Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Simply A Masterpiece

As Good As It Gets

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Have you ever met the Boogeyman before? Well, he knows who you are and he is coming for you. Get ready for 90 mins of pure terror as "Jeepers Creepers" scares the hell out of you and lingers in your head afterward. I have never sat through a horror movie that truly scared me to death like this one did and had me shaking in my seat.It's about two siblings, Trish (Gina Phillips) and Darry (Justin Long) who are driving home from college on a desolate road when they are almost run off the road by someone driving a beat-up truck. Further down the road, they see the driver parked outside a church dumping what looks like bodies down a pipe. Darkness falls and the siblings discover they are now the targets of an evil creature that makes them drive for their lives. I actually sat in my seat shaking in fear for most of this picture. That's because the first and second act is the effective build up that descends into your typical road movie where the villain is chasing the characters and the third act is where everything ramps up and doesn't stop. We have seen this setup before, however, this time it's different. Usually, we know everything by the second act and then a monster appears and we walk out of the theater saying "we've seen that before." Well, they keep the villain hidden and in the shadows for most of this picture, which is effective because when you do see his face in the third act, he is terrifying to look at it.There is a lot that makes this film effective but there is some stupidity that will get this film thrown in the can. It opens well enough with the siblings bickering before they're almost run off the road by the old- looking truck. Seriously, if you saw this beat- up truck on the road, you would tramp on the gas and drive. They later spot the driver shoving the bodies down the pipe and the driver sees them and succeeds in running them off the road. Here's where the film takes a stupid turn.They go back and investigate...Now I get why the screenplay did this but anyone in their right mind would drive off and find the cops. One of the kids falls down the pipe and makes a chilly and shocking discovery that really makes you wonder who or what was driving the truck. It also makes you wonder in fear about what you're looking at and it's quite shocking. Because of what we see down in the basement, it adds a mysterious and scary element so I was willing to suspend disbelief to see what happens next.What kept me thrilled about this picture was how menacing the villain is and how relentless he is chasing these two terrified kids and you get the sense that nothing can stop him. They drive off from the church, one of them terrified beyond rational through because of what he has seen. As darkness approaches, the film becomes a spooky joyride and we get closer to seeing what is after them. Not because he knows someone saw his house but because he wants something from one of the kids and we find out later what that is.At the end of the second act, two cops attempt to escort the kids to safety. What's most interesting is how the scene is set up. One of the teens hears a rock version of the "Jeepers Creepers" song on the radio and apparently whenever that song plays, they are in danger. Yeah...okay. The villain lands on top of the cop car and is shown rising from the dashboard pov of the sibling's car out the back window, as they unsuspectingly argue and drive along until a severed head derails their plan for safety. Soon after, someone gets out of the cop car and we see him bite and pull the tongue out of a severed head. Creeped out yet? Wait, how did the villain land on top of the cop car?Justin Long and Gina Phillips work really well together as the terrified siblings and they pull off the characters almost flawless. Where the film hits the guardrail is that we don't find out much about the villain. He is a terror to look at and we want to know what he is but you don't learn anything. We are given a backstory on what he does and why, which is interesting and scary to hear and will have you running for the door, and why he is chasing after the kids, which will have you hiding under your bed but that revelation is used as a set up for a possible "Jeepers Creepers 2." In the third act, the creature storms a police station to get to the teens and even they can't stop him so we have to assume what he is and that is a waste.It's well made for the most part and very effective with thrills and chills but the third act proves to be fatal and somewhat of a let down when evil wins. When you see the creature in all it's glory, as the stupid cops take aim, I was left feeling like the teens as I should be, scared out of my mind. But with the nature of a creature this menacing and not knowing what he is, is a serious let down in the end. We learn and see what he wanted and that he is unspeakably evil but it's not enough when we are given clues and not a proper explanation to an effective and scary thriller that derails in the third act.

The vicious monster debuts in this indie horror classic hunting a brother and sister on a terrifying road trip. Trish (Gina Philips) and Darry (Justin Long) are driving back from college when they are nearly run off the road by a creepy looking truck. The siblings see the strange man later dumping wrapped bodies down a hole near a church. They drive by but the man nearly runs them off the road again. Darry decides that they should go back and find out if anyone needs their help down in the hole despite Trish's misgiving. Darry crawls down thinking he hears voices and sees movement but slips out of Trish's grip when rats come out. Darry finds a house of horror below with dead bodies sewn together in an awful mosaic.The brother and sister speed out of there as fast as they can and make it to a diner where they ask for help. Everyone thinks they're crazy except the payphone suddenly rings. On the other line is Jezelle (Patricia Belcher) who has seen a vision of Darry or Trish suffering under the torture of the Creeper (Jonathan Breck). She warns them that they will hear the 50's song Jeepers Creepers before it attacks. The police show up and they try to explain what they saw to the skeptical officers. The patrons see a strange man sniffing Darry's close in the back of the car but when the cops try to get fingerprints, they only find dead skin. The cops also investigate the strange church near the horror hole but find it on fire.Check out more of this review and others at swilliky.com

Great movie, with a completely new horror character, unimaginable. Keeps the viewer in view from the beginning to the end, with a touch of comedy that does not affect the spirit of the plot. The faces of panic abound in the film with great handling of realism. The make-up of the Creeper is magnificently accomplished. One of the best horror movies of all time.

This is movie is so hilariously bad that i can't help but like it. It has become my favorite unintentional comedy at least i think it's unintentional either way these two college kids use corny lines left and right and do some of the most unbelievable things ever. Hey did you see that i think he threw a body down that hole... lets go check it out oh and i think i'd like it if you dangled me down the edge of this hole so that i can hollar more clearly cuz you know that whole 6 ft might make my hollars more audible to the dead body we think we saw him throw down the hole..... oh just don't drop me...ahhhhhhhh....(of course he fell) are you f'in kidding me right now....holy crap this movie is one of the kings of corny and i don't usually like these kinds of movies in fact the first time i saw it i hated it. I got bored a few years later and ended up wathcing it again and couldn't help but lmao at it. Now i watch about once a year i sometimes skip most of the end for it winds down into a bore fest cause after you know what happens last 20 mins hold little entertainment. This and shock em dead are probably my 2 fav super corny "horror" flicks ever i don't even watch horror movies anymore but this one in particular is just too funny to not rewatch every once in a while.