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Jeepers Creepers

What's eating you?

2001 · 91 min · Horror
7.4 Modest
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Horror

On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens are nearly run off the road by a maniac in a beat-up truck, and later spot him shoving what appears to be a body down a sewer pipe.

Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Year
2001
Studio
American Zoetrope · Cinerenta

Trivia & behind the scenes

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Origins

The film's opening scenes are widely believed to have been inspired by the real 1990 case of Dennis DePue, whose disposal of a bloody blanket was witnessed by siblings Ray and Marie Thornton, an event later depicted on Unsolved Mysteries.

Origins

Writer-director Victor Salva said the opening was based on a true story he was told involving an elderly couple investigating a pipe, and that the script also drew elements from Night of the Living Dead and Duel.

Origins

Salva was inspired by his favorite film, Creature from the Black Lagoon, to make a monster movie, and drew on the suspense techniques of Alfred Hitchcock films like The Birds.

Origins

Salva wrote the screenplay in just one month, far faster than his usual six months, and deliberately kept the Creeper's nature mysterious throughout the first half against the advice of agents and managers.

Origins

Due to an unforeseen $1 million budget cut, an elaborate 20-page third act—already fully storyboarded by Brad Parker, involving Darry driving the Creeper's truck into a train—had to be scrapped and rewritten during production.

Casting

The role of the Creeper was originally written specifically for actor Lance Henriksen, who had worked with Salva on The Nature of the Beast and Powder, but he dropped out of the project.

Casting

Jonathan Breck auditioned for the Creeper partly to confront his own fear of horror films; he shaved his head, researched animal movements, and took part in a 'sniff test' during casting, telling the director the Creeper 'wouldn't have hair.'

Casting

Francis Ford Coppola, who had previously financed Salva's directorial debut Clownhouse, helped Salva secure financing and convinced American Zoetrope to cast relatively unknown actors Gina Philips and Justin Long instead of A-listers.

Filming

Principal photography took place in Central Florida over about two months starting August 2000, using real locations like a former church in Ocala, an abandoned high school in Reddick as the police station, and a demolished meatpacking factory for the finale.

Filming

To help their performances, Justin Long and Gina Philips reportedly avoided interacting with Jonathan Breck off-camera throughout the shoot so as not to feel too familiar with him, which helped them appear genuinely frightened on screen.

Effects

The Creeper's 1941 Chevy COE truck was originally a flatbed vehicle whose back section was custom-built entirely by production designer Steven Legler, and it frequently broke down on set due to its old engine.

Effects

For the final shot implying the Creeper had taken Darry's eyes, Justin Long himself played the Creeper, looking through a plaster cast made of his own body.

Reception

Jeepers Creepers broke the record for the highest Labor Day opening weekend, a record it held until its own sequel, Jeepers Creepers 2, surpassed it two years later.

Memorable quotes

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You know the part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid, and everybody hates him for it? This is it.

Trish Jenner Calling out the moment when the protagonists make a terrible decision in a horror film.

Get a load of that nasty old thing. What is that, the vehicle choice of assholes and fucking serial killers?

Darry Jenner First encounter with the creeper's truck on the highway.

This guy must have 500, maybe 600 bodies down there, and I've seen 'um! Stuck up on the walls like some psycho version of the Sistine Chapel!

Darry Jenner After discovering the creeper's lair filled with bodies.

It eats lungs so it can breath, it eats eyes so it can see. Whatever it eats...becomes a part of it.

Jezelle Hartman Explaining the creature's hunting methods and survival.

When you hear that song you run, and I mean run! 'Cause that song means something terrible for you, something so terrible you couldn't dream of it...not in your worst most terrible nightmare!

Jezelle Hartman Warning about the creeper's song and its ominous meaning.

It needs to scare you. There's something in fear, something it can smell. Something that tells it if there's anything inside someone that it might...like.

Jezelle Hartman Explaining how the creature selects its victims based on fear.

Every 23rd Spring for 23 days it gets to...eat...

Jezelle Hartman Revealing the creature's feeding cycle.

[To Trish and Darry] You've got something it likes... one of you.

Jezelle Hartman Suggesting that one of the pair has something the creature desires.

She did lose her head, Darla lost her head, just like they said. And you know what he did, Trish? You know what he did for her? H-He sewed it back on. He sewed it right back on...!

Darry Jenner Discovering evidence of the creature's horrific mutilation practices.

That's not my scarecrow.

The Cat Lady Realizing the scarecrow in her field is not what she thought.

The point of having a portable phone you idiot, is that it works when you need it!

Trish Jenner Frustrated about communication failures during danger.

He's watching... He's waiting... He's hungry...

Tagline

Evil is right behind you

Tagline

A nightmare cloaked in rags.

Tagline

How the community felt

😵 Shocked 33%
😆 Amused 67%

What people are saying (1)

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S

Seven oN

2 weeks ago

Review ★ 6

Ok, these kinds of horrors are always full of stupid decisions, but I must say that this one beats the record in that respect. Lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes and once I even laughed out loud. Nonetheless I had an entertaining evening and will watch the sequel.

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