Jeepers Creepers

*Warning - Although every effort has been made to not give away any of the plot, there may be parts of this review that give away minor elements. There are many people (myself included) that don't read the case of a DVD prior to viewing. There is nothing contained in the review that is not given away on the case but this warning should give you the choice. Enjoy.

Brother and sister Darry (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Phillips) are heading home from college along a very remote highway in Florida for Spring break. They haven't seen a car for days until they are nearly run off the road by a very scary looking van, so scary in fact that it bears a striking resemblance to the truck used in Duel. They realise then that the locals are a little bit strange. A short time later they see the van at an abandoned church, the driver of the van, a scary looking man in a long black trenchcoat, is unloading what appears to be bodies and dumping them down a pipe. They continue on their journey and after some deliberation, decide to go back and investigate, just in case someone there may need help. Once there, they discover their worst fears are true and decide to go and get help, the problem is where will they find it in the middle of nowhere?

"Jeepers Creepers, where did you get those peepers?"

They finally find a diner and ask for help from the local police. While at the diner they also get a phone call from a psychic, obviously a good one because she knew they were there. The psychic tells them of what they have discovered at the church and that the killer is now pursuing them. This is not your average killer though, this is the Creeper and he can smell what he needs from his victims. Once he has their scent, he is relentless in his pursuit. He needs parts from each victim to regenerate himself, lungs to breathe, tongue to taste and eyes to see.

"What's eating you?"

Although this is in the same genre as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, it stands up very well. Yes it is another teen horror movie, but it offers a lot more, going more for the scare factor rather than the humour factor. With Francis Ford Coppola producing and Victor Salva directing, the quality is excellent. The cast is surprisingly good and shows some actual talent, those that don't get slaughtered within five minutes of appearing anyway. The two leading characters seem very annoying at first, but fit their roles very well and show a great acting ability. I usually judge a horror movie by its "jump factor" and this one made me jump quite a few times, some are predictable but others are not. It is full of "don't go in there!" moments, but as one of the characters states, they always do the stupid things in the movies and end up dead. There are also the predictable stalling car and running into dead ends incidents, but these add to the tension. It is hard to not give too much away of this well made, fast paced film but the thing that I did like is that they keep you guessing about the Creeper until late in the film. Don't watch it alone!

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and 16x9 enhanced, the picture is sharp, for the most part. There is occasional grain but nothing too drastic. Colours are very good with only slight oversaturation, generally during daytime scenes. Night scenes are very good and demonstrate the very deep blacks, while shadow detail is also generally good and aliasing is minimal. There are occasional artefacts, but none are major and they cause no problems. Subtitles supplied are in English for the hearing impaired and are true to the script. The layer change occurs at 47:31 during a black screen and is not intrusive.

Audio supplied is Dolby Digital 5,1 and DTS 5.1 Surround. There is not a lot to choose between the two, while the DTS gives a slightly fuller sound and better separation, both are good. Dialogue is clear and kept predominantly on the centre speaker. Audio sync is generally good, there's only the odd occasion when it seemed to be slightly out. The music score does a great job and doesn't take over the scene as some films tend to. Separation is not excessive, but is used well, with the side and rear speakers used to good effect for directional sound. The subwoofer gets quite a bit of use for the sound effects and to emphasise the music. Overall a very nice and adequate soundtrack.

The animated menu is very nice on this disc and my mention of that should give you an idea of how lacking this DVD is in the extras department. There is the standard scene selection and a Theatrical Trailer. The trailer is in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. Perhaps there is an intention of releasing a special edition at a later stage, because the overseas release of this DVD has many extra features.

Overall this is a very well made horror teen movie. The video and audio are excellent and the story, although a little predictable, does what it is supposed to do. Watch this one alone at your own risk. The extras are a little scarce, but this DVD is well worth a look anyway. Fans of this genre should be more than satisfied. Jeepers Creepers 2 is already in production so be sure to catch this one to build up your appetite.