Jeepers Creepers (2001 film)

Following its release, various critics and viewers concluded that the film Jeepers Creepers was loosely inspired by the 1990 police manhunt of Dennis DePue. DePue was caught, by brother-and-sister Ray and Marie Thornton, dumping his dead wife's body behind an abandoned schoolhouse in the state of Michigan.[10] The case was later publicized, appearing on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries on March 20, 1991.[11] The following day, DePue committed suicide after being involved in a shootout with police in Vicksburg, Mississippi.[12] The episode's depiction of the event, along with other small details, were found to be similar to the opening scene of the film.[13] However, the film's writer and director, Victor Salva, has not confirmed nor denied whether the film took inspiration from the case,[13] but said that the film used elements from the 1971 film Duel.[14][9]

A storyboard by Brad Parker showing the film's original finale.[15]

When writing the film's script, Salva wanted the main villain to focus on killing mainly male characters, stating that he was "very tired of seeing women slaughtered and raped in [films]."[16] To keep his final girl-styled ending oblivious from viewers, Salva employed various red herrings throughout the opening scenes of the film, leading viewers to believe that Trish was going to die.[17]

His original script also featured a twenty-page third act which was eventually cut from the film.[16][9] In it, Darry drives the Creeper's truck into a train, unsuccessfully sacrificing himself in an attempt to kill the Creeper.[18][19] Up to the start of filming, the entire sequence had been storyboarded in preparation for the shoot,[15] but due to a budget cut of $1 million, the entire scene and those leading up to it had to be removed and rewritten.[20] Because of this, Gina Philips and Justin Long were allowed to improvise many of their scenes, which Salva used in the final cut.[20] Some scenes cut from the script were eventually used in its sequel, Jeepers Creepers 2.[16]

The telephone scene featuring Patricia Belcher's character Jezelle was entirely rewritten during filming to allow her character to convey additional information about the Creeper.[9] In the film's audio commentary, Salva said that he believed that the film's defining moment was the reveal that the Creeper was not human and had wings, which told viewers that the main characters were, in fact, fighting a creature who also didn't have a humanoid appearance.[9] Against advice from various agents, managers, and acclaimed directors, Salva decided to keep the character of the Creeper mysterious, and decided that because of this, he "couldn't give [the] story a happy ending."[17]

In an interview, Philips revealed that she had decided to audition for the film after reading its script, and finding it too scary to finish in one night.[20] She auditioned twice by herself for the role of Trish, and then once with a shortlist of actors who were auditioning for the role of Darry, one of which was Long.[20] Salva stated that Philips focused on her character with "intense focus", and said that "it was [...] her authenticity that got her the part."[16]

In an interview with Hollywood.com, Long said he wasn't sure he was going to get the part, stating that he "assumed they were gonna cast a name. But I went in on a lark, and it clicked."[21] Salva would later say that Long was chosen for the film because he was one of the only actors that managed to convince him that he was actually scared during his audition.[18]

During pre-production, American Zoetrope originally decided that they were going to cast "big-name actors" instead of Long and Philips, but Francis Ford Coppola managed to convince the studio to allow the pair to star per a request from Salva.[18] Jonathan Breck, who had not been a big fan of the horror genre, decided to audition for the role of the Creeper to face his own fears.[16] Breck ultimately got the part after mimicking "movements from different kinds of animals" at his audition, which he attended with a shaved head.[8][22]

Eileen Brennan was picked for the supporting role of "the cat lady" after Salva saw her performance in the short film "Nunzio's Second Cousin".[9] Chris Shepardson was hired to play the "dying boy" that Darry finds while in the Creeper's lair. Due to budget reasons, Salva had to write the character without any lines, but during filming, the crew eventually decided to give Shepardson a short line to say.[9] During the telephone scene, a hand model was hired to visually replace Belcher's character, Jezelle, due to the fact that Belcher had not yet arrived in Florida to film her scenes.[9] Additionally, Salva made a cameo appearance in the film as a victim of the Creeper.[9]

Gina Philips in between takes outside St. James Church and in front of the pipe used during filming.[18]

Principal photography for Jeepers Creepers took place in the region of Central Florida on August 2000,[18] over a period of two months.[9] Opening scenes of the film were shot on the SW 180th Avenue Road in the city of Dunnellon, with the church used in the film, the now-former St. James Church, being located miles away in Ocala.[23] The diner which the film's characters enter to call the police, "Opper's Diner", was a set built in Lake Panasoffkee, and a reference to producer Barry Opper.[9][15] The set was so realistic, that according to Salva, various people tried to buy gas from the gas pumps at the set.[15] An abandoned high school was also used to film scenes taking place at a police station in Reddick.[24] Additionally, the old factory shown in the film's finale was actually filmed inside of a meatpacking factory in Ocala, which was demolished after filming concluded.[23]

According to Salva, the process of shooting the entire film was "grueling", as the crew had to work during the summer, in locations containing heat waves and temperatures ranging from "90 to 110" degrees Fahrenheit every day.[18][9] One of the last scenes completed for the film followed the character of Darry, played by Long, sliding down the church's pipe after accidentally falling in, which was filmed inside a warehouse.[18] Due to the low budget, the art department's cafeteria was also used during filming to serve as the house of Jezelle.[9]

The design of the Creeper was created by Brian Penikas,[25] and its wings were created by Charles Garcia and digitally rendered by Buddy Gheen, Scott Ramsey, and Bob Morgenroth.[9] The Creeper's truck used on-screen, a 1941 Chevy COE and originally a flatbed truck, had its back section created entirely by production designer Steven Legler.[9] During various takes, the truck stopped working due to its old engine.[9] The crows used in the film flew with wires attached to them, which were later removed in post-production.[9] Scenes containing the church's pipe were shot using three different sized pipes, including a six-foot pipe actually outside the church, and two pipes in a sound stage warehouse.[9][18] During production, the film's budget was cut severely in the art department. As a result, only a few fake bodies were made to appear in the Creeper's lair.[9]

All music is composed by Bennett Salvay.

