‘Jeepers Creepers 3’ Must Get Made And Here’s Why

With ‘Jeepers Creepers’ 3 moving forward after a canceled casting call in Canada, the horror genre is in huge need of this film coming to fruition.

In 2001, the horror community was taken completely by surprise when a director named Victor Salva, whose most popular contribution to film was the 1995 supernatural picture Power, unleashed a character who could easily stand up to any creation our genre has ever seen.

His name was “The Creeper”, and what he did was simple. As a bat-like gargoyle of the night, one who could gracefully fly at the drop of a dingy-brown hat, he ate victim’s body parts as a way to replenish any piece of his own body that was on it’s last leg (and, I’m assuming, it ate actual legs at times). Every 23 Spring, for 23 days, he was able to consume as much as possible, and needed, before hibernating for another 23 years.

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In the original film, he had his sights set on a brother and sister fresh on spring break from college. For anyone who saw the underrated film, you know things didn’t go so well for poor Darry (played by the underrated Justin Long and his sister Trish (played by the beautiful and talented Gina Philips). Sure they put up a good fight, and while I won’t ruin the fate of the film’s protagonist, it was far from good.

Then, in 2003, Salva made a sequel. Almost mirroring the mostly crap sequels of the 80’s, where the subsequent pictures in a series never came close to the brilliance of it’s inaugural film, Jeepers Creepers 2 was a terrible mess of a movie. This time focusing on a school bus full of high school kids, the film is almost a blue print for what not to do in a sequel. Save for Ray Wise, and the exposition that comes with him (which does enrich the otherwise lacking film), this tale has little redeeming qualities. Ok, so Johnathan Breck as The Creeper was still pretty awesome.

So why do we need Jeepers Creepers 3? Let’s go over a few of the finer aspects of the rich universe Salva created.

First, Jeepers Creepers is highly imaginative. The idea itself is so creative-falling in the same vein as Wes Craven’s immortal A Nightmare on Elm Street– and to not have more stories set in this universe would be a travesty. While a lot of horror in uninspired, and others are highly executed but not entirely original (Carpenter’s Halloween springs to mind… SPRING!), Jeepers Creepers is that rare case of true originally. It getting to eat for 23 days, every 23 Spring, and while smelling out the body parts of it’s victims through their fear is an amazing idea.

Then there’s The Creeper itself. Sans the 2003 sequel, where a lot of the character was more watered down than a Monday Margarita, the beast-like-creature truly had personality, and a sadistically gleeful sense of humor, in the original film. Examples include, but aren’t limited to,  it’s rusty truck (with the BEATGU license plate), it’s house of pain with hundreds of sown together bodies (the church), and his whistling the actual Jeepers Creepers song in the cop scene (one of my all-time favorite film moments). We need more originality in horror and Jeepers Creepers 3 is the perfect opportunity for this.

Justin Long and Jonathan Breck in Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Also, the fans of the first film deserve closure. The sequel didn’t feature Trish, and while Darry has a cameo, we never got to see the aftermath of the first film’s events. Does Trish want revenge? Does she now want to desperately find where The Creeper is resting for the 23 year stretch and make him pay for what he’s done? There’ve been strong rumors that Trish will be heavily featured in the upcoming sequel: this is freaking mind-blowing.

All these things add up, to this writer, why we desperately need the return of The Creeper and a third Jeepers Creepers.

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So what do you guys think? Do you think we need a Jeepers Creepers 3, or should this one be put to rest? Don’t for get to sound off in the comment section below and follow 1428 Elm for all things Jeepers Creepers, from news, reviews, and every body part in between.