I almost didn’t want to do a blog about Jeepers Creepers. Victor Salva, the writer/director is an convicted child molester. Then, again so is Roman Polanski. I’m not too keen on his works either. But I decided to do it anyway mainly because it’s the 23rd Spring since the movie came out in 2001.
The movie is an old-fashioned creature feature of two college-aged siblings, Trish Jenner (Gina Phillips) and Darry Jenner (Justin Long), who are terrorized by the Creeper (Jonathan Breck), a creature that awakens every 23rd Spring to feast on human flesh. However, it’s particular on who it eats. But rather get into the etymology of the Creeper, like Mimic, which Guillermo Del Toro has disowned, you wish there was more to it.
Many people have noted that certain details seemed inspired by the true-life murder of Marilynn DePue, who was killed by her estranged husband, Dennis, on April 15, 1990 which happened to also be Easter Sunday. Dennis believed to have dumped her body behind a schoolhouse in the Michigan schoolhouse. Siblings Ray and Marie Thornton witnessed the incident as well as being terrorized by Dennis for some time as he drove his van on their tail.
This is included in the movie with Trish and Darry witnesses the Creeper dumping bodies wrapped in sheets in a large metal pipe that’s buried in the ground near a church. Trish and Darry even are playing a game where they comment on the license plates of the people in front of them. Ray and Marie made note that the license plate of Dennis’ vehicle had GZ on it and Marie commented “Geez!” as to Dennis’ erratic driving in front of them.
In real-life, Dennis went on the run to the Dallas area for about an year but was later the subject of a segment on Unsolved Mysteries. He had been watching the episode when his girlfriend at the time came home and saw him packing up saying his mother was sick and he was leaving to check on her. Dennis tried to get his girlfriend away from the TV by asking her to make him some sandwiches for his trip. However, she and other people recognized him and notified authorities.
If you want to Google Dennis DuPue, you’d know there was no way anyone misidentify him. Dennis ended up being chased by authorities as he tried to go east of the Louisiana/Mississippi state line and when cornered by authorities took his own life in the wee early morning of the next day. It was one of the more memorable segments and episodes of the show. Salva has never said if he was inspired by the true-crime case. But it’s more than just a coincidence.
Foolishly, after being chased for some time by the Creeper before he runs them off the road and goes on, Darry talks Trish into going back to the church. Darry thinks he hears something down the pipe and in a silly way, gets scared by rats and slides down into an underground cave. Here he discovers the Creeper has people all over the place including a prom couple from 23 years earlier. He gets out and he and Trish contact authorities.
After an intriguing set-up, the movie becomes another movie in which the Creeper terrorizes and kills everyone but the siblings. Because the Creeper is the most interesting character in the movie, Salva never really delves into him. It seems Trish and Darry have a knack of constant bickering and arguing that you wonder why the Creeper doesn’t just kill them or leave them alone.
I know it was 2001, but this is one of those movies in which characters do the dumbest things such as going back to the church when you know something bad has happened. And of course, this is a scene where the police are skeptical at first to believe something that would be a cause for alarm and concern.
But the stupidest thing is the Creeper himself. Why would it come up on Trish and Darry in their car with a very distinctive older model truck blowing his horn and riding their tail? All it has to do is just pass them. It’s not like they’re doing anything and wouldn’t have noticed much. Also, why have a pipe to dump bodies sticking out of the ground near a church in full view of the roadway? Would the better place for the pipe be from behind the church or even farther off from the road in the woods?
Also, if the Creeper sleeps for 23 years, surely someone in that time would’ve noticed a pipe sticking out of the ground near a church and wondered what’s it leading to. Apparently, the Creeper is a heavy sleeper, so anyone with some rope and a flashlight could’ve gone down to look at the cave. If people have been gone missing 23 years before and possibly 23 years before that, wouldn’t the authorities just presume that it would be a place to check?
Even though it was produced on a $10 million budget, it grossed almost $60 million worldwide and spawned a sequel that takes place immediately after the events of this movie. Only this time, it’s focus on a school bus of athletes who are stranded on the side of the road due to the Creeper. I’d argue the sequel is a little better since there is no mystery anymore on who the Creeper is so it focuses more on it. But the sequel does have a lot of problems as it basically seems like a slasher as Creeper picks off people one by one. It’s also become notorious for its outrageously homoerotic overtones which include shots of the young men sunbathing without their shirts and one scene where it looks like the Creeper makes an “Oh!” Face when it sees a potential victim.
That movie ends with an epilogue set in 2024 where a character is waiting for the Creeper to wake back up. So, now is that time? I guess it’s time to eat now.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 