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Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: June 14th, 2016.
Director: Victor Salva
Cast: Ray Wise, Nicki Aycox, Eric Nenninger, Jonathan Breck
Year: 2003
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The Movie:
Made two years after the original Jeepers Creepers proved to be a substantial hit at the box office, this second film, once again written and directed by Victor Salva, basically picks up where the first one left off. As the Creeper's pre-determined feeding frenzy draws to its end, the monster abducts the youngest son of a tough farmer named Taggart (Ray Wise). Understandably concerned about his boy's well-being, he and his oldest son, Jack Junior (Luke Edwards), to track the thing down and get him back.
Meanwhile, a busload of high school students - some jocks and some cheerleaders mostly - breaks down in the middle of nowhere when a weapon made of bone blows one of the bus's tires. The kids all bicker and fight amongst themselves as the couches in charge of the expedition try to keep it together. But it's all for naught - The Creeper has targeted them and he's going to kill off a whole lot of them.
The two storylines intertwine as the plot progresses, leading to a finale that is as entertaining as it is completely predictable.
Jeepers Creepers 2 is well paced. It's also nicely shot, with some pretty cool Florida locations giving the movie an appropriately swampy atmosphere. The score is good - it heightens the tension and adds to a couple of the film's jump scares, just as it should. The lighting and makeup effects are also solid and the body count is high. It is, when you boil it down, a pretty solid slasher that does what you'd expect it to. Towards the end Salva throws suspenseful horror away in favor of a more action-oriented approach but it does make for a pretty entertaining 'big finish' and it works in the context of the story being told. Yes, there is a lot of homoeroticism worked into the film and, given Salva's sordid past, that's going to rub some folks the wrong way (and quite understandably so) but if you judge the movie based on its own merits, it's pretty entertaining.
This is, however, an imperfect film with most of the imperfections stemming from the fact that not only are most of the students unlikeable, they basically blend together. Once the movie is over you probably won't remember the names of the characters or the actors/actresses who played them. They are the very definition of cannon fodder and while obviously some of them will make it longer into the night than others and therefore get more screen time, they exist in the film only to bring The Creeper into the story and give him something to do. But it works. The Creeper is given stuff to do and he does it. He's a pretty imposing figure, an interesting character, and he's cool looking what with his giant leathery wings and his reptilian face and his dusty old coat. Jonathan Breck plays the part well, throwing his weight around like a good monster should and doing a fine job of terrorizing his completely disposable victims.
Aside from the monster and the kill scenes though, is there anything else to make this stand out? Yes - Ray Wise. If that doesn't sell you, well, you've got some learnin' to do but Ray Wise is a lot of fun here. He does the tough farmer part well, overacting just enough to stand out in a big way and hold his own against the far more visually imposing antagonist. He's also clearly having some fun here, he really gets into the part and he gives it his all.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Jeepers Creepers 2 arrives on Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and framed at 2.37.1 widescreen. The transfer looks to be the same as the past MGM release, but that's not such a bad thing as it looked pretty solid. The film's grain structure remains intact here, there's no evidence of noise reduction or any sort of filtering nor are there any issues with edge enhancement. Some minor print damage shows up here and there but it's not a big deal and the color reproduction is handled well here, though it should be noted that the movie is quite dark and relies on a lot of drab looking earth tones, so it never really pops the way a more colorful film would. Skin tones look pretty natural, black levels are good and detail and texture consistently surpass what DVD could ever offer, even if some shots look better than others from time to time.
The main option on this disc is an English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix with subtitles provided in English. Surrounds are used well here, and quite frequently, to offer up some fun jump scares. Bass response is very strong but never quite buries the dialogue and the sound effects are mixed in nicely. There are no problems with any hiss or distortion and the score sounds good, its spread out very effectively into the surround channels at a few key points to nice effect. This is a pretty solid mix, overall, with some nice directional effects and strong range. A DTS-HD 2.0 track is also provided.
Extras for the first disc in this two disc set are really just a pair of commentary tracks, the first of which is from Salva who is joined by cast members Eric Nenninger, Josh Hammond, Nicki Lynn Aycox, Marieh Delfino, Garikayi Mutambirwa, and Shaun Fleming. The second commentary comes courtesy of actor Jonathan Breck, production illustrator Brad Parker and special effects artist Brian Penikas. Both of these were included on the 2003 special edition DVD release so they'll be familiar to those who have gone through the extras on that disc, but if you want to know more about the film, this is a good way to do just that. The first track covers Salva's directing and the various experiences of the cast members while the second track is a bit more technical, covering the makeup, bringing the Creeper to life and more.
Disc two has a new twenty-two minute featurette called Jeepers Creepers 2: Then And Now which gathers up Salva and with director of photography Don FauntLeRoy, editor Ed Marx and actor Tom Tarantini to share some stories from the trenches. It covers some of the same ground as the commentary but getting Tarantini, Marx and FauntLeRoy involved interviewed on camera ensures that it will cover enough new, unique ground to please the film's fans. Also new to the disc is a fifteen minute piece called A Father's Revenge which is a pretty interesting interview with actor Ray Wise about how he wound up in the film, his thoughts on the picture, his experiences on set and a fair bit more. A third new featurette appears in the twenty-minute Don't Get Off The Bus wherein cast members Tom Tarantini, Thom Gossom Jr., and Diane Delano add some more input into what it was like working in front of the camera on this film.
Also carried over from the special edition DVD release are the twenty-six minute long A Day In Hell featurette and the forty-minute long Lights, Camera, Creeper: The Making Of Jeepers Creepers 2 piece. The first is a look at what it was like on set complete with some behind the scenes footage, the second a featurette made up of interviews with Salva, cast members Travis Schiffner, Josh Hammond, Billy Aaron Brown, Eric Nenninger and Nicki Aycox, director of photography Don FauntLeRoy, and a few others. It's broken up into four parts - Lights Camera Creeper, Creeper Creation, Creeper Composer and Digital Effects.
Rounding out the extras are some storyboard versions of two sevens that were never shot, sixteen minutes of deleted scenes from the feature, a pretty massive still gallery, a theatrical trailer, menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Jeepers Creepers 2 is a pretty entertaining follow up to the first one. It doesn't always break a lot of new ground but it hits most of the right stalk and slash notes at the right time. If you're able to separate the art from the artist and movie Salva's personal history out of the picture, you can have some fun with this and Shout! Factory's Blu-ray presents the film in nice shape and with a lot of extra features as well.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
