The Good

The Bad

On a desolate country highway, two homeward bound teens are nearly run off the road by a maniac in a beat up truck...and later spot him shoving what appears to be a body down a sewer pipe. But when they stop to investigate, they discover that the grisly reality at the bottom of that pipe is far worse then anything they could have ever suspected...and that they are targets of an evil far more unspeakable - and unstoppable - they could have ever imagined.

Features

Audio CommentaryAs a lover of audio commentaries and someone with a morbid curiosity about this director, I was quite pleased that this dvd came with one. And honestly it did not disappoint me in the slightest. I was educated about the song Jeepers Creepers(it was recorded over 250 times!) and the director Victor Salva seems hell bent on having fun with this. This is man who loves his horror movies and he wants to infuse his films with that love. It's refreshing to see someone so happy to be doing what their doing and have no pretensions about themselves. Salva is very much an auteur he just works in genre pictures like the great directors of old. It was also illuminating hearing him discuss how he always thinks on his next movies he's not going to set them at night, but because he makes his movies so far apart he forgets how much he hated doing that. It's amazing how this person took a funny song and was able to see enough "darkness" in it to make a movie from it. This is a fine audio commentary."Behind the Peepers" - A Collection of 6 Mini FeaturettesAnything that begins by telling you that the THE MAKING of the film you are about to see is not meant for children, has got to be good. This thing does not disappoint so rather then spoil anything for you, let me just saw this is a VERY well made look at the making of this movie. It's funny because so often we think about horror movies as throwaway films. We don't take them seriously because of how they are presented to us. This is such a shame because when they are made well, when they are taken seriously and made by someone who loves them, they become almost more important that a lot of the "important films" we always hear about. I don't know? Maybe, I am taking this whole thing a bit too seriously, but is it any wonder why after 9/11, horror and suspense thrillers were the biggest movies going? Is it any surprise that a film like The Others rose up in the rankings? It's because a scary movie if it's done right, lets us experience something in a way that almost never got to do(or would want to) in our everyday, humdrum lives.This documentary of mini-featurettes is so awesome. From top to bottom no stone is left unturned throughout this special feature. I savored any minute of it because I really got to understand a bit more about the experience of not only making a horror movie, but watching one as well.Deleted and Extended ScenesAny feature that not only shows you more of the scene but alternate openings and closings of the movie, is really giving the dvd consumer the most bang for their book. Again, I am reticent to reveal too much, lets just say that these scenes were obviously excised for a reason(at 90 minutes the film is the perfect viewing length) but I am thankful to be allowed to watch what I didn't see in the movies. Photo GalleryThe following is an assorted collection of production stills from the movie that are laid over the score of the movie. Some are behind the scenes while others are actually from specific scenes in the movie. Very eery and very scary. I like the overall general tone of this dvd. In no way does it look at itself or give you a knowing wink, it basically tells you that what you are seeing should scare you. The mix of regular photos and movie photos further enhances this experience.TrailerThis was the original trailer that was shown in the theaters and strangely enough, I never remember seeing it. Had that happened? I may not have seen this movie because it doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as it needs to. That's the thing...how can you really be scared when you're watching this images with black metal screaming out from the speakers at you? Personally, I can't which is why the fact that this film is scored makes me so happy with the movie.Cast and Crew FilmographiesThese are just a listing of what the said players have done in the past. Interesting if for no other reason, that you can see what led them from their previous movies to this one.

Video

Shown in 16:9/1.85:1 widescreen this dvd transfer looks simply amazing. I mean I was blown away by how sharp it is. It's nice to see a film that could simply be looked at as a teen horror flick, be treated like the piece of macabre horror that it actually is. It looks terrific and this only highlights the special effects and the creepiness of the Creeper that is the protagonist of this movie. This movie was made with such style and it is so nice to see that that translates just as well on the small screen. This is due in no small part to the TLC that this film was given by the makers of this dvd. Quite simply, I can't say enough about how good this dvd looks. Great job MGM!!

Audio

In English 5.1 Surround(it also comes in French Surround, Spanish Surround and English, French and Spanish language subtitles) this sound exemplifies what made this film the scary experience it was when I saw it in the theater. I mean, I really enjoyed this film and it was so in no small part due to the creepiness of the aforementioned Creeper, and this creepiness was highlighted by the sound that was employed. Mix the picture with the sound and The Mush ALMOST wishes he owned, gulp, HOME THEATER! Dvd's like Jeepers Creepers made for that kind of thing.

Package

Final Word

I REALLY enjoyed this movie. Many years ago, I woke up and Clownhouse was on. This is another film that Victor Salva has made. That film scared me so much I turned it off even though I couldn't sleep. At that time, Cable didn't offer 50 billion channels so I was stuck in the darkness, late at night, with nothing that I wanted to watch. Thanks to to Salva I ended up in informercial hell but it was better then seeing his scary movie. Yes, it was that scary. It was so scary, I still have not seen it all the way through.As an aside, it was during the making of Clownhouse that Salva molested one of the films young stars and proceeded to do some time in the pokey. I bring this up because this review is in no way an endorsement of him as a person. I happen to think he is a very scary man, who just happens to be able to direct like hell. I find his actions despicable and I think the fact that he continues to make movies that open him up to being looked at as a pedophile(Powder and Jeepers Creepers 2) is irresponsible. Still, the man paid his debt to society, he needs to make a living and he should be allowed to make the art he chooses. I just wanted it clear that my endorsement is of Victor Salva's film and not Victor Salva.This film came out of nowhere and from the moment the first frame burned across the screen, I was captivated. The dvd experience was no less intense so I was quite happy that the film had held up over the couple of years since I had last seen it. I am INTO this movie. It is good, it is well written, it is stylized and the creature that has been brought to screen could very well engage in a battle royal with Freddy, Jason and Michael. Don't believe me? Ask yourself this? Just what in the world is the Creeper? I rest my case.There are times when I feel the story becomes a bit too campy, the girl driving over the Creeper with the truck a gazillion times was a bit much. However the ending, and the fact that the Creeper wins the "game", was very, very shocking. After watching this film, I didn't quite yet know what I had seen, but I knew that it was good. Even now, I am still scared by the images and the way the Creeper was put across. This film takes all the best from Polanski and Carpenter and makes it all uniquely it's own. If you are a fan of horror movies, buy this dvd. If you need a dvd in your collection of scary dvds, buy this dvd. If you want a good movie to own, that you can watch and rewatch and is packed with extras...BUY THIS DVD.This movie is so good, I would still be beaming about it even if it didn't have as many extras but thank the good lord that it does.