Jeepers Creepers was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on January 8, 2002,[3] both of which featured two viewing options for viewers: standard or widescreen.[35] A special edition of the DVD includes ten deleted and extended scenes, an audio commentary track featuring director Victor Salva, a six-part featurette on the making of the movie titled "Behind the Peepers - The Making of Jeepers Creepers", a photo gallery, and a theatrical trailer.[35] On September 11, 2012,[36] the film was released on Blu-ray by MGM and 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment, containing all of the same features from the DVD.[37] On June 14, 2016, a two-disc Blu-ray Collector's Edition of the film was released by Shout! Factory,[38] featuring a "Then and Now" featurette, interviews with producer Barry Opper and actress Patricia Belcher, and a new audio commentary on the film featuring the voices of Salva, Gina Philips, and Justin Long.[39] On October 12, 2020, the film was digitally released by 101 Films, who later released the film in the United Kingdom on a Blu-ray set containing the same features as the ones found in the original special edition of the DVD, and the Blu-ray Collector's Edition from Shout! Factory.[40][41]

In its original release, Jeepers Creepers grossed $37.9 million in the United States, and $21.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $59.2 million.[42] Its 2018 re-release managed to earn the film $153 thousand in Columbia,[34] bringing the film's worldwide total to $59.37 million.[4]

Premiering in the United States on August 31, 2001, in 2,944 theaters on Labor Day weekend,[30] Jeepers Creepers made $13.1 million in its first three days,[43] and an additional $2.7 million on Labor Day, ranking 1st in front of Rush Hour 2 with a total gross of $15.8 million.[44] Because of this, the film broke the record for the highest ever Labor Day opening weekend four-day gross, holding the record until the 2003 release of its sequel, Jeepers Creepers 2, which made $18.3 million on its own Labor Day weekend.[45][46] Jeepers Creepers went on to gross a total of $18.1 million by the end of its first week,[43] and a nationwide total of $37.9 million after being in theaters for 18 weeks.[30] Worldwide, the film made $8 million in the United Kingdom, $2 million in Mexico, Spain, and Italy, and a mere $1.3 million in Germany; the latter of which co-produced the film with the US.[42]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 46% based on 114 reviews and an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jeepers Creepers has a promising start. Unfortunately, the tension and suspense quickly deflates into genre cliches as the movie goes on."[47] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100 based on responses from 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[48] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade rating of "D" on an A+ to F scale.[49]

In its initial release, various critics shared a similar opinion on Jeepers Creepers, praising its suspenseful beginning, but criticizing the rest of the film.[50][51][52][53] From BBC News, Nev Pierce called it an "unsettling, gory, but intelligent horror flick", and compared it positively to Scream.[54] Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Robert K. Elder said that he disliked the film simply because many parts were left unexplained.[55] The GW Hatchet journalist Mira Katz called the film "tragic", censuring the writing from Victor Salva, the special effects, and the finale of the film, stating that it would leave the viewer with a "general sense of disappointment".[56] Film critic David Edelstein, from Slate magazine, criticized the film's general storyline and 90-minute runtime, but said that "the movie is good enough to put a chill into the late-summer air."[57]

Stephen Holden, from The New York Times, gave positive feedback to the film's beginning, but stated that once the Creeper was revealed, the film "surrenders its imagination to formulaic plot filler".[50] Writing for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw said that the film "goes right down the pan" after its opening scene, stating that it's "not genuinely scary or genuinely funny".[51] Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas shared only positive feedback to the film, stating that it has the "scariest opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory" and that "Salva has expertly built up enough sheer terror that [it's] uncomfortable to watch."[52] From The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin wrote that the film "begins promisingly with an economical first half [...] but once its monster takes center stage, Jeepers Creepers heads downhill in a hurry."[53]

Reel Film Reviews critic David Nusair found Justin Long and Gina Philips' acting work "superb",[58] and MTV's Charles Webb called out Victor Salva for "nail[ing] the casting" of both actors.[59] On the other side of the spectrum, Dorothy Woodend from The Tyee criticized the film and said that it "isn't helped" by Philips' look, who she said resembled singer Ashlee Simpson.[60] On a similar topic, The A.V. Club said that Long shared a resemblance to David Schwimmer,[53] while the San Francisco Chronicle said he had a small resemblance to a young Frank Langella but nonetheless supported and gave a positive note of his performance in the film.[61]

At the Sitges Film Festival in 2001, Jeepers Creepers received a nomination for Best Film, but lost to Vidocq.[31][62] The following year, the film was nominated for three awards at the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, winning for Best Wide-Release Film and Best Supporting Actor; the latter of which was given to Jonathan Breck.[63] At that same ceremony, Brian Penikas was nominated for Best Makeup/Creature FX for his design of the Creeper, but lost to the KNB EFX Group for their work on Thirteen Ghosts.[63] On April 13, 2002, the film received a nomination for Best Movie at the International Horror Guild Awards, but lost to the Canadian film Ginger Snaps by John Fawcett.[64] On June 10, 2002, the film earned two Saturn Award nominations, for Best Horror Film and Best Performance by a Younger Actor; the latter of which was received by Justin Long for his performance as Darry.[65]