Jeepers Creepers may not be the best monster flick ever made, but it is a fun movie that's more than just a wannabe imitator of the Universal Studios monster movies of the 1930s. While director/writer Victor Salva obviously takes influences from these old classics, he does it in a way that mostly works. Admittedly, the best parts of Jeepers Creepers happen before the film begins to move toward its climax, which is actually the opposite of what a climax is supposed to be. The later scenes, which take place in a police station, don't fit as well with the rest of the film and seem like they belong to another movie, but of the whole this is a horror film that doesn't disappoint.
Jeepers Creepers suffers a great deal because of the director's past. During the filming of director/writer Victor Salva's film debut, 1989's home invasion film Clownhouse, he was charged and plead no contest to sexually molesting the film's 12 year-old lead Nathan Forrest Winters. Salva went to prison for 15 months and his name would forever be tarnished in the movie business. Many viewers refuse to watch any of his films and many studios and filmmakers refuse to work with him. On top of that, since he is a registered sex offender he is not allowed to work with anyone under the age of 18. So, if the film's script contains a child's role an adult has to play it. As such, it isn't likely that any film he makes will be anything more than a low budget, potential cult hit at best. Still, as far as cult hits go, Jeepers Creepers is the cherry on that cake.
Despite the director's past, the film, (released in early September of 2001) did quite well for itself by garnering $59 million in profit and breaking the record for highest grossing film ever of any Labor Day weekend. This record was later taken by the film's sequel in September of 2003. Despite the controversy surrounding the director, Jeepers Creepers has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it at a drive in when I was 13 years old. Perhaps my enjoyment of this film is more connected to that memory than anything else because, while the movie can be fun to watch, it isn't an overall great film.
Scream! Factory (a sub-sect of Shout! Factory that deals exclusively in horror films) released this film on a 2 disc collector's edition Blu-ray in the summer of 2016. Now, I have owned every release of this film, VHS, DVD, and the original Blu-ray released by MGM in 2012, and I have to say that this release from Scream! Factory is by far the best all around. The original MGM Blu-ray release had some serious issues that made the upgrade pretty much unnecessary. The most glaring of these problems was that the 2012 MGM release's picture quality was so washed out that it sometimes looked as though we were watching the film play out in sand. Details were completely lost, colors were bland, and in all honesty I believe that the VHS release looked better in comparison. So, when I heard that Scream! Factory was planning to release this film on Blu-ray I knew that I had to see it, and I'm glad I did. The 2016 Scream! Factory release fixes the picture quality issues that were presented on the original 2012 release, giving us a clear picture that looks astounding most of the time. The film is inherently grainy and soft because of its low budget, but Scream! Factory brings it to life with strong colors, an extremely clear and detailed image, and a faithful representation of the director's intended vision. If I were to do a review on the original 2012 Blu-ray release, the video quality would have gotten a resounding 1 out of 5 score from me, but this new release from Scream! Factory gets a 4.5 out of 5 score because it is so clean, especially in comparison, and it is doubtful that the film will ever look any better. For this film to even get a special edition release is a marvel in and of itself.
Scream! Factory released Jeepers Creepers to Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 channel audio track that is simply fantastic. Given the style of this film and low budget nature, I always assumed that some of the dialog would always be lost from the audience's ears, but Scream! Factory has proven me wrong. Even in faraway shots, the dialog is clear and understandable, the atmospheric soundscape is crystalline, and the roars and screeching honks from that hideous brown truck The Creeper uses to scare the two siblings in the beginning of the film are startling and loud. Overall, I don't think Jeepers Creepers could sound better and the audio track from this Scream! Factory release gets a solid 5 out of 5 rating.
Jeepers Creepers has had a profusion of special features in nearly all its releases to home video, but Scream! Factory has increased this and created a second Blu-ray disc just to hold all the special features offered on this release. The majority of these special features are originals from the film's initial DVD release back in early 2002, but there are some new goodies to check out that are exclusive to this release. A new audio commentary with the director and stars is an added bonus that won't disappoint if you're one for listening to these types of special features. Also, there is a retrospective featurette that looks back on the film with the crew who created it and two career featurettes for Barry Opper, the producer, and Patricia Belcher, the actress who played the psychic in the film. Some of these are a bit superfluous in nature, but at least this release sees a few extras that other releases didn't offer. Overall, I'd give the special features a 4 out of 5 rating.
Of the whole, Jeepers Creepers is a decent film that harbors some startling moments. It isn't award worthy and it really wasn't meant to be. As a sort of throwback to the monster flicks of the 1930s it delivers fairly well with an original story that works most of the time and was fairly well executed; it isn't without its flaws. I suppose most fans of the film have come to love its flaws the way that one can love the flaws in a performer's vocals which set them apart as something unique. Jeepers Creepers is a favorite of mine and this release brings it to life in a way that I have never seen or heard before. Overall, this release gets a 4.3 out of 5 rating from me. If you are a fan of this film, I'd suggest getting this release over any of the previous ones as this release offers the best quality in all areas and is highly recommended from me.
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