Jeepers Creepers: Horror Classic Or Overrated? 

I always liked Gina Philips and Justin Long in this movie, they have a good brother and sister dynamic, plus it has a creepy backwoods Texas chainsaw massacre and urban legend feel

This film was the first ever horror film I’ve ever seen as a kid and it will always hold a special place in my heart

Despite the association of the real creeper, I still like this movie. Justin Long really elevated his acting skills. The JC monster still looks great.

It's said the creeper cut out darrys scull to preserve the eyes, his blood curdling screams at the end were really insane to me

I watched this movie a few years ago after my grandma passed away. I remembered she had mentioned it was her favorite scary movie and realized I had never seen it so I gave it a shot. I definitely enjoyed it! The first half was far more immersive and scary than the second half but imo it's worth a rewatch every few years or so. Better than some other horror movies from the era.

After learning of the director's past I realized that the Creeper is Salva's own fetishistic fantasy of hunting young men, sniffing their underwear, and ultimately evading/shrugging off the authorities until he gets that one special boy. It's fucked up and ruined what was a fairly cool concept for a horror film.

Jeepers Creepers will always have a special place in my heart. The second is great as well. I was devastated at how bad the third one was as well as the remake. Truly tragic. It was also wild finding out about the director. What a sick individual. Don't let that stop you from enjoying this movie though. This goes well with Dead Silence, Darkness Falls, and Stay Alive.

The Creeper is one of the coolest movie monsters ever, is a shame the series fell off so hard.

I’d always felt like the first 20 minutes or so could stand alone as an excellent horror short. Makes sense now

Absolutely LOVE this movie! Watched this at the perfect time in 2003, I was a kid and lived in an open Florida town like in the movie. When Trish runs the creeper over then throws it in reverse is so badass. Great video

Zero questions asked. This is an absolute HORROR CLASSIC. If not for the terrible Director issues, the Creeper could have ended up on the Mount Rushmore of Horror Icons

Classic. Hands down. Just wish they could pull this franchise out of the crapper. Jeepers Creepers reborn was one of the biggest letdowns of all time. We all waited so long after a subpar creeper movie, just to get that. This franchise deserves far better.

Underrated gem, the production value is amazing and the visual effects still hold up better than a lot "Blockbuster" movies of that time, genuinely creepy monster with an interesting lore and great performances, all controversy aside this is everything a good indie horror film should be

Definetely a CLASSIC and so, so original. It came out in a very awkward time for horror flicks. The slasher re-awakening had died off, and people assumed this was a generic slasher. So did I, only this one had genuine, creepy tension. And then it took a complete turn, its brilliant to me! "Barbarian is a modern film that takes a similar route, and it stars Justin Long too 😂

That very first time they see the creeper and he just stares at them driving past the church will always be terrifying. Knowing he's coming for you just to learn he's basically invincible.

It's a horror classic. The director got caught doing something horrible but that doesn't take away from what the movie is

I absolutely love the movie and just finished rewatching it. It legitimately still scares me to this day and is a great horror film.

The first two films always resonated with me as a child because I lived in the Midwest there were a lot of empty fields and barren landscapes. I was afraid of the creeper snatching me away like a bird takes away a worm. The second film trailer scared me the most and I was afraid to go out alone or in school buses at night. The idea of that thing jumping on the hood of the van ripping the van open and taking eating me or my whole family like we were canned sardines felt very real to me at the time. It didn’t help there were many old abandoned cars schools churches around…I never worried in the winter though cause it was -60 and I felt that there was no way the creature would come out in this weather

I think it's a classic. I also think the second one hits the sweet spot of "so bad it's good" status.

Speaking as someone who can separate the art from the artist, this movie is a gem from my childhood. The Creeper is one of the most terrifying monsters that I’ve ever heard of, and the acting in both movies has me rewatching them multiple times over the years.

I love those days when we were all not dependent upon smartphones, so having phone lines down feels nostalgic

Definitely a classic road trip film in the vein Of Tourist Trap, Road games, Death Valley, The Hitcher, and Joyride.

I absolutely agree with a 9 rating. It is actually a very entertaining and nostalgia inducing flick that i can watch anytime. Most people dont agree with me but I'm always up for it.

It sucks about Salva's past but this movie is a great example of how to tell a story in movies. I remember seeing it for the first time and you assume the sibling banter will go on for 20 minutes but then BAM, the creeper passes them and they see the body and the story never lets up after that. It took around 5 minutes to get to the inciting incident and it rolled smoothly until the end. And THAT is something filmmakers can not do today. They never get to the point and waste our time.

