Rating: R
Starring:
Ray Wise as Taggart
Jonathan Breck as The Creeper
Garikayi Mutambirwa as Deaundre ‘Double D’ Davis
Eric Nenninger as Scott Braddock
Nicki Lynn Aycox as Minxie Hayes
Marieh Delfino as Rhonda Truitt
Diane Delano as Bus Driver Betty
Thom Gossom Jr. as Coach Charlie Hanna
Billy Aaron Brown as Andy ‘Bucky’ Buck
Lena Cardwell as Chelsea Farmer
Al Santos as Dante Belasco
Travis Schiffner as Izzy Bohen
Kasan Butcher as Kimball ‘Big K’ Ward
Josh Hammond as Jake Spencer
Tom Tarantini as Coach Dwayne Barnes
Drew Tyler Bell as Jonny Young
Luke Edwards as Jack Taggart, Jr.
Shaun Flemming as Billy Taggart
Justin Long as Darry Jenner
Special Features:
Deleted Scenes and Moments
Audio Commentary by Director Victor Sala and Cast
Creeper Commentary by Jonathan Breck (The Creeper), Brad Parker (Production Designer), and Brian Penikas (Special Effects Makeup)
A Day In Hell Behind-the-Scenes Documentary
Lights, Camera, Creeper Featurette
Creeper Creation Featurette
Digital Effects by the Orphanage Featurette
Creeper Composer Featurette
The Creepers Lair and Ventriloquist Creeper Storyboard Renditions of Scenes Not Filmed
Two Photo Galleries
Original Theatrical Trailer
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound
English, French, and Spanish Languages
English, Spanish, and French Subtitles
Running Time: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
Synopsis:
This is the sequel to the 2001 horror film Jeepers Creepers.
A few days after the first film, we rejoin the gargoyle-like creature known as The Creeper. Every 23 years he spends 23 days feasting on humans. On the last days of his feast we find him attacking people in a remote part of the country.
His latest target is a busload of high school basketball players returning from winning the state championship. After disabling their bus, the Creeper begins to pick the students and their coaches off one by one. Their only hope may lie with a local farmer hunting the Creeper as revenge for killing his young son.
Jeepers Creepers 2 is rated R for horror violence and language.
The Movie:
Ive got to start out by saying that I never saw Jeepers Creepers and I wasnt expecting very much from its sequel. The title sounded dumb, horror sequels are rarely good, and Im not a big horror buff. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Jeepers Creepers 2. Rather than being subjected to a typical horror gore fest, I ended up getting a 50s style monster movie that I was much more interested in. My expectations were so incredibly low that this movie ended up being a masterpiece compared to what I thought Id be seeing. It was an added bonus that you didnt have to see the first movie to be able to follow the sequel. I think it would have answered a few questions about the creature, but otherwise it didnt take lot of back story to appreciate jocks being eaten by a gargoyle creature. (There are passing references and cameos from the first film.)
Jeepers Creepers 2 reminds me a lot of Jaws 2. Both films featured a pack of isolated teens being picked off one by one by a horrible monster. I like the fact that suspense is used in favor of gore. (There is gore, but not a lot.) Rather than grossing you out, hey keep you on the edge of your seat through good old fashioned scares. The jocks are inevitably picked off in creative ways that impressed me as well. One scene I liked was when a coach holding a road flare suddenly shoots up into the sky in the background as other characters talked. It was nicely done.
The Creeper is shown on screen quite a bit throughout the movie. Whether it is daylight or night, you get to see a lot of him which is unusual for a horror / monster movie. He displays a little bit of personality, but most of the time hes just smashing things up. The effects used to show him flying in pursuit of cars or terrorizing fleeing teens is quite impressive. Its not a technological breakthrough, but it looks cool. The result is some of the more creative monster imagery Ive seen in a while.
The cast is made up entirely of unknown actors and actresses. For many of them this is their first feature role. They play the stereotypical characters pretty well. You have the jock, the cheerleader, the funny black guy, the geek, etc etc etc. While none of them are going to win any Academy Awards for their roles, its still cool see them get their shot at a feature film role.
