8
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2003
‘Creeper’ has audiences howling
Fans fall to humor instead of horror
BY TOM PREVITE
STAFF WRITER
A movie theater Ml of laughter
was a bad sign.
It wasn’t the kind of laughter
one gets from campy moments in a
horror film, like when a character
gets squashed by a two-headed
monster driving a truck.
No, the audience laughed dur
ing “Jeepers Creepers 2” because
the movie was just that terrible.
The plot is standard horror fare:
a winged monster (known as The
Creeper) awakens to feed for 23
days before it must sleep for 23
years.
On the 23rd day, a group of high
school basketball players, cheer
leaders and coaches is returning
home on a bus after winning the
state championship. The Creeper
blows out the tires of the bus and
kills the coaches, leaving the kids
alone to defend themselves from
the seemingly invincible monster.
It’s far from an Academy
Award-winning script, but it sets
the stage for a suspenseful, gory
flick.
CAROLINA UNION STORY BOARD
CHICAGO
Friday, Sept. 5 § 7:3opm & 9:3opm
Saturday, Sept. 6 @ 7:3opm & 9:3opm
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Pick up the new Fall 2003 Film Schedule
available at the films and at
the Union desk.
All movies shown in Carolina Union Auditorium.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 962-2285.
“Studying Abroad Can Change Your Life”
Come and find out about
UNCYearat
Montpellier (France)
Programs
Academic Year / Fall Semester
Spring Semester / Summer Session
Informational Meeting
Date: Thursday, Sept. 4, 2003
Time: 3:00-5:00pm
Place: Toy Lounge, Dey Hall
UNC-Chapel Hill
Since 1964, the Dept of Romance Languages has had a program in
France, first in Lyon, then moving to Montpellier in 1976
Over 1000 students have participated in our programs.
Videos and discussions withformer participants.
For directions call (919) 962-0154
web: http://www. unc.edu/depts/mont
email: mont@unc.edu
MOVIEREVIEW
“JEEPERS CREEPERS 2"
Unfortunately, the movie self
destructs before accomplishing
much of anything.
The sheer awkwardness of
“Jeepers Creepers 2” left the audi
ence gasping for breath from
laughter. Imagine you’re watching
a nature documentary' about the
hunting habits of the hawk, and
you’ll get a good idea of The
Creeper, which plucks humans
from the ground like wild mice.
Nothing about that is remotely
frightening. What’s sad is that you
can tell that director Victor Salva
wanted The Creeper to be scary.
Salva uses the basic horror
soundtrack, full of screeching vio
lins, to emphasize what he believes
to be scary.
But the problem is the way
Salva depicts The Creeper’s
attacks. Nothing is happening
when suddenly the music chimes
in and The Creeper grabs a person
Diversions
H f TTW Jf
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNITED ARTISTS
Shocked and awed, Tom Tarantini falls to The Creeper, a beast which
awakens to feed for 23 days, longer than its film will last in theaters.
and flies off. End of story. It’s so
brief the entire attack comes off
more hokey than terrifying.
Then there’s what might be one
of the most bizarre scenes ever
filmed.
All the members of the team
leave the bus at the same time to
relieve themselves on the side of
the road. Apart from the fact that
they stand close enough to hug
each other and take about two
minutes to finish, one player
mocks another by making homo
sexual jokes in his direction.
It might hold some kind of
meaning if the fight didn’t sound
like grade school name-calling.
Now that’s dramatic.
Finally, “Jeepers Creepers 2”
takes the film industry' to anew low
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by trying to sound intelligent with
a commentary' on human instinct.
The argument boils down to the
idea that when it comes to survival,
the terrible nature of humanity
reveals itself. Characters in the
movie attempt to sell each other out
in an effort to appease the monster.
A noble effort on the film's part,
but it's completely trivialized
because character development is
nonexistent. So what the audience
ends up with is “Jeepers Creepers
2,” a movie that simultaneously
manages to be unscary, strange
and pretentious.
And you wonder why the audi
ence laughs.
Contact theA&EEditor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
Freaks at ‘Camp’
prove irresistible
BY GERALD JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER
The characters in “Camp” are of
a special breed, though not neces
sarily “special” meaning they’re
freaks, social outcasts or plagued
with mental issues although
that’s all pretty true.
