10 Things You Didn't Know About Jeepers Creepers

When Jeepers Creepers was released in 2001 it was welcomed by horror fans as The Creeper was the first original horror icon for a considerable amount of time. Fans who loved Freddy, Jason and Leatherface had to be content with sequels, reruns and reboots, so it was great to see a new antagonist monster that they could get invested in.

The film told the story of a creature who hunts for twenty-three days every twenty-three years in order to collect human organs to replace its own. Staring Justin Long in his first big role after impressing Director Victor Salva in Galaxy Quest, the film also introduced Jonathan Breck, who brought The Creeper to life in a truly terrifying way.

The opening scene has gone down as a moment of unforgettable classic horror, similar to the introduction to Jaws. It starts off innocuously, then builds the tension from an unknown attacker, showing you the anger and ferocity of The Creeper before we have seen him or know anything about him. The the terror is maintained throughout the film, as you are never entirely sure what his motives are beyond random victim selection, and little is revealed about his origins.

With Jeepers Creepers 3 cut to a fill in the timeline between the first and second films, it is rumoured that Salva's planned sequel and conclusion to the twenty-three day cycle is in production for Jeepers Creepers 4. Let's have a look back at some things you may not know about the film that started it all.

Victor Salva has always said the Creeper legend is complete fiction, but there are two theories of where his inspiration came from.

The opening scene of the movie has been compared to the case of Dennis DePue, a former Michigan Property Assessor who murdered his ex-wife Marilynn in 1990 by throwing her down the stairs and then shooting her when their children didn't want to come with him on his visitation day.

A couple witnessed his truck speeding past them and noticed his licence plate. Further down the road they saw the truck parked outside an abandoned school with Dennis next to it, covered in blood. They reported the truck subsequently following them until they turned down a side road and escaped him. Returning to the abandoned school, they found a blood-stained shirt and police later found Marilynn's hidden body.

The appearance of the Creeper himself is said to have been inspired by 'Spring-heeled Jack', a creature of Victorian England folklore in the 1800s. The urban legend described him as a tall skinny figure dressed in a black cloak, with clawed hands and red eyes. Witnesses claimed he had the ability to leap fantastic distances in the same way as the Creeper does, with some reporting to have seen him jump over houses.