As
someone who really liked the original JEEPERS CREEPERS because of
the film’s sense of originality and the fact that it did not fall victim
to the creative "pack mentality" concerning the current cycle of
horror movies, I was delighted when JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 ($30) maintained
that sense of originality by not turning out to be just a retread of the
first film. While JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 is a continuation of the story
that was set up in the original, the storytelling differences between the
two are akin to those of the original ALIEN and its follow-up ALIENS-
not that I am trying to draw any type of comparisons in anything other
than the fact that both sequels tend to rev up the action over their
predecessors. Where the original JEEPERS CREEPERS was a small and
intimate horror outing with a handful of characters, JEEPERS CREEPERS 2
is bigger, more populated and packs a bit more firepower. With that said, JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 still isn’t great cinema, but it certainly proves to be a
rather enjoyable "B" monster movie.
The
plot of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 picks up the story one day after the
events depicted in the first go round. However, instead of two
protagonists, JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 features a busload of high school
students returning home from "the big game." On a lonely stretch
of highway, out in the middle of nowhere- the bus gets a flat tire. Unable
to contact anyone either by radio or cell phone, the bus driver decides to
try and limp home on the remaining tires. As you might expect, the bus
doesn’t get very far before suffering a second flat tire that completely
disables the vehicle. Also falling into the "completely
expected" department is the fact that the adult characters are the
first ones that are picked off by the mysterious Creeper, leaving the
busload of jocks and cheerleader types to fend for themselves against a
seemingly unstoppable monster. The cast of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2
features Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Garikayi Mutambirwa, Eric Nenninger,
Nicki Aycox, Travis Schiffner, Lena Cardwell, Billy Aaron Brown, Marieh
Delfino and Diane Delano.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 available on DVD in
a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 is a very good-looking horror
movie, with the truly fine transfer bringing out the beauty of the film’s
cinematography. Much of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 takes place on a
deserted country road at night, yet the image is always brimming with
detail. Of course, this may have something to do with the fact that the
movie has been exceedingly well lit. As for the daylight sequences, they
appear very crisp and highly defined. Colors are vibrant, while the flesh
tones come across in a highly appealing manner. There isn’t a bit of
chroma noise of smearing to mar the excellent color reproduction. Blacks
are always inky, whites are pure and contrast is uniformly excellent. The
film element used for the transfer appears virtually pristine, with almost
no appreciable grain. Digital compression artifacts generally remain in
check.
JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 comes with a really terrific Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack. The sound design is highly aggressive, which makes excellent
use of all the discrete channels, with the surround channels getting a
full workout for both atmospheric sounds and active effects. Sounds pan
through the soundstage in a very convincing manner, which helps to
maintain cohesive sonic environments. Dialogue is crisply reproduced and
always completely understandable. Fidelity is especially good for Bennett
Salvay’s driving action/horror score, which is rendered with a
full-bodied musical quality. The bass channel proves to be very strong,
with impacts that can be felt, in addition to being heard. French and
Spanish surround tracks are also provided on the DVD, in addition to
English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a nice complement of supplements. JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 includes two running audio commentary tracks; the first is
with director Victor Salva and actors Eric Nenninger, Josh Hammond, Nicki
Lynn Aycox, Marieh Delfino, Garikayi Mutambirwa and Shaun Flemming, while
the second features actor Jonathan Breck (the Creeper), as well as
storyboard artist Brad Parker and makeup artist Brian Penikas. Both tracks
have their strong points with the first having the most entertainment
value and the second focusing on bringing the Creeper to life.
Lights,
Action, Creeper: The Making of Jeepers Creepers 2 is an
interesting forty-minute program that has been broken into four parts,
which cover conceptualization and story, cast, music and visual effects. A
Day in Hell runs twenty-six minutes and follows director Victor
Salva during a very long day on the set of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2, with
the program showing all the hard work that goes into the making of a
movie. There are slightly less than twenty minutes of deleted scenes
included on the DVD, which can be viewed together or individually. The
Creeper’s Lair and Ventriloquist Creeper are two
un-filmed sequences that are presented through a series of storyboards.
Two photo galleries, a theatrical trailer and bonus trailers close out the
supplements.
JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 is an enjoyable little monster movie sequel that benefits
from not being the expected regurgitation of the first film. As for the
DVD, it looks and sounds terrific, so if you are a genre movie fan, you
really can’t go wrong by picking up this disc.