But these characters aren’t just
any freaks they’re performance
freaks.
They attend Camp Ovation, a
summer haven for acting, singing
and dance enthusiasts. Stephen
Sondheim is their god and his end
less collection of Broadway stan
dards their Bible.
The movie’s centerpiece is Vlad
(Daniel Letterle), a doe-eyed guy
with a guitar and a way with the
ladies... and fellas?
Vlad moves from sleeping with
the blonde camp prima donna Jill
(Alanna Allen) to courting the shy,
talented Ellen (Joanna Chilcoat).
His flirtatious personality even has
Michael (Robin de Jesus), his gay
roommate with a penchant for
cross-dressing, developing a crush
on him.
The ambiguity of Vlad’s sexual
ity throughout the film serves as a
reminder of what we should be
focusing on anyway: the music.
Every two weeks, the kids per
form show tunes onstage, and the
film boasts a few remarkable num
bers.
Often the musical performanc
es best allow the characters to
come alive and express who they
are.
One comes from Fritzi (Anna
Kendrick), a one-time servant of
Jill who later exacts her revenge by
psychotically stealing the per
formance of “The Ladies Who
Lunch.” The timid pushover trans
forms into a trash-talking diva
with such ease that it seems being
a bitch was her true calling all
Take 15/501 South towards Pittsboro
Exit Main St./Southern Village
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OPEN RANGE ®1:00-(4:00)-7:00-9:50
UPTOWN GIRLS Esl:os-3:05-(5:05)-7:20-9:35
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Matinees [ STA I
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4TH LUCIANO, Mlkey General. Dean Fraser
(Reggae)" (SOT
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Backyard Brew" (sl2/514)
6SA 810 RITMO (Salsa)" (SB/S10)
BMO (POSTPONED): Robert Earl Keen
9TU BLUE RODEO w/Oh Susannah ($10)
10 WE MOGWAIw/ Part Chimp" (sl3/515)
11 TH TIM O'BRIEN/SCOTT MILLER" (Sls)
12 FR COSMIC CHARLIE (2 sets Grateful Dead)"
(SB/S10)
13 SA MELISSA FERRICKw/Anne McCue" (sl2/514)
16 TU ERASE ERRATA w/Numbers, Cantwell,
Gomez & Jordan" ($8)
17 WE BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB w/ The
Warlocks" (S10)
18TH TRAILER BRIDE CD Release parly w/ Unholy Trio
19 FR TRANS AM w/ Dalek and The Movies
20 SA Pox World Empire Compilation Release Party:
Des Ark, Sames, Rosebuds, North Elementary
21SU THE STARTING UNE, HOME GROWN, AUSTER,
Senses Fail, more
23 TU EDWIN MCCAIN BAND" w/ Will Hoge" ($ 16)
24 WE SQUEEZETOY
25 TH CURSIVE w/ Blood Brothers, fin Fang
Foom" (SlO/Sl2)
26 FR SISTER HAZEL" (515)
27 SA RAINER MARIA w/ Denali" (S9/510)
28 SU Carrboro Music Festival (3PM-Midnlght -
30TU THE SEA AND CAKE w/Kingsbury Manx"
2TH Seven Nations / Young Dubliners" (sl4)
3FR Reverend Horton Heat / S.C.O.T.S. / Throw
Rag" (516)
4SA HIEROGLYPHICS TOUR w/ Del, Souls Of
Mischief, Cosuai, Pep Love, and special
guests Little Brother"
6MO BUILT TO SPILL" (514/515)
7TU JOAN BAEZ" (535)
BWE PAT GREEN" (515)
9TH BURNING SPEAR" (518/520)
USA EVAN DANDO, BETTIE SERVEERT, and VIC
CHESNUTT" (sl2/514)
12 SU BEULAH w/ John Vandersllce" (58)
13 MO PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES
14 TU THE BIG WUw/ The Recipe" (58/510)
15WE CALEXICO w/The Frames" (510)
16 TH SUPERCHUNK
17 FR Steep Canyon Rangers
18 SA ROCK THE LEMURS
22 WE JOSH ROUSE w/ Leona Naess" (Tickets on
sale Sept. 6)
23 TH WEAKERTHANS w/ Maritime & Mico
25 SA BOUNCING SOULS w/ Strike Anywhere &
Tsunami Bomb" (sl2)
26 SU BARBARITO TORRES" (520/B:3OPM SHOW)
2SU DEATH CAB FOR CURE w/ MATES OF STATE"
(sl2)
14 FR UMPHREYS MCGEE" (sl2)
SHOWS @ GO! Room 4
(100F Brewer Ln,, Carrboro 919-969-1400)
9/4 Michelle Malone; 9/5: Cold Sides, the Nein,
Piedmont Charisma, Taking Refutes; 9/6: Whirlwind Heat;
9/7: Songs: Ohia: 9/8: Essex Green, Storiite Drive-in: 9/9:
The Static Age, Marat: 9/10: Tinker's Punishment w/ The
Rising; 9/11: Dressy Bessy; 9/12: Shallow Be Thy Name.
