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Jeepers Creepers 2

By Ellen Fox

Special to the Chicago Tribune

September 20, 2003

1 1/2 stars (out of 4)

The original "Jeepers Creepers" (2001) was about a brother and sister preyed upon by a winged, people-eating, scarecrow-like monster as the siblings drove home from college.

By the end there were as many questions as there were mangled bodies, not least of which was what the Creeper was, what the recurring song "Jeepers Creepers" had to do with anything, and why "every 23 springs, for 23 days, it gets to eat."

With "Jeepers Creepers 2," writer-director Victor Salva had the opportunity to answer some of these questions, or at least to deepen the mystery and anxiety that surrounds them. Instead, this tiresome sequel shows them to be what was originally suspected: arbitrary horror elements that add up to just another disposable creature feature.

The film takes place during the final days of the monster's 23-day feeding period. In a sun-baked field, a blond farm boy is hanging up scarecrows when, to his papa's horror, one of them snatches him away.

The Creeper's back in accursed Poho County, or still around from his first visit - the chronology is unclear. His mask may be a little drippier now (a blend of Freddy Krueger, Swamp Thing and Alien), but he still has the floppy hat, tattered overcoat and bat-like wings.

Cut to a yellow school bus ambling down barren Route 9, packed with the victorious Bannon High Bantams on their way back from a basketball game. A tire blows, and the teammates, cheerleaders and adult chaperones find themselves stranded … and trying to fend off the hungry Creeper.

We spend most of this overlong movie with the bus, watching the kids bicker as they get picked off, and it all feels fairly flat. Whereas the shorter original simply followed two siblings around the sticks (which kept the anxiety more focused), here there are about a dozen trapped teens to bother with. When working with a confined-space plot device, it helps to define what each character's deal is; it not only creates tension, it allows us to tell everyone apart. Unfortunately, the film differentiates between the kids only by way of insult. They pick on each other for being gay or black or wussies or bad psychics. (As in the first film, psychic visions do little to elucidate things.)

Despite valiant efforts from the Bannon High gang, the Creeper still can't be bested, and we still don't know his origins or psychology - which not only would have spiced things up, but could have pointed to some of his weaknesses. Chalk it up to lazy exposition on the film's part.

The only clue to the Creeper's vulnerabilities is that they are inconsistent. He can he take a javelin through the head and drag a pickup truck down the road, but barely put up a fight when one kid finally gets him in a chokehold. Maybe he was getting worn down.

One has to make similar leaps of faith when it comes to original elements that are missing here. Where did the snazzy killer truck go - the truck that the Creeper liked to drive even though it could fly? And its song, the title of the movie? Eh, maybe it's sick of Johnny Mercer.

Horror movies don't have to make sense in the real world, but when you have to help their internal logic along this much, it's pretty much a cue for heckling - or checking your watch.

"Jeepers Creepers 2"
Written and directed by Victor Salva; photographed by Don E. FauntLeRoy; edited by Ed Marx; production designed by Peter Jamison; music by Bennett Salvay; produced by Tom Luse. A United Artists release of an American Zoetrope production; opens Friday, Aug. 29. Running time: 1:46. MPAA rating: R (horror violence, language).
Jack Taggart - Ray Wise
The Creeper - Jonathan Breck
Izzy Bohen - Travis Schiffner
Minxie Hayes - Nicki Aycox
Scott Braddock - Eric Nenninger