As
someone who really liked the original JEEPERS CREEPERS because of
the film’s sense of originality and the fact that it did not fall victim
to the creative "pack mentality" concerning the current cycle of
horror movies, I was delighted when JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 ($30) maintained
that sense of originality by not turning out to be just a retread of the
first film. While JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 is a continuation of the story
that was set up in the original, the storytelling differences between the
two are akin to those of the original ALIEN and its follow-up ALIENS-
not that I am trying to draw any type of comparisons in anything other
than the fact that both sequels tend to rev up the action over their
predecessors. Where the original JEEPERS CREEPERS was a small and
intimate horror outing with a handful of characters, JEEPERS CREEPERS 2
is bigger, more populated and packs a bit more firepower. With that said, JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 still isn’t great cinema, but it certainly proves to be a
rather enjoyable "B" monster movie.
The
plot of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 picks up the story one day after the
events depicted in the first go round. However, instead of two
protagonists, JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 features a busload of high school
students returning home from "the big game." On a lonely stretch
of highway, out in the middle of nowhere- the bus gets a flat tire. Unable
to contact anyone either by radio or cell phone, the bus driver decides to
try and limp home on the remaining tires. As you might expect, the bus
doesn’t get very far before suffering a second flat tire that completely
disables the vehicle. Also falling into the "completely
expected" department is the fact that the adult characters are the
first ones that are picked off by the mysterious Creeper, leaving the
busload of jocks and cheerleader types to fend for themselves against a
seemingly unstoppable monster. The cast of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2
features Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Garikayi Mutambirwa, Eric Nenninger,
Nicki Aycox, Travis Schiffner, Lena Cardwell, Billy Aaron Brown, Marieh
Delfino and Diane Delano.
MGM
Home Entertainment has made JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 available on DVD in
a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback on
16:9 displays. JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 is a very good-looking horror
movie, with the truly fine transfer bringing out the beauty of the film’s
cinematography. Much of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 takes place on a
deserted country road at night, yet the image is always brimming with
detail. Of course, this may have something to do with the fact that the
movie has been exceedingly well lit. As for the daylight sequences, they
appear very crisp and highly defined. Colors are vibrant, while the flesh
tones come across in a highly appealing manner. There isn’t a bit of
chroma noise of smearing to mar the excellent color reproduction. Blacks
are always inky, whites are pure and contrast is uniformly excellent. The
film element used for the transfer appears virtually pristine, with almost
no appreciable grain. Digital compression artifacts generally remain in
check.
JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 comes with a really terrific Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack. The sound design is highly aggressive, which makes excellent
use of all the discrete channels, with the surround channels getting a
full workout for both atmospheric sounds and active effects. Sounds pan
through the soundstage in a very convincing manner, which helps to
maintain cohesive sonic environments. Dialogue is crisply reproduced and
always completely understandable. Fidelity is especially good for Bennett
Salvay’s driving action/horror score, which is rendered with a
full-bodied musical quality. The bass channel proves to be very strong,
with impacts that can be felt, in addition to being heard. French and
Spanish surround tracks are also provided on the DVD, in addition to
English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a nice complement of supplements. JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 includes two running audio commentary tracks; the first is
with director Victor Salva and actors Eric Nenninger, Josh Hammond, Nicki
Lynn Aycox, Marieh Delfino, Garikayi Mutambirwa and Shaun Flemming, while
the second features actor Jonathan Breck (the Creeper), as well as
storyboard artist Brad Parker and makeup artist Brian Penikas. Both tracks
have their strong points with the first having the most entertainment
value and the second focusing on bringing the Creeper to life.
Lights,
Action, Creeper: The Making of Jeepers Creepers 2 is an
interesting forty-minute program that has been broken into four parts,
which cover conceptualization and story, cast, music and visual effects. A
Day in Hell runs twenty-six minutes and follows director Victor
Salva during a very long day on the set of JEEPERS CREEPERS 2, with
the program showing all the hard work that goes into the making of a
movie. There are slightly less than twenty minutes of deleted scenes
included on the DVD, which can be viewed together or individually. The
Creeper’s Lair and Ventriloquist Creeper are two
un-filmed sequences that are presented through a series of storyboards.
Two photo galleries, a theatrical trailer and bonus trailers close out the
supplements.
JEEPERS
CREEPERS 2 is an enjoyable little monster movie sequel that benefits
from not being the expected regurgitation of the first film. As for the
DVD, it looks and sounds terrific, so if you are a genre movie fan, you
really can’t go wrong by picking up this disc.
