Jeepers Creepers (film)

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Jeepers Creepers

Jeepers Creepers film poster
Directed by Victor Salva
Produced by Linda Reisman
Tom Luse
Barry Opper
Written by Victor Salva
Starring Gina Philips
Justin Long
Jonathan Breck
Music by Bennett Salvay
Cinematography Don E. FauntLeRoy
Editing by Ed Marx
Distributed by MGM
Release date(s) August 31, 2001
Running time 90 min.
Country USA
Language English
Budget ~ $10,000,000
Followed by Jeepers Creepers 2
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva.

The movie takes its name from the song Jeepers Creepers which is featured in the movie.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The movie revolves around a brother and sister, Darry and Trish, coming home for a holiday break. Their journey is uneventful until they are terrorized by 'some jerk' in a beat-up old truck, and later see the driver unloading what looks like bodies into a hole as they drive past. Escaping the ensuing chase, Darry insists they go back to see what he was doing — something he deeply regrets doing when he finds mutilated and preserved bodies all over the inside of the pit. They escape the truck again but their attempts to get help lead to nothing and they find themselves battling much more than the psycho driver that they first feared.

Through the course of the film, it is discovered that the creeper feeds for a reason: the body parts it eats are used to replace its own body parts, whether they become injured, or are simply inferior to the newly selected organs. In the end of the film, we also find out why the Creeper wants Darry: for his superior eyes.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception

[edit] Box Office

Jeepers Creepers opened in 2,944 theaters and took in a domestic gross of $37,904,175. It later made $21,313,614 internationally, making a total of $59,217,789 worldwide.[1]

[edit] Awards

  • Won: Crystal Reel Awards — Best Feature
  • Nominated: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films — Saturn Award Best Horror Film
  • Nominated: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films — Best Performance by a Younger Actor: Justin Long
  • Nominated: International Horror Guild — IHG Award Best Movie
  • Nominated: Sitges — Catalonian International Film Festival — Best Film: Victor Salva

[edit] Filming locations

Jeepers Creepers was shot in Central Florida. Specific locations are below.

[edit] Alternate Versions

  • After the end scene when the Creeper gets what he wants, there was an extended ending (cut out). In this ending everything was just a story told by a person named Gary (also played by Justin Long) to his girlfriend, Lisa (also played by Gina Philips). She doesn't believe him and they leave their camping site so they don't miss the bus. But instead of getting on the bus, they hitchhike and get picked up by a green truck. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the Creeper's truck and as the scene fades out, Lisa turns on the radio where "Jeepers Creepers" is playing.
  • Special Edition DVD contains a supplemental section featuring numerous scenes that were deleted or shortened. They include:
    • Slightly altered opening scene; also includes some additional dialogue in which the kids talk about their mother.
    • A longer sequence of the Creeper eating the tongue (which was originally trimmed to avoid an "NC-17" rating).
    • The initial scene inside the church basement is slightly extended.
    • Longer sequence inside the car on the way to the diner.
    • Longer strip-a-cop sequence.
    • The scene where the Creeper attacks the kids in the road (after killing the Cat Lady) is slightly extended.
    • Longer phone call home.
    • Longer sequence of the Creeper entering the police station.
    • An alternate ending in which the final shot in the theatrical ending was more of a subtle insinuation than a graphic display of what happened.

[edit] Trivia

  • The Creeper have remarkable similarities of (and maybe is based upon) Terror Inc., from Marvel Comics.
  • Victor Salva originally wrote the role of the Creeper for Lance Henriksen.
  • Gina Philips (Trish) and Justin Long (Darry) were not allowed to meet Jonathan Breck before filming (in order to get a true reaction from them when they actually did see him with his full costume and makeup), nor did they see the BEATNGU truck before the opening scene was shot. When Philips first saw the truck, she said something to the effect of: "Is that the truck? Jeepers, that's creepy."
  • The gear shift in the car was originally in the steering column. It was installed into the floorboard to fit the needs of the script.
  • In the final scene, the role of The Creeper (usually played by Jonathan Breck) is played by Justin Long, who plays Darry Jenner. Long also played The Creeper in the alternate ending, which is featured on the DVD.
  • Cameo: Jonathan Breck, the Creeper, appears without make-up as a police officer.
  • Director Cameo: Victor Salva appears as a body in the Creeper's "house of pain".
  • In Jezelle's living room scene, director Victor Salva's high school graduation picture can be seen doctored up to look like a record album from the 1930s with "Jeepers Creepers" on it.
  • The title was originally Here Comes the Boogeyman.
  • The version of Jeepers Creepers used in the movie is credited to Val Rosing, Henry Hall, and the BBC Dance Orchestra.
  • The creepers truck is a 1941 chevy COE flatbed with a custom made panel body.

[edit] Goofs

  • The credit "Officer with hole in chest" is misspelled as "Office with hole in chest".
  • When the Creeper is eating the prisoner and the guard shines the light on the Creeper's back, his zipper is visible.
  • The Creeper's contact lenses can be seen in close-ups during the final confrontation.

[edit] Sequel

Main article: Jeepers Creepers II

In 2003 a sequel was released, Jeepers Creepers II. Events in the second film take place days after the first film. Both the Creeper (Jonathan Breck) and Darry are the only characters to appear in both films.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=jeeperscreepers.htm

[edit] External links

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