gorgeous little cameo from Eileen Brennan (as the Cat Lady), who played Captain Lewis in Private Benjamin - the hard woman who was turned blue with some dye powder in the shower head, and some solid performances from the cast generally.Icky in places. I liked it. Dropped them a point for always standing and watching as something icky happened, rather than running like holy hell as anyone else would.

ok I agree with most folks opinions, excellent first half but the plot line went & then they went overboard the wrong way.Yet & it has to be said, the two leads make this film work, this is not scream or hallowean but the injokes, the naratives & the general tension which steadily builds, till you know sooner or later one of them is going to get it, makes it worth watching.Plus the radio mention already to jeepers creepers, you won't listen to it in the same way again is very true & that ending. Which along with the emotion & anguish of what has been seen & what has not does after the dodgy bit before end, make it worth it.Justin Long truelly did get the best bit (without giving it away) & more to the point both leads gave awesome performances to what could have been very dull predictable characters. This is not run of the mill horror or that you get a happy ending, its horror re-made & it is done justifibly well bar the plot line & that the two lead actors were the heart & soul throughout-they stole the show actually.plus the end bit was terrifying for that reason. Not the best, let down in places but this film does have a very dark edge which delivers & the heart felt performances as already mentioned so unbelievably - it does deserve merit more than it has been given & for horror value is worth watching, though from behind a pillow!!

Jeepers Creepers has a lot going for it, and some of its obvious flaws are quite knowing, you feel, without ever being slick. It is obvious that the brother and sister make wrong moves at almost every turn, and that these are not very convincing, but this is part of the effect, offsetting the careful characterisation which comes through the pretty good dialogues. The basic premise is two teenagers trying to avoid some maniac on the loose, driving around in a very stylish old Cadillac with a faulty gearstick that makes a speedy getaway not an option. If the gore factor is not too much to the fore, this is no bad thing - it is quite frightening enough. Tension is what you feel above all, and a certain bizarre tone that takes in various undercurrents that are interesting to watch out for - if you were scared witless, they would go by the board. The director Victor Salva has a distinctive way of shooting and gets a lot of different notes into his scenes, including a certain tenderness and feeling of intimacy for his characters, even if they have a brattish side as well. It is very well poised. This is much to be preferred, I think, to the all-out disgust of other horror films where the sheer sadism overrides imagination and genuine surprises. Jeepers Creepers certainly packs those in, often at key points when you least expect them. Gina Philips and Justin Long are very good in the leads, and it is good to see Eileen Brennan pop up after her moving performance in The Last Picture Show decades before.

Liked the storyline and good cast

As horrors go this one is right up there. Slick direction and convincing acting from the two young leads. Casting was excellent. I especially liked Patricia Belcher as the psychic who I felt stole every scene she was in. This film is clever in that it hops from one scene to another not overstaying and not involving other actors, other than long and Phillips, for long periods. This made it feel like you were moving along with the brother and sister through the story without interruption. The only fault for me, and it's such a minor one, was when either of them told the other to 'get out of there' they didn't and just stood there mesmerised - that happened too often for me - but that is really picking fleas - it was a great film, one of the best that I've seen of it's type. Well worth the 5 stars.