The “Jeepers Creeper” franchise boasts of four movies under its belt, including the newly released “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn.” The movie is about a sinister monster who comes back to life every 23rd summer and feasts on humans for 23 straight days before going to sleep again. From a distance, the Creeper appears to be a normal human donning a hat and a trench coat, but if you come face-to-face with it, you’ll see he’s anything but a human. He has an algae-green complexion, and his jaw is stuffed with rotten fangs. Some might associate the Creeper with the vampires who feed on human blood to keep themselves alive and young. The Creeper, on the other hand, doesn’t long for human blood but rather human flesh. So, let’s take a deep dive into the monster’s history and dissect his true nature and the powers that make him stand out from the likes of Freddy and Jason.
The Creeper’s History and His Connection With His Truck
Much of Creeper’s history and life is shrouded in mystery. If we follow the legend, The Monster is an undying creature that existed before the events of the long-running franchise and survived the endless eons of human civilization. According to the graphic novels published to promote the “Jeepers Creepers” movies, the Creeper was to be blamed for the depletion of the Roanoke town in present-day North Carolina because he oversaw mortal sacrificial rites throughout the ages of the Aztecs and then mercilessly slaughtered and devoured the entourage of European explorers. The Creeper has perpetrated innumerable horrors, including the inadvertent destruction of an entire civilization. The graphic novels also expose the scope of the Creeper’s abilities, withholding bits of its prey’s spirits inside his own body.
The Creeper uses a massive, rusty, old truck to take his captives to a strange grotto below an ancient church via a sewage line, whereupon he stitches them to the rafters and names them “House of Pain.” The sight of his vehicle is enough to frighten away any prospective victims. In the films, we’ve seen that the Creeper has boobytrapped his truck with various weapons to behead any captive who tries to flee or anybody who comes too near his truck to scare thieves or avoid any stowaway attempts. The vehicle is indestructible to the extent that projectiles will rebound and harm the attackers. The truck can also launch explosives and has detachable blades in the rear to murder or hurt anybody who wanders too close. Every part of the vehicle is equipped with dangerous tools and weapons, making it an indestructible killing machine. The Creeper is somehow connected to his truck and uses it to aid him in his killing, even though he’s not actually driving the truck.
The Creeper’s Regenerative Powers are Unlike Anything Else
The Creeper’s regeneration power is what makes him stand out from the villains of his kind and has also become the staple of the long-running franchise. The Creeper can regrow any portion of his body by consuming a similar body part of his victim. This is exactly how the monster has managed to keep himself alive for generations by eating individuals to rejuvenate his decaying body. Not only does the monster possess an inhuman ability to heal himself, but he is also