Have no illusions: this movie is crap.
I don’t want any emails telling me “I rented this because of what you wrote, but I hated it,” so I’m warning you now.
This movie is crap.
A sequel done by the same writer and director as the original (reviewed here last June), Jeepers Creepers 2 manages to sink to depths not remotely hinted at in the original, to jump genres completely, and yet maintain the goofily entertaining feel of a drive–in flick.
The original was a fairly well–done horror movie, which stumbled quite a bit in the second act, but made up for it with a strong opening and a strong finish.
The sequel is an action–thriller, not so well–done. The model, unfortunately, is Jaws, the script’s serious devotion to which seriously undermines its own strengths.
Instead of a boat, the action here centers around a school bus. Instead of the dread of not knowing what is underwater, we have the dread of not knowing what’s in the cornfield. Well, that and the night sky. Instead of a speargun and yellow bobble–floats, we’ve got a truck–mounted post–driver.
Instead of Robert Shaw as Quint, we’ve got Leland Palmer as Quint Taggart.
After the Creeper, the monster from the first film, which does not creep but rather flies on bat–like wings, steals away a farmer’s young boy, we are introduced to a schoolbus full of bad cliches, badly acted. The track team, all eight of them, along with two coaches, three cheerleaders (do track teams really have cheerleaders? If so, do they really only get three?), and the driver, are headed home from a state championship they have won.
The bus is so far out in the middle of nowhere that the only radio station they can receive is K–PLOT, which dutifully informs all and sundry of the events of part one. It adds details that a) could never be discovered in the circumstances (or perhaps wooden teeth could survive a fire?), b) would have taken longer to lead to the conclusions reached than the two days permitted, and c) would not have been divulged to the media by the police, anyhow, until the killer was caught.
Then, of course, the Creeper attacks the bus.
Even by the standards of Bad Movie Land, this is when things get screwy.
For instance, a human–sized creature which is able to fly with Batman–sized wings? Okay, that’s Bad Movie Land standard. A human–sized creature which is able to fly with Batman–sized wings and lift a school bus??? Screwy.
A monster that “eats” body parts to replace his own? Bad Movie Land standard. One that does this with an entire head? Screwy.
A brooding middle–aged widower haunted by the death of his son who plans an Ahab–like revenge? Bad Movie Land standard. One who goes from the seven stages of grief to “harpoon that sucker” in less than 36 hours? Screwy.
But wait! There’s more!
In my review of the first, I noted some disturbing fetishization which seemed to tie into director Victor Salva’s known criminal history. Here, it’s not hidden, it’s blatant.
I have never seen so many young men go shirtless for no reason at all. And when four or five of them go out to take a leak in a farm field, they stay together and line up shoulder to shoulder.
No. Freaking. Way.
Further, we have the return of unnecessary psychic abilities, this time conferred upon one of the cheerleaders. Actually, we should not call them psychic abilities, they are merely Plot Expository Abilities, or PEAs.
This movie is bad, bad, bad.
But drat it, I had a bit of fun watching it.