The campy 2001 horror movie Jeepers Creepers introduced horror fans to The Creeper, a sinister-looking monster who eats people every 23 years and who enjoys stalking his prey. The 2003 sequel Jeepers Creepers 2 continues the memorable story and focuses on new characters. In the first movie, Justin Long and Gina Philips play siblings Darry and Trish Jenner who banter while they drive home from college for spring break and then encounter The Creeper.
The surprisingly dark ending of Jeepers Creepers leads into Jeepers Creepers 2, which tells a fresh tale that is just as creepy as the original movie. What happens at the end of Jeepers Creepers 2 and how does the movie stack up against the first one?
What Is Jeepers Creepers 2 About?
After the ending of Jeepers Creepers, Darry is dead and Trish is devastated. Jeepers Creepers 2 starts three days after that ordeal. The Creeper takes and kills Billy Taggart (Shaun Fleming), which is sad and terrifying for his father Jack Taggart (Ray Wise), and his sibling Jack Jr. (Luke Edwards). The sequel then follows a basketball team and their coach Dwayne Barnes (Tom Tarantini) who is driving on a nearby highway. They encounter the Creeper, who terrorizes them for a long time, killing some of them one by one.
There are some moments of humor as the villain stands on top of the bus and seems to be everywhere at the same time. These lighter story beats make Jeepers Creepers 2 stand out against so many other horror movies and they are always welcome. And these funny scenes are ultimately what make this sequel more eerie than scary. There's no denying how terrible The Creeper looks or how brutally he can kill someone, but this is far from a completely terrifying tale that is hard to watch with all the lights off.
Minxie Hayes (Nicki Aycox) is the character who connects Jeepers Creepers to the sequel Jeepers Creepers 2. She sees Darry Jenner and Billy Taggart and they try to say that The Creeper is coming. While some horror villains have complex backgrounds, that isn't true of The Creeper. He has a straightforward story that is explained in each movie: he feeds for 23 days every 23rd spring. Since it's easy for audiences to understand exactly what he's about, that makes Jeepers Creepers and Jeepers Creepers 2 fun guilty pleasure films.
While Jeepers Creepers: Reborn isn't a great reboot, Jeepers Creepers 2 is an alright sequel. It might not reinvent the wheel in terms of horror movies. And it doesn't have any particularly memorable and smart characters. But it's still an entertaining story about a horror villain who feels captivating in some moments and silly yet fun in others.
Jeepers Creepers 2 delivers more scares than the first movie. This could be because horror fans are used to The Creeper by now and his sinister face and desire to kill aren't such big surprises. Jeepers Creepers 2 leans into its campy tone, but it works.
How Does Jeepers Creepers 2 End?
The Jeepers Creepers 2 ending sees Jack trying to kill The Creeper. He is able to stab the monster, which is satisfying to watch. The Creeper then hibernates instead of dying. While some horror movie villains are mysterious, The Creeper definitely isn't. It seems clear that he isn't able to die and that he might come back in 23 years. Still, the fact that Jack is able to settle the monster down and stop him from hurting more people is important.
The last scene is set 23 years in the future, which is in keeping with The Creeper's backstory of feeding every 23 springs. Three high school students visit the farm owned by the Taggart family. Jack Jr. Is older now and he has been showing off The Creeper and calling him "A Bat Out Of Hell." People can come by and pay in order to see the monster who has haunted this town for decades. Jack Sr. Alludes to The Creeper waking up in "About three more days, give or take a day or two."
Similar to Ari Aster's scary horror movies, Jeepers Creepers and Jeepers Creepers 2 have emotional cores. While the movies are definitely about an evil monster, they show two families who have been torn apart by his killing spree. That makes characters like Trish and Jack Jr. More relatable and gives the movies some extra layers and depth.
There are some overrated 2000s horror movies. But Jeepers Creepers 2 is a fun story about a monster who has been terrorizing a small town for several decades. The Taggart family feels cursed by him, just like Trish does. And the Jeepers Creepers 2 ending proves that there is no escaping this truly evil monster.