Much like the Creeper itself, the Jeepers Creepers franchise won’t stay dormant for long. With the upcoming reboot Jeepers Creepers: Reborn hitting theaters this week, Dread Central is rolling out their brand-new limited series podcast Jeepers Creepers Unseen, which will explore the controversy that’s rooted in the franchise’s history. With a fanbase divided on the separation of a creator and their art vs. accountability and what that looks like, Dread Central’s Josh Korngut hosts the new podcast that aims to dig up that lurid past and put it all out on the table.
In 2001, the first Jeepers Creepers film, written and directed by Victor Salva, opened in theaters. Starring a young Justin Long (Barbarian), the movie follows Darry (Long) and his sister Trish (Gina Philips) on their drive home to their mother’s house. In the rural countryside, the two teenagers encounter a vile creature, the Creeper, who, every 23 years, awakens to hunt and feed off the viscera of unsuspecting victims.
Prior to writing and directing the film, which has since gone on to spawn two sequel films not counting Reborn, Salva was convicted in 1988 for the sexual molestation of a 12-year-old child. After serving only 15 months of his 3-year prison sentence, Salva was not only able to find work in Hollywood, he was hired on with Disney to write and direct the film Powder. In the Jeeper Creepers Unseen podcast, Korngut intends to educate franchise fans on this controversy by “reviving its past, contextualizing the harm perpetuated by the creator, and taking an honest look at why this property is so important to so many horror fans.”
In light of Reborn‘s release date coming up, Korngut’s four-part podcast will highlight the nature of Salva’s case, the connection to the films, and ask fans if maybe it’s time to move away from this series. Though the filmmaker of Reborn swears the reboot distances itself from Salva, it’s worth noting the original films will no doubt be revisited in the movie’s wake. Unseen will provide the horror community and audiences with an awareness that they may not have previously had, allowing the individual to make the choice not to support such a sinister legacy. Might we suggest checking out some choice horror icons that were always leagues above the Creeper anyway, like Michael Myers in Halloween Ends, or Pinhead in Hulu’s Hellraiser reboot?
Korngut is the managing editor for Dread Central, as well as a writer and filmmaker. He also hosts Development Hell, which deep-dives into the horror movies that never were, like “Neill Blomkamp’s Alien V, Guillermo del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness, and Freddy vs Jason vs Ash!”
Jeepers Creepers Unseen‘s first episode premieres on October 25. Check out the synopsis and teaser trailer for Korngut’s podcast below:
“JEEPERS CREEPERS is an iconic horror franchise spawning twenty years, four films, and a passionate fanbase. But its community has become increasingly divided as public awareness surrounding its creator’s disturbing crime continues to rise. The new podcast JEEPERS CREEPERS UNSEEN unearths this controversial franchise by reviving its past, contextualizing the harm perpetuated by the creator, and taking an honest look at why this property is so important to so many horror fans. With a fourth movie hailing from new filmmakers, I’m here to ask if a well-loved film series can reckon with history and thrive, or is now the time to move on?”