The Tooth; 9/13; Clientele; 9/18 Scene Creamers w/
Block Taj; 9/19; DJ Vadim; 9/23: Willy Porter
@ Disco Rodeo 9/9: DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, MXPX,
BRAND NEW & Vendetta Red: 9/10: GUSTER"
9/25: LUCINDA WILUAMS w/ JAYHAWKS";
10/13: INTERPOL w/ Elefant & The Occdsion
g Lincon Theater 9/12: Joy Farrar
g Kings 9/26: QUASI w/ Hello and Pleasant" (58):
10/4: Jonathon Richman (7PM show)
§ The Brewery 9/29: AVAIL, Darkest Hour and Jericho"
(510)
The BIST live music - 18 & over admitted
"Advance ticket sales at SchoolKids in Chapel Hill
and Raleigh and Radio Free Records in Durham,
For Credit Card orders CALL 919-967-9053
Qlljp SaiUi (Ear Mrrl
PHOTO COURTESY OF IFC FILMS
Daniel Letterle plays the resident
playboy, Vlad, at Camp Ovation,
where “freaks" find themselves
and lives are forever changed.
MOVIE
"CAMP”
along.
Another moment comes from
Tiffany Taylor, whose performance
unexpectedly elicits goose bumps
and nearly tears with a dramatic
rendition of “Here’s Where I
Stand.” The overweight girl uses
the ode to unconditional love and
acceptance to confront her par
ents, who had her mouth wired
shut.
As is to be expected with a first
time director, Todd Graff’s dia
logue and jokes are often clumsy,
the story lines cliche and the act
ing amateurish.
For example, the story over
looks Tiffany’s struggle, until it
finally gives up and lets her break
out of her shell with a voice that
transcends the stifling boundaries
of the script.
Having every character suffer
from some personal problem pre
dictably leads to formulaic melo
drama and stereotypical portrayals
of both theater actors and homo
sexuals.
Basically, everyone is depicted
as an eccentric social misfit. But
the movie never stoops to belit
tling them; rather, they are cele
brated.
Maybe it’s because Graff realizes
that the thing with teenagers is
that they’re imperfect. They are
awkward, weird and clumsy. They
make mistakes; you can see their
blemishes.
But despite their shortcomings,
they share an uncontaminated
innocence and naive enthusiasm
for life that somehow override all
the geekiness and render them
disturbingly irresistible.
The same can be said about the
kids at Camp Ovation, as well as
the film itself.
Contact the AOE Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
( MOVIES AT TIMBERLYNE
Weaver Dairy at Airport Rd
V 933-8600 J
JEEPERS CREEPERS 2* E Daily 2:55, 5:10, 7.30, 9:50
THE ITALIAN JOB 1 E3J Daily 2:40,5:05
FREDDY VS. JASON I Daily 7:30, 9:40
FREAKY FRIDAY K Daily 2:50, 5:00, 7:20,9:35
THE MEDALLION* El Daily 3:15,7:15
| PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN BB Daily 3:35, 6:45, 9.45
SEABISCUIT EH Daily 3:30, 7:05, 9:55
MY BOSS'S DAUGHTER* Eg Daily 5:15, 9:15
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