Such a well done film, I love the feeling of isolation it gives us viewers and they chose such endearing leads.

This movie was genuinely scary. It had a great build-up. And build-up really helps a movie's scare factor in my opinion

straight up classic! was pleasantly surprised when i caught this in theaters and the entire audience was way into it.

When I was 11 my mom and I watched this in theaters. I still enjoy this movie.

It's definitely a HORROR CLASSIC,, Trish and Darry have great sibling chemistry and the movie is suspenseful and creepy as hell.

Hands down one of the best horror villains as to date. Tragic the way 3 & 4 were produced.

The first movie was really scary and even the alternate scene where it was the only moment the creeper talked. Not seeing his full appearance and someone pursuing you is what made this scary and the mystery behind the creature. It's unfortunate that after 2 they really destroyed this franchise.

I really liked the beginning of Jeepers Creepers the first time I saw it. I thought the story was better and scarier before the reveal that it’s a demon thing.

Creeper is one of my all time favorite movie baddies. I love when a creature feature gives the creature a brain, with intellect & agenda, & elevates it to a _villain_ . With a decent set of rules to adhere to, now he's a reasonably _defeatable_ villain. He gets a seat next to Pinhead for me 😈 I've always wanted a prequel movie for this franchise, maybe something in westward expansion period? There's literal centuries of history that could be explored with him; so much potential 🤔

The first half of this movie is a masterclass in build-up, tension, and suspense. Much like the opening scene of Scream, but more drawn out. When you find out they are being stalked by a monster and not a man, it takes on a more campy feel. Which isn’t bad. I always enjoy watching it. But I wonder what the potential could have been if the antagonist had been a human.

9 out of 10...A Well Deserved Score! Shout-out to Justin Long man, i hope he's in this next Dodgeball Sequel they're talking about dropping 🔥

Thank you for your opening remarks!!! I've debated the same so so many times! One of the (ahem) Merkins accused me of being toxic because I share your view. Thank you thank you!

My buddies and I watched this in college, going in completely blind to what it was actually about. So with each passing reveal about the creature, we were just in awe and we absolutely loved the original movie. Admittedly, I don't go back and watch it now because of everything that happened but as a movie, I love it. It's a complicated relationship

Are Victor Salva and J Wayne Gacy brothers...

One of my favorites of all time

It's a classic point blank ❤

Top 10 monster scream of all time. That police station scene is iconic.

I always liked Jeepers Creepers 2 more than the original. I always felt that Darry did this to himself in the sense. At least in the second The Creeper set the trap for the victims.

Can we just appreciate how much talent Justin long shows in this movie

Cult classic for sure! 🙌🏼🎬

Great retrospective on a fantastic and unique horror film of the early 2000s. The sequel was awesome and the others had massive potential. Very professional of this channel to not condemn nor condone his actions. What he did was deplorable but in the same sentence he did complete his time. Great review as always!

Jeepers Creepers deserves a score in the high seventies or low eighties in my opinion. The original had a great pace as well as atmosphere and practical setbacks that could happen (car messed up, forgot to charge cell phone, etc.). The psychic placed to give exposition works as well giving it a destiny sort of feel as well as her kinfd of knowing how its going to play out but not wanting to say. The monster was great. The body had a gargoyle and bat type of vibe and the brimmed hat and overcoat to conceal its true nature was a nice creepy feel. I also like the usage of the monster getting hit and all those medieval weapons dropping just to show how long it may have been around.

Man dude who made this movie a creep no pun intended but this movie toooo legendary to be ignored this is one of my favorite horror movies

It was going well until we see the man in a rubber suit.

Horror classic! One of the greatest of all times

I must give this one a re-watch. I saw it when it first came out and only remember being bored, frustrated and annoyed. Maybe I was having a bad day but just the memory of how I felt about the film on my first and only viewing has had me ignoring and bypassing it ever since. 22(?) years is a long time to be angry at a film I can barely recall.

It's a great horror movie. Hard to find decent originals and this was one of them. Enjoyed the second one quite a bit too. Both were stylish and pretty fun.

Watching the movie again with the context of what the director has done really puts a few shots and scenes into perspective and makes it even more perverse.

Gina Philips is fantastic as Patricia "Trish" Jenner and Justin Long is fantastic as Darry. 😀👍

I just found this out, but in the police station scene, johnathan breck, who plays the creepers, also plays one of the cops. And the school coach from the second movie, the one the creeper latches on to while he is olding on the bus door, is the car theif from the first movie.

