You know how in bad scary movies there’s a part where the main character has to blatantly choose between safety and danger? And they always make the wrong decision, because if they didn’t the movie would end.

This happens in “Jeepers Creepers,” after about 20 minutes. This is not necessarily all bad, because if the rest of the movie is good, then you forget about the stupidity in the beginning. But “Jeepers” just keeps getting worse.

It tells the story of Trish (Gina Philips) and Darryl (Justin Long), brother and sister who are on their way home from college where they happen to be traveling on an empty country road – the “perfect” scary movie setting.

While driving by an old church they think they see a man dropping a body down a large pipe into the ground. When they are seen, a chase ensues and they drive off the road to get away.

Though completely scared out of their minds, they decide to head back and check things out.

Good thinking.

The shocking truths they discover at the church put them in grave danger as they are now being hunted by whoever or whatever is responsible.

The fact that this premise slowly takes up more than half the movie is quite disturbing. In fact, that is scarier than most of the movie itself.

To this point, the only aspect of the movie ensuring it may end up with more than one star is that you don’t know what the bad guy is until it’s on the ground and a giant wing pops up.

Is this a comedy? Because there was definite laughter in the theater. But hey, some giant dragon thing with absolutely no background explanation that is after random people is pretty scary, right?

Writer/director Victor Salva lit the fuse and poured gas on this bomb. Sure scary movies aren’t meant to have insight into everything, but this is a joke.

Other aspects of the movie, such as a psychic who happens to dream everything before it happens and a lame attempt at shock value in one body-filled scene, only makes you feel sorrier for the state of movies since this is number one at the box office.

The only positive aspect from “Jeepers Creepers” comes in its cinematography, which is solid and consistent with clever revealing background shots. Perhaps Salva’s lack of background for the characters was an attempt to better lead up to the ending, a complete “Blair Witch” rip-off.

It is refreshing to see more endings that catch you off guard, but the bitterness that’s put in your mouth from the movie can only be sweetened when the credits roll and you run to your car.

Philips and Long are both relative newcomers to the big screen and do mediocre jobs. They’ve definitely perfected their stupidity, screaming and scared faces – which makes them perfect for some crappy scary movie. But hey, Jamie Lee Curtis still had a career after doing horror films.

On the bright side for Long, he will be appearing in the future alongside Britney Spears in her movie debut, which hopefully will be scarier than “Jeepers Creepers.”

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Kyle Moss is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.