Review by Kelly Parks

JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 (2003) Zoetrope / UA / MGM Rated: USA: R

Sequels. Always a crapshoot. Sometimes they’re better than the original (ALIENS, TERMINATOR 2, SPECIES 2, PREDATOR 2 – yes, that’s right, PREDATOR 2) but usually not. Usually way not. And given that the first JEEPERS CREEPERS movie was kinda cool in places but just okay overall and that the same guy is at the helm for this one, my expectations were set on low. Or have I said too much?

JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 was written and directed by Victor Salva (CLOWNHOUSE, POWDER, JEEPERS CREEPERS). In case you missed the first movie and the TV ads allow me to illuminate. This is your basic monster movie. The monster here is called the Creeper (Jonathan Breck: SPIDERS, JEEPERS CREEPERS) and as monsters go it’s pretty cool. Now exactly what is the Creeper? I have a theory about that which I’ll explain later. All you need to know is that he’s got claws and lots of sharp little teeth and he likes to eat people. He’s apparently been around for a very long time and follows a cycle where he sleeps for 23 years, then wakes up for 23 days and eats his fill of long pig (that’s us) and then goes back to sleep.

The story here is toward the end of the 23 day feast and takes place just days after the events of the first movie.

We see an endless brown and yellow cornfield. A young boy named Billy Taggart (Shaun Flemming) is helping his father, Jack (Ray Wise: ROBOCOP, POWDER, RISING SUN, TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME) and his older brother, Jack, Jr. (Luke Edwards) on the farm. Salva has a keen eye for the love/hate relationships between siblings as they trade over-the-top insults.

We cut to a school bus full of high school jocks, returning home from the big game. Notable bus passengers include star player Scotty (Eric Nenninger), who is brooding over not playing as much as he'd hoped, other star player Deundre "Double D" Davis (Garikayi Mutambirwa: BONES, CLOCKSTOPPERS), who apparently won the game, cheerleaders Rhonda (Marieh Delfino) and Minxie (Nicki Lynn Aycox), team manager/nerd Bucky (Billy Aaron Brown), the sexually ambiguous Izzy (Travis Schiffner), and a variety of extras. Several adult chaperones provide some good lines but are clearly monster meat and are quickly gone.

A flat tire interrupts the country bus trip. A closer look reveals the flat was caused by some kind of home made throwing star. The star is made of sharpened bone. The creepy weapon and the isolated location make the adults decide to limp along on the flat but not long after the sun goes down another attack flattens another tire. They are stranded.

Before the really bad stuff starts happening the gang hears a radio report on what is clearly the big story of the moment: hundreds of corpses found in a basement lair near the city of Poho. This is the Creeper’s hideout as seen in the first movie. It’s not shown here, just mentioned in passing, but I liked the continuity. In the background we hear how the local cops are frantically investigating this horrific murder scene and many recent abductions and disappearances.

Also along the way, Minxie begins dozing and is visited in her dreams by Darry (Justin Long: JEEPERS CREEPERS), the monster's final victim in the first film. His ghost gives her just enough exposition so that everyone on the bus knows the Creeper wants to eat them, but only certain parts on certain people. A picky eater, apparently.

The realization that the monster only wants a select few of the group on the bus leads to some interesting drama. If they just sacrifice the ones the Creeper wants by tossing them off the bus, the rest will survive.

Meanwhile, the distraught and angry Jack Taggart is trying to come to terms with the disappearance of his son. He decides the only thing that will make him feel better is revenge and goes Creeper hunting. But does he stand a chance against this thing from … where is it from?

From Hell, I’m pretty sure. I won’t be doing any science moment here because this is pure fantasy but I speak that language too and I recognize a demon when I see one. Demons are ethereal beings (it says so in the Dungeons and Dragons manual*) that sometimes take physical form here on our plane of existence. This form is merely a vessel, not a living body, and there are several scenes that make this clear and that reveal how the Creeper maintains this vessel. The other thing about demons is to actually destroy them you have to … but that would be telling.

This is a straight “B” monster movie, but it’s a good one. The monster is scary and cool and very tough but not invulnerable. The flying monster special effects are well done and well thought out. The audience around me laughed (there are lots of funny lines) and screamed where they were supposed to and it was never boring. I give JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 a four on the shriek girl scale.

This review copyright 2003 E.C.McMullen Jr.

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