In preperation for the release of the sequel this Friday, I decided to
check this film out again and i’m glad that I did.
The first time I saw this film I felt cheated. I had been promised ‘The
best horror movie of the last years’, and more importantly, I had been
promised a movie about ‘two kids on a road trip who see a MAN dumping a
body down an old pipe’. What I got was minutes of tension and fear
then another minutes creature feature.
Obviously i’ve seen the film a number of times since then but I always
felt that it became silly after we discover The Creeper is a winged beast.
After reading a lot of articles by journalists, fans and various other
people, I appreciated the film a lot more.
Victor Salva may be a convicted paedophile but he knows how to tell a
story. I think the reason I was so creeped out by this is because he
allows his personality to creep in to the Creeper.
The Creeper is a part of Salva, he created it and therefore it’s a slimy
beast who preys on young men. I feel uncomfortable watching young boys
urinating and having people sniff their underwear, before inevitably being
preyed upon by a slimy beast but Victor Salva likes to see this kind of
thing and therefore it finds it’s way into the movie and his other work.
Despite these images, the film has lots of creepy atrmosphere, imagery and
symbolism. It makes use of some beautiful locations, is ripe with fresh
new talent (Justin Long is totally believeable as the unfortunate Darry)
and is complemented by a wonderfully eerie and at times, sad score.
We are left with many lasting images long after the credits have rolled,
so therefore I must applaud Victor Salva’s creativity and talent as a
storyteller but feel that the film could have done without the personal
glimpses into his past.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Sombre and sad the flick is good and slowly grows on you over time. It is
a shame that many people, myself included are unable to seperate the film
from the Director’s past, but perhaps then it would not be as creepy as it
is.
