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| 8/30/2003 |
| Jeepers Creepers II: Better than Ezra |
A Movie Review
by Wes Bennett
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As a villain “The Creeper” is pretty lame compared to Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers or even Chucky. And more confusing than the other four because we don’t actually know what he is. All we know is that he inexplicably feasts for 23 days in the spring of every 23rd year. (I have no idea if this is supposed to be a sly tribute to Michael Jordan).
Coming into the film I was expecting the worst. As in “Dumb and Dumberer” I was only hoping for at least a mildly entertaining 20 minutes before it started to sour. I waited and waited and then halfway through to my shock, I realized the unthinkable: not only was it not bad, I was actually enjoying myself.
The movie starts up a few days after the original, finding the Creeper on it’s last day of feeding. The Creeper has flattened the tires of a bus carrying the state basketball champions and a handful of cheerleaders. As night falls, the Creeper viciously kills the teammates, one by one. As they learn more about the Creeper, they discover they must all attempt to work together if they want to survive the night.
There's also a back-story involving the payback-seeking father of the boy the Creeper killed in the opening scene. Played by Ray Wise, his vengeance obsessed father ranks as the greatest effort in a horror film since Corey Feldman’s battle against Jason in “Friday the 13th part IV.”
The original “Jeepers Creepers” lasted about 30 minutes before it deteriorated into a completely ridiculous film. Once the Creeper showed himself along with the “rules" of the premise, everything became very silly.
With the sequel, writer- director Victor Salva focuses less on horror and aims more for a more straight ahead action film. Armed with a budget of $25 million, more than twice that of the first film, Salva is able to present the Creeper as a more menacing figure. Thanks to potent makeup and slithery sound effects, he doesn't lose impact when exposed. He only gets more creepy and belligerent.
As a director, Salva shows skill by establishing a mood through compositions that keep us slightly off balance. There are long shots that emphasize the space around people and thus their vulnerability and tight shots with a short depth of field that make us worry about what's outside our line of vision and might come flying out from the background.
The film is not without it’s shortcomings. The legend behind the Creeper is never explained. What is he and where is his old-school truck that he drove in the original? The dialogue is nearly always terrible and the majority of the characters are extremely thin.
The legend of the Creeper is partially explained by a cheerleader on the bus when she has a mysterious vision in her sleep. This seems to be just a convenient plot device preventing a more creative way the athletes could have discovered the Creeper mythology.
There’s a strange dynamic between the members of the team. There is a lot of racial tension and conflict for a group that supposedly just won the state title.
Despite one of the leading male’s homophobia, the movie has a slightly unusual interest in the male physique, and it's weird how many of the guys walk around bare-chested. At one point, when four of the guys go outside to urinate, they line up shoulder to shoulder, which is odd since they are in a very large field.
These oddities took on a darker undercurrent when I found out that Salva was convicted of having oral sex with a twelve year old boy which he videotaped on the set of his 1988 film “Clownhouse.” He later served a 15 month prison sentence. Considering the conviction, these aspects of the film are at the very least inappropriate if not some kind of bizarre commentary by Salva.
Despite these undercurrents, I was extremely impressed at how many plot twists and interesting scenarios were introduced into such a simple premise. There were undeniably some engaging sequences, that were much more suspenseful than the more comedic “Freddy vs. Jason.” Of course it’s far from a great film, but I thought it was surprisingly entertaining for what appeared to be a cinematic debacle.
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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