Analysis
"This is the most scary, stylish horror movie I've seen in years" is what Clive Barker said when he saw this film for the first time. This is indeed high praise which could be the reason that Jeepers Creepers hit the top ten in the US. Praise from such a big genre name always leaves me a little suspicious, especially when it is plastered all over the promotion material, but an open mind is the only fair way to go.
I managed to catch this movie in Manchester (UK) with a couple of colleagues who admit that horror is not their first choice of film genre, so I was hoping that this might be outstanding enough to convert them to the dark side. Did it ? are they now evil, disturbed monsters ?......well keep on reading to find out.

The first noticeable and unfortunate criticism I had was that for a horror flick, it started very heavy on the dialogue. Plot is great and gives a film purpose, so a little scene setting never goes a miss, but at the end of this film you really get the feeling that the first 10 minutes of chatter between brother and sister is just not justified. Any how, on with the show. Things got hotter as the Creeper showed up in his van, causing all manner of vehicular mayhem and thanks to what must rank as one of movie histories most stupid decisions, the dim brother ends up stuck in a church basement (just how does he get out anyway?). It is here that the film shows some of it's true genre grit, a massive dollop of atmosphere. Not wanting to have the words SPOILER, plastered all over this review, all I will say is that I genuinely felt a knot in my stomach as Darius investigated the Creepers lair. Likewise the Police station scenes, filled with dark corridors and claustrophobic camera work, were extremely enjoyable. In fact this particular part of the movie, for me, was the crescendo of the piece, involving several good gory moments and lots of action.
The movies title, referring to an old song from the 70's, seems an obvious excuse to match the words 'jeepers creepers, where did you get those peepers', with the rather poor ending. An ending that, while we are on the subject, disappointed me a great deal. Again, I don't want to spoil the story, but could they have made the ending any more sequel friendly. People like closure to their films and this movie left me feeling a little cheated.
The film does have some good stand out scenes that include the 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' style antics of the Creeper as he gracefully avoids becoming road kill in the hands of the petrified Patricia Jenner, and the ear splitting Creeper scream that accompanies the full exposure of the monster facial effects.

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action		Action ahoy!! Plenty of vehicle mayhem involving the creepers van. A fantastic action packed 15 minutes in the police station that reminded me of a similar scene from the first Terminator movie. Great stuff.
Thrills/ Tension		A lot of 'sudden fright' moments brought about by the gradual build-up of tension. These work effectively and keep the audience relatively thrilled. A very atmospheric scene involves the discovery of the creepers lair and how he likes to decorate the place. Fenshui it is not.
Violence/ Gore		A steady flow of crimson ensures that the blood thirsty amongst us are mildly amused. Decapitation, heart ripping's and eye popping are the order of the day. The Creeper does a great job at french kissing a police officer, but I'm not sure he enjoyed it as much.
Bare Flesh	None	Moldy, dead bodies on the walls do not count.
Plot		Started strong but ran low on steam after about 45 minutes. The blatant 'sequel' ending was a cheap shot that let's it's fans down.

Verdict A good film, bad film moment coming on. As a Saturday night flick, you can't go far wrong with this film, it has good action, high tension in places and interesting enough SFX. But don't watch it too closely as you might start asking yourself whether the plot should have been a little stronger. The set piece scene 'knitting' that loosely binds the story leaves a slight whiff of plop in the air. Go and see Jeepers Creepers for no other reason that it's good fun, but don't expect it to change your life, cause it won't. Oh, by the way, if you are wondering if my pals are now converted horror freaks, .the answer is........NO. Freaks....YES, horror fans.....NO. They thought it was pants. Maybe next time Mr Salva.

Original and enjoyable story. Let down by minor gripes.