Jeepers Creepers 2 is filled with plot holes. First of all, any sports team that wins a state championship, no matter how small, is going to be followed by a caravan of parents, fans, and other folks. I cant see any scenario where they would be alone on the road. Second, considering that the creature can lift cars off the road, flip a bus, and other stuff, I didnt quite buy the way he was finally dispatched at the end. Then there are the silly moments where the cheerleader ends up doing the most damage to the Creeper, the decisions to leave the bus, etc. It didnt make a whole lot of sense. But then again, this is a monster horror movie and its not supposed to make a lot of sense.
Overall, Jeepers Creepers 2 ended up being a pleasant surprise and should be enjoyable to anyone that likes a good monster flick.
The Extras:
There are a fair number of extras included on this DVD. Here are the main highlights:
Deleted Scenes and Moments Rather than having a list of deleted scenes to choose from, this is a short video compiling them all together. Some are nothing more than a passing line while others are entire deleted sequences. The most notable deleted moment is during the dream sequence of one of the characters. As she walks through a corn field, she sees dozens of dead soldiers lying on the ground wearing ancient armor. The images on the armor depict them battling the Creeper throughout history. It adds interesting background to the character. Other scenes are better left on the cutting room floor as they make the characters seem even more stupid. One example is a scene where one of the characters panics in the bus because he has nowhere to go to the bathroom. It seems to me that if people are being killed one by one by a monster outside your bus, peeing should be pretty low on your list of priorities.
Audio Commentary by Director Victor Sala and Cast This commentary is unique in the fact that a huge number of people take part in it. Almost all of the young cast contributes to it as one point or another. Each of them discusses memories from the shoot while Sala guides them along in the discussion. He also gives details about the filming, plot, and more. If youre going to listen to a commentary on the DVD, this is the one youll want to hear.
Creeper Commentary by Jonathan Breck (The Creeper), Brad Parker (Production Designer), and Brian Penikas (Special Effects Makeup) This commentary is much more geared towards the effects, stunts, and Creeper than the other one. While they do talk a lot about the creation and background of the monster, they also frequently kick back and enjoy their handiwork. They have interesting things to say but the other commentary is more entertaining.
A Day In Hell Behind-the-Scenes Documentary In this feature a camera crew follows director Victor Salva around the set for a day. Its an interesting look at the tedious filmmaking process. You get to see the technical side of things, preparations for scenes, effects setups, and more. Its rather unglamorous, but still a lot of fun to see.
Lights, Camera, Creeper Featurette This is your typical making of feature with behind the scenes footage, interviews with cast and crew, and more. Director Victor Salva talks about writing the story, rounding up the cast, and other aspects of making the movie. He also discusses the challenges of creating a sequel.
Creeper Creation Featurette This extra shows the creation and evolution of the monster through the two films. Its interesting to see his transformation from 2-D drawing to live action makeup.
Digital Effects by the Orphanage Featurette This featurette is a montage of clips of the effects. They are shown in rough wireframe format and then each subsequent layer until the final version. It gives you more appreciation for the effects even though they arent particularly complex.
Creeper Composer Featurette Surprisingly, this is one of the longest extra features on the DVD. We get to meet the composer and see the recording sessions for the film score. Victor Salva even appears to interview the composer. It makes you appreciate the score a bit more.
The Creepers Lair and Ventriloquist Creeper Storyboard Renditions of Scenes Not Filmed Two scenes from the story were cut before the movie was filmed. They are included here in storyboard form for your enjoyment. The first is a long sequence where four of the remaining kids stumble upon the Creepers lair within an old military base. They find a pile of bodies, a couple of their missing buddies, then the Creeper himself. The second scene is extremely brief and shows the Creeper manipulating the dead body of the coach as if he were a ventriloquist dummy. This scene was dropped because they didnt want to show the Creeper speaking yet.
I have to mention that the menus on the DVD are a mixed bag. On the one hand, they show footage of the Creeper filmed specifically for the DVD menus. Hes shown breaking glass, terrorizing victims, and more. On the other hand, the menu listings are things like Dessert, Screams, and other abstract things that dont really tell you what the item is. It made it hard to navigate.
The Bottom Line:
Jeepers Creepers 2 is a fun monster movie that is a lot better than you might expect. Its at least worth checking out once and you dont need to see the first film to appreciate it.
