Jeepers Creepers DVD Review

"JEEPERS CREEPERS"
Review Written by Alien Redrum
Written and Directed by Victor Salva
2002 - Distributed by MGM Studios
90 Minutes - Rated R

Cast - First Billed Only
Gina Philips as Patricia 'Trish' Jenner
Justin Long as. Darius 'Darry' Jenner
Jonathan Breck as The Creeper/Bald Cop(uncredited)
Patricia Belcher as Jezelle Gay Hartman
Steve Raulerson as Cellblock Officer

The Story:
Trish (Gina Philips) and Darry (Justin Long) are returning home from college for summer vacation. Things seem to be going well until they are run off the road by a sinister looking truck with some weird personalized license plates.
After getting back on the road and calming down some, Trish and Darry drive by an old dilapidated church. The truck that ran them off the road sits in front of this creepy establishement and it's driver is dropping something that looks like a body down a hole.
Of course they turn around to investigate (wouldn't be a horror movie if they didn't) and Darry goes down the hole where the body was dropped. Boy is he in for a surprise!
From here on out, Trish and Darry must get away from The Creeper!

Picture:
The picture quality is a little grainy, but after some investigation it appears that this was intentional on the director's part. The picture is available in both Pan and Scan and 16 x 9 Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio.)

Audio:
The film sounds good. The music doesn't override the dialog and it is a good mix. Mind you, my system is not a 5.1 setup. I'm using the Dolby stereo as a basis. It is offered in Dolby 5.1 Surround (English), Stereo surround (French, Spanish)

Special Features:
This disc is loaded. L-O-A-D-E-D loaded.
Here are the goodies:
* Deleted and extended scenes, including alternate opening and ending sequences.
* Director's audio commentary.
* "Behind the Peepers" - A collection of 6 mini-featurettes on the making of the film.
* Photo Gallery.
* Original theatrical trailer.
Note: "Behind the Peepers" features screen tests for Gina Philips and Justin Long, which were very cool. It also has the creation of "The Creeper". The featurettes are top notch and are what special features are all about.

Alien Redrum's Probing Thoughts:
The first half of this movie is phenomenal. Great story, great acting, great scares. You first see The Creeper in broad daylight (at the church) and it is a goosebump moment. There are some downright freaky parts in the first half.
However, after Darry and Trish show up at the police station it goes downhill. It loses all of the tension that was built up in the first half and becomes a completely different movie. Where the first half was all suspense, the second half is completely void of suspense. Quite a letdown. I would say the first half has the suspense of 'Halloween', while the second half of the movie is more like 'Scream'.
The performances of Gina Philips and Justin Long are great considering that they are fairly new to the scene. You might recognize Justin from 'Galaxy Quest'. Gina has played numerous parts on television, but this is her first major role in a film.
I really liked the fact that there was no love interest in this film. Sometimes it's nice to see a movie where there is not a girl that needs to be rescued. Not only do Gina and Justin do a believeable job of being brother and sister, but Gina's character "Trish" is a stronger character than Justin's "Darry". Trish holds her own against The Creeper very well in a believable way.
The movie could have done better without Patricia Belcher's psychic character "Jezelle". It almost seems that Jezelle was a forced character and her storyline wasn't too impressive. Patricia did a fine job as "Jezelle", but there was really no need for the character in the movie.

Movie - The first half really saves this movie. I cannot speak enough of the first half. 4/5
Video - I'm not going to take away for grain if it was intentional. Other than the grain, the colors are good. 4/5
Sound - No problems on my system. 4/5
Special Features - Top notch special features. 5/5
Overall - A good purchase. I bought this blind and I was impressed. A solid horror film. 4/5