Jeepers Creepers 2

Jeepers Creepers 2, the sequel to 2001's unexpected hit horror flick, finds Jonathan Breck reprising his role as the creeper, a winged demon that awakens every 23 years to feast for 23 days in order to replenish its own body. Set a few days after the original film, this one finds the creeper with its eye (or, actually, Darry's eye) on a bus full of high school jocks and cheerleaders returning from a game. After disabling the bus, the creeper goes after its prey while the father of one of its former victims is hot…err, more like luke warm…on its trail.

Unfortunately, this film completely lacks the "What is that?" element of the original seeing as how we already know what the creeper is, what it looks like, and what it does. It's also lacking the intelligent story, emotional depth, stylish cinematography, and originality the first film. Instead, we get a far less satisfying movie that can be summed up by the fairly generic horror staple of teenage jocks and their girlfriends bickering amongst themselves as a monster attempts to pick them off one by one. With the creeper's identity already revealed, the mysterious element that worked so well in the first film has been traded in for special effects filled shots of the creeper flying around, regenerating body parts, and seeking his victims. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the creeper is a bit…well…creepy, he's still not as frightening as he was when he was an unknown. The film is also a bit plagued by conventional and sometimes ridiculous plot devices, including a scene where they spend 10 minutes trying to open the bus door when all of the windows have recently been blown out. There's also the cheerleader that "magically" becomes psychic and gets the creeper's whole back story from a vision. Yes, substance and intelligent scripting are largely sacrificed here for action and special effects.

If you're looking for a fast-paced, mindless, generic-but-fun horror flick, you could do worse than Jeepers Creepers 2. If you're expecting an intelligent, original horror film that's on par with the original Jeepers Creepers, you're setting yourself up for a disappointment. While the original was a stylish horror film that many consider one of the best in recent history, the sequel is little more than a mildly entertaining throwaway monster movie.