[7]

Jeepers Creepers begins with a Spielbergesque road ‘Duel‘, and then evolves into a disturbing mystery. Justin Long and Gina Philips give solid performances playing a brother and sister who unwittingly fall prey to the ‘Creeper’, director Victor Salva’s stab at incarnating the boogey man. While the Creeper is kept in shadow, the movie is really good. I especially love how the horror unravels when the siblings find the creature’s lair under an old church. But after about forty minutes, Salva shows and tells too much and lets all the air out of the bag. It’s still a good horror movie; it just peaks early. It’s very stylish and expertly directed, and does a good job maintaining an inescapable sense of dread. However uneven it may be, parts of Jeepers Creepers genuinely haunt me. With a cameo appearance by Eileen Brennan.