Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Who knew Redondo Beach was such a happenin' spot? Seems like all sorts of evil folks were spotted at last night's screening, including CHUD's Ryan Rotten and my favorite fake-medicine peddler, HARRY LIME. When I first met Lime back in the '80s, he had a particular affinity for fright films. Since then, I've seen his love of the genre wane a bit as shitty movie after shitty movie tested his faith. His review makes me smile, though... seems like those of us who remember what a really scary movie looked like in the days before SCREAM turned the whole fucking genre sarcastic are pleased by UA's little monster. Here's the Most Wanted Man In Europe with the details...
After seeing a certain new horror film, the song “Jeepers Creepers” just ain’t the same. In fact, it’s downright f’d up, if you ask me.
Every now and again, a filmmaker will use a song that wasn’t intended to have any darker meaning as their haunting lynch pin for a scary or suspenseful movie. The example that has always leapt to my mind first is the nearly successful SEA OF LOVE, which, despite its obvious shortcomings, managed to resurrect Al (REVOLUTION) Pacino’s then-cadaverous career, pulling him out of his Brando-like cocoon.
But I digress...
Last night, I was at a screening for a film that will easily supplant SEA as the film I think of first and is by far one of the most original horror flicks I’ve seen in a while.
JEEPERS CREEPERS is a scary movie that doesn’t forget that its primary goal is to scare you. More specifically, it’s a monster movie, an unrelenting vision of terror and dread that blends horror and fantasy with remarkable ease. It’s reminiscent at times of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASACRE, THE TERMINATOR, and Steven Spielberg’s DUEL, but has a ferocious mile-wide streak of originality. It’s also an oddity these days: A scary movie that isn’t bogged down by pop culture references and doesn’t feel the need to be cynical or prove that it’s somehow hipper than the genre. In fact, it embraces genre completely with a confidence that places it high on my list of favorite scary movies. And believe me, that’s saying something.
Great scary movies aren’t so easy to come by. As I get older, I find that I’m far more partial to classics like CHAINSAW, DON’T LOOK NOW, and DAWN OF THE DEAD than the glossy Freddie Prinze Jr. style indoor bullcrap that we seem to be bombarded by these days. I also tend to prefer films featuring less juvenile scares like Lodge Kerrigan’s work of raging genius, CLEAN SHAVEN, or Joe Burlinger’s arsenal of documentaries about the freakiest white people you’ll ever get bound, gagged and thrown into a car trunk by. Not to digress again, but I find it rather sad that Berlinger has finally gone and crossed the line by making his own indoor bullcrap movie. Joe, come back, please.
Having said all this, I was quite surprised to find that JEEPERS CREEPERS had me on the edge of my seat for most of its ninety something minute running time. Usually it’s easy to predict what scare is next, but JEEPERS just doesn’t want to play by the rules. It neatly sidesteps much of the tired clichés and mechanics it might have fallen victim to if there had been a hack or some guy who just didn’t give a damn at the helm. Victor Salva, whose recent films include RITES OF PASSAGE and POWDER, does impressive work here as writer/director. He never betrays the tone of the film and keeps the momentum building with a raw energy evocative of early Cameron. He also does a marvelous job laying out the film's numerous revelations, most of which left me personally dizzy, feeling a lot like Jack Burton in BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.
The film's central characters are a couple of college students, a brother and sister, driving across Middle America to visit their parents. On their journey through the sparse countryside, the tedium is shattered by a frightening encounter with a madman that nearly runs them off the road with his rusted-out behemoth of a truck. Later on, the kids catch a glimpse of the driver as he’s depositing what appear to be two bodies wrapped in white sheets into a large open pipe that leads into the ground outside a boarded-up old church. After another violent run-in on the road, the kids decide to go back to the church to see if they can help whoever was dropped into the hole. This is not what I would call a sane move and could possibly be considered the film's only “dumb” horror movie device. What keeps it from being that is Justin Long, whose performance as Darryl convinces us as he pleads with his sister Trish, played by the oh-so-cute Gina Philips, that it’s the right thing to do. He puts the question to her, “What if it was you?” It’s a compelling moment and very uncommon for a horror movie with young leads.
You might know Long from GALAXY QUEST, where he played Brandon, the geek who saves the day. I remember making special note of that performance, wondering if he might have more in him. Here he proves that he’s secure enough as an actor to righteously lose his shit on screen. Not since Scooby Doo’s Shaggy or the golden years of Bob Denver has there been a guy this unconcerned about maintaining his cool. Any tough facade his character might have had at the start of the film quickly drops when the creepy shit begins to hit the fan. I applaud this.
Both he and Philips are a breath of fresh air. They’re talented and very real. One of the things I detest about the horror movies that go wrong is the casting of actors that I’m too familiar with. It tends to take me out of the film. One of the reasons CHAINSAW is so damn effective is the fact that the actors in the film aren’t movie stars. Tobe Hooper couldn’t afford any. What he caught on camera with his cast of unknowns, though, is far more persuasive than anything he could have made with a larger budget. It’s very easy to forget that these are just performances and to let the film work on you. There’s a reason JEEPERS CREEPERS doesn’t star Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts: it cost under ten million. Considering that one of the producers is Francis Ford Coppola, the film's diminutive budget is an even bigger shock. If not for the risk of heart failure all over town, Francis should make a film himself for under ten... black & white, hand-held maybe, like he kept saying he was going to do with ON THE ROAD. Anyway, the tiny budget here is a blessing. We’re given two emerging talents who ground the film in a reality that would have been beyond the grasp of any bloated, over-paid movie star. At the same time, the filmmakers are forced to cut waste and make every element of the count. These are concepts Jan de Bont has no freaking idea even exist, which is why his retelling of THE HAUNTING is quite possibly the least effective scary movie of all time. Way to go, Yawn.
Of course, the kids' dealings with the mad driver are far from over. As the film progresses, fantasy elements seep into the horror as we get further glimpses of this strange character “The Creeper,” played with striking grace by relative newcomer Jonathan Breck. There’s a turning point midway through the film, a scene that contains a cameo by Eileen Brennan, where our concept of The Creeper suddenly changes. Although the character gradually becomes more and more defined, the end of the film offers very little in the way of concrete answers.
In this case, the threat of a sequel is welcomed. The expansion possibilities of The Creeper mythology started here are practically unlimited. A solid foundation has been set and if any sequel can be as clever as this wily monster crafted by Salva, we’re looking at a franchise that easily could overshadow the Pinhead or Freddy movies. I just hope that by the time the inevitable part nine rears its ugly head The Creeper isn’t cracking one-liners or hanging out at the MTV Beach House.
And with that, Harry Lime slinked away into the sewers and the shadows once more.
