Review of Jeepers Creepers (2001) by Blais E — 14 Mar 2011

A uniquely-interesting, definite breath of fresh air and well-needed respite from the plethora of Z-Grade torture-movie trash ("Wolf Creek", "The Hostel", "Saw" 1-thru 12, ad nauseum.

..) that has clogged the film screens throughout the 2000's. A young brother-&-sister on their way home for Spring Break encounter and are stalked relentlessly by a vicious, flesh-eating creature. Not since 1988's "Pumpkinhead" has such an original, thoughtfully-designed and superbly-created monstrosity come down the well-trodden pike to the delight of us horror-movie fans everywhere.

Basically a character-study between two siblings (Gina Philips and Justin Long), until the ghoulish gargoyle rears its ugly (And hungry-) head, rife with high-octain action and excitement, palpably- unsettling atmosphere, and grisly set-pieces.

The scenes of the demon disposing of its victims' bodies down a huge sewer pipe, its assault on a police precinct, and especially its creeping through a wacky Cat-Lady's (The always-enjoyable Eileen Brennan-) ramshackle house are definite high-points.

Character actress Patricia Belcher almost single-handedly steals the show as heroic psychic Jezelle, who tries to save the teens from their impending doom. The monster is kept in the shadows throughout the majority of the picture, and when one finally gets a good look at the fiendish entity, it is a truly terrifying and other-worldly being, which the viewer could easily believe really exists.

Part of what I feel makes the monster so effective is that as the audience, we are given almost no information as to its origins--is it an alien intelligence, an amalgamation of man & beast, or a supernatural horror from another dimension? My theory is the latter, as it is obviously immortal, and perhaps eons old.

The performances in the film are outstanding, not only by the aforementioned Belcher, but by the two principles as well. They create an authentic brother-sister dynamic, beginning the film with constant bickering and put-downs; but by half-way through, they demonstrate their real love for each other during their frequent run-ins with the murderously-malevolent monster.

You actually care what happens to these two, a definite testament to the leads' acting abilities, as well as the film's success at establishing well-developed, three-dimensional characters.