I’m sick of justifying my love of this film and Clownhouse. They’re awesome.

Not overrated at all this movie itself was & still is ICONIC. Jeepers Creepers 2 was also really good imo 😮

Jeeper creeper in my opinion is your typical 90s early 2000s American horror movie but with the added bonus of very creepy environments and a well-made creature. Which raises the film from all the other horror movies that have a similar plot.

Definitely classic. Creepers actor and makeup artist was perfect

One of the greatest monster horror films ever made. It’s sequel was even better.

Everything from the script to the director makes this film legendary creepy. Similar to the backround of the exrocist.

Speaking of Creeps, you guys gonna to a WTF to Creepshow 3 the movie? I'm curious what went on with that movie, because it's hot garbage. Great videos as always, keep up the good work Joblo.

I saw this movie with my family at a drive in theater and man did it hit at playing at such a late hour! What a unique movie.

The original truck from the film is owned by a private collector in Maryland, who kept it as a relic and also provided it for the production of Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017). He also rents it for some events and conventions. Justin Long's first leading role, and he was only 22 at the time of filming. The original title was "Here Comes the Boogeyman" The Creeper is Jonathan Breck's favorite of his performances. Justin Long and Gina Philips said that Victor Salva's screenplay was so terrifying that they had to put it down after reading the first 20 pages or so and come back to it hours later. The oath "Jeepers Creepers!" originated in the early 20th century as a polite euphemism for Jesus Christ. Jiminy Crickets was a synonym before the latter phrase was co-opted by Walt Disney as the name of a cartoon insect. Justin Long and Gina Philips were allowed to improvise many of their scenes, which writer and director Victor Salva kept in the final cut. The house where the cat lady lived was the home of an actual cat lady, although the films felines were provided by an animal trainer. Victor Salva had planned for a more extensive sequence inside the house but budget cuts forced him to trim the scene. The filming of the scenes on the road was very difficult to record as iguanas were always crossing on the highway. Jonathan Breck, the actor of the Creeper, is 6'1" According to the "Jeepers Creepers" wiki page, the Creeper is 6 feet 8 inches tall. During most of the movie Trish has green eyes, but towards the end her eyes turn brown. This was done on purpose to show how Trish becomes more like Darry and how the two of them weren't that different from how they were initially shown. Had Trish and Darry not bothered to observe the Creeper unloading his collection of bodies, he would have ignored them. The only reason the Creeper noticed them was because the scent of their apphrension wafted over. Many people consider the movie to be set in Florida, when the movie was only shot there while the movie is set in a fictional location created by Victor Salva for several of his movies. The film takes place in "The place of the three counties", more specifically on Highway 9 east of Pertwilla and Poho (fictional places where several Victor Salva films are developed). The bald cop is Jonathan Breck out of Creeper costume. Victor Salva wanted his natural face in the movie in some way. In a sense of dark humor, the Creeper will only go after a complete set of sensory organs; meaning if Darry become blinded in one eye, the Creeper would have lost interest in him. Darry Jenner's name is a tribute to Stephen King's literary work It, Darry is pronounced the same as Derry. In "It" a creature also wakes up every few years to feed and hibernate again. The fearsome and demonic horn of the creeper's truck was created by Bennett Salvay, responsible for the soundtrack of this film and its sequel. Trish and Darry interpret the license plates of cars. Their own car has the letters SVM on its license plate. It can be interpreted as "Save Me". The film has a sequence that pays homage to Steven Spielberg's horror classics: Duel (1971) and Jaws (1975), movies loved by Victor Salva. This can be seen in the chase scene with the Creeper's truck, even the soundtrack of said scene alludes to John Williams' score for Jaws. The name of the restaurant's waitress is Beverly, this in homage to the movie Terror in Beverly Hills (1989). The Cat Lady played by Eileen Brennan, is also in the film The Cheap Detective, which also features the song "Jeepers Creepers." at around 1h 24 mins) It's Justin Long in makeup at the end as The Creeper, not Jonathan Breck. Jonathan Breck shaved his head for the role, inspired by the notion that the Creeper was naturally hairless and would have to "borrow" hair from victims. (at around 8 mins) According to Justin Long, his stream of urine as Darry and Trish stop by the road to pee was real and not faked for the shot. The contacts on The Creeper made Jonathan Breck blind whenever he had to wear them. (at around 56 mins) The Creeper originally had one line of dialog in the film. After he kills the old cat lady and holds her body upright, revealing his true face to Darry and Trish, he originally said "She don't smell too good, Darius..." before tossing her corpse aside. This line was cut and replaced with silence as the producers thought it would be more effective to have the Creeper say nothing. Still, you can see The Creeper's lips move in sync with the line if you look closely. The church above the Creepers lair was a real abandoned church that after the movie success became a tourist attraction until in a life imitates art moment it mysteriously burned down a few years ago. When Darry and Trish are on the road they see the license plate BEATNGU and take it as 'beating you', but later in the film they realize it can also be taken as 'B eating you'. (Be eating you.) The Creepers growls were achieved by having Jonathan Breck do a very low and rough growl with his voice then adding in a very well deformed and edited inhaling sound, with a hyena for the squeaking noise. The Creeper is never referred to as the "Creeper" he's only referred to as "guy" "man" "he" or "it" although Jezelle refers to him as "a Demon or a Devil or just some hungry thing". In portraying the character of "the cat lady", Eileen Brennan wore cat-shaped slippers and the scarecrow that the old woman owned had a cat face. The Creeper's skin is gray in the first movie but black in the sequels. There are many more male than female victims in the Creeper movies. According to Victor Salva, this is because he was tired of the horror cliche of slasher victims being mostly teenage girls. Body Count: 7 (at around 2 mins) Near the beginning of the movie, you can see Trish holding a pair of reading glasses. This is probably why the Creeper prefers Darry to Trish. at around 1h 5 mins) Jezelle, states while looking right at Darry: "It eats lungs, so it can breathe and eyes... so it can see" The lyrics to the song "Jeepers Creepers" itself foreshadow Darry's fate heavily. The climax scene with The Creeper clinging to Darry (Justin Long) before flying away is a homage to the monster from the black lagoon movies where the creature took its victims that way. In the scene with the cops at the diner, the camera often focuses on Trooper Gideon's head. He gets decapitated very shortly after. Gina Philips (Trish) didn't know how to drive stick shift before the film so she took lessons. On her first lesson all she did was stall. At the beginning of the film, Trish and Darry are referring to a previous murder which took place on the same highway they are driving on. A murder which took place in 1978. This movie takes place in 2001. Exactly 23 years later. It is revealed later on that the Creeper returns every 23 years to feed. The third film would elaborate on it.

Definitely a solid 7/10 horror movie

An absolute classic! When I think about films, I don’t think about the man behind the camera. I only associate a film with the talent in front of the lens. I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! It scared the shit out of me when it first came out. One of my favorites!

I liked the fact that it was indeed a supernaturl being and not just another slasher guy.

Victor Salva. There, I said it.

I have to say, I remember seeing this in theaters when it first came out, no age cracks, and I loved the first hour. It was perfect, moody and tense, then it kind of fell apart a little revealing that it was a creature. I went in blind and had no idea what to expect. I don't think it had to be a creature though, I kind of wish it was an old prospector or something? I think this came out around the same time as Joyride, another favorite close to my heart.

I thought they were twins, that’s why Trish tried to swap with Darry because they had the same DNA. Like her lungs would be the same as Darry’s. Yet the creeper was after eyes. Trish wears glasses therefore making hers “damaged”, whereas Darry didn’t so his eyes were fit for the creeper.

We ignore the literal elephant. But Jeepers Creepers 1-2 are solid horror movies the third was clearly a cash grab however I still liked the creeper in it.. and don’t even get me started on the 4th

Until you find out that the villain isn’t human, it’s one of the scariest films ever seen. As soon as you find out the creeper is a monster it ceases to be great

Didn’t know that about the director, still like the film but not gonna lie it’ll enter my head every time I watch it now a bit like when I try to watch smallville and Chloe (Allison Mack) comes on. This is why I try not to learn about Hollywood people they too often are disappointing people in real life

I went to high school on the road used to film the early scenes. It's called high school road in Dunnellon Florida. Saw the truck before the movie came out. Creepy.

I grew up in Coldwater MIchigan and have visted the old schoolhouse on the corner of snow praire road and w .southern many times, creepy place.

Something curious. I remember the forums on the Arrow in the Head site….. the director’s past was no hidden secret. It would be mentioned, but not to the degree it is constantly brought up in modern times.

This needs a legacy sequel continuation with the Trish character getting her revenge. There were a couple of sequel plans that were scrapped by the studio involving her for whatever reasons.

The 1st movie is great an the tie in to a true story was amazing. The 2nd is ok the 3rd wasn't that great but looks amazing compared to the horrible rebirth . I don't get why we never got a sequel to take place after the 2nd with the creeper trapped in the barn

Imagine condoning a director and never speaking about a movie they directed...what about the cast and crew that didn't commit such an act? They just suffer because of a piece of trash director?

I thought this was terrifying, until.....you saw the monster. Then it turned into Buffy.

The ending still freaks me out

This movie was always my brother and Is favorite because Justin Long and Gina Phillips have such a good sibling dynamic. We even played the license plate game. I cant watch the movie anymore. After losing my brother its too hard, but still one of my favorites.

I have always really really liked this movie but there is one thing in the movie that drives me crazy every time I watch it. In the beginning when they're doing the license plate game and they see the creepers license plate. It says beatingu which they take as B eating U And I have never understood how they came up with that without knowing that he is a cannibal because it just looks like it spells beating you like someone Is beating you in a race Which would make sense because it was on the back end of the car. So it's just like a funny joke because they are in front of whoever is reading it.

What creeps me out the most about this movie is the not-so-subtle allegory of the monster wanting to "wear" the skin of teenage boys. I just can't separate the art from the artist. That's why always hated this franchise.

i would say that the first jeepers movie will go down as a classic despite victor salvas past which i only found out about after the second film was released, the first movie has great production values and a story which i feel is original but becomes a bit predictable three quarters in, as for victor salva himself of coarse all abuse is appalling but it appears he was also a victim of abuse when he was younger and shows that abused kids can go on to be abusers themselves. i wont let victor salvas past cloud my judgement of what i feel is a movie which delivers on many levels and deserves credit for that. regards from the batman.

Wow that’s a GREAT design. Very realistic unlike every film made in the digital CGI age.

Whenever I watch this movie, I don’t think one second about the director and what he did. It’s a movie, that’s it. People wanna bring up the other shit just to make others that like the movie feel some kinda way.

remevbered being terrified of this movie as a kid. the other day actually, we decided to sit down and watch it. despiote being a little corny dialogue wise, it still managed to scare the shit out of me. LOVE IT

The original is without doubt a classic. The sequels? Not so much.

I couldn't agree more! This one is a horror classic Despite the trash shitty human being that Salva is, he made a great work on writing and directing BUT ... and is a BIG but... Truth to be told, without Gina, Justin, Patricia and specially Jonathan, this would be just one more on the pile Their performances make us, the viewers sympathise with their characters, and be afraid of the villain Jonathan Breck IS the Creeper, as well as Robert is Freddy, that is no doubt. I truly thanks all artist who worked their asses out on this and gave us and incredible product My applause and admiration to all of them (except Salva)

Horror Classic for sure saw it twice at the movie theater

Glad you said that right off the Bat. I did like this just the 1st one, I sware the 1st is always best, in most cases.

I remember seeing this in theaters when I was a kid, the ending really stuck with me the music, screams, & visuals combined. chilling

I miss the way life was when this film was in the theatre. Everyone was talking about it. We had all kinds of movies like this, where a unique story and concept is introduced. Now, it's all Superhero stuff and mindless nonsense. People are so dumb now, the can't watch an original idea, they can't think "to hard"

Trish’s strength and leadership wasn’t the only thing that saved her life from the Creeper, its bc her ignorance. She didn’t fall down that tunnel and see what Darry saw. The Creeper feeds on fear and Darry satisfying his curiosity only hurt him more. Curiosity really did kill the cat in this case.

this movie and its sequel gave me nightmares so bad as a kid. i remember vividly having a dream being on the bus in the second one and being absolutely terrified. i rewatched both back to back one night and seeing the creeper just stare down the camera still sends a shiver down my spine. even the damn song AND the truck horn instills childhood fear in me

Kudos for at least addressing the controversy at the start. Regardless of what the filmmaker did, there is still a film to break down. Everyone can agree the guy is the worst kind of garbage person. But that doesn't mean we have to speak about the horrific things every time we talk about the guys work. If we did that with every film, we'd only ever be speaking about pedo directors and producers

It's still better than the entirety of newer horror films that relied on jumpscares. The creature, the creeper had a very interesting lore. Which was expanded on the comic. I love materials like this like in Aliens franchise and it's prequels. The movie itself was fun to watch. Despite sometimes being hammy.

this was the first movie i watched when i got out of foster care early 2002 in vhs ❤

You and the Canadian chick are my preferred narrators. Thanks for the video

There was a LOT of hype leading up to this before it came out....before I knew about the director...and I liked it....but it didn't quite live up. I'm happy never revisiting it now.