JEEPERS CREEPERS 2

JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 is a superior horror movie, though not a classic. Its strongest feature is action: once the teenagers fight back and Mr. Taggart arrives with his makeshift harpoon, the movie generates genuine excitement as human beings battle an actual monster.

That excitement comes at a significant cost. The film features excessive foul language, very strong violence, gruesome moments, and occult visions of dead victims imparting information. Its teenagers are also often stupid and foul-mouthed, while one teenager mocks another boy over an alleged homosexual identity and is clearly racist.

Adults who can handle those concerns may find the monster battle rewarding. For families and young teens, the content rating makes the practical answer clear: watch something else.

After a winged, demonic creature snatches a young boy from a farm, the boy’s father, Mr. Taggart, and his other son set out to track and kill it.

Meanwhile, a high school basketball team travels home from a championship game. When the creature disables the team’s bus and begins attacking its passengers, a cheerleader’s visions of two dead victims offer information that may help the group survive. Then Mr. Taggart arrives with a large, homemade harpoon.

Three stars means this is a good, superior horror movie with clear limitations. The opening farm sequence is suspenseful, and the later action becomes exciting when the teenagers fight back and Mr. Taggart joins the battle with his makeshift harpoon.

The movie is less successful in its depiction of the teenagers. Unlike the bright, compassionate heroine and intelligent, heroic psychiatrist in the first HALLOWEEN, these characters give the audience few people to root for without reservation. The film recovers when the resistance begins, but excessive language, violence, gruesome moments, and occult elements keep it from rising above its genre.

The film’s worldview is mixed. It offers positive moral qualities through human beings resisting a predatory monster, and it creates some positive excitement when the teenagers and adults finally gain the upper hand. Its more redemptive aspects are diluted, however, by excessive foul language, violent situations, gruesome imagery, and occult visions of dead people who impart information.

The movie also includes a racist teenager who mocks another boy over an alleged homosexual identity. That racism is rebuked, but its presence remains part of the film’s moral landscape.

The story’s central struggle is survival against evil, but its source of supernatural knowledge comes through the dead rather than God. Scripture calls us instead to “test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 delivers exciting monster action and a satisfying fightback, but excessive language, very strong violence, gruesome imagery, and occult content make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults who can handle those concerns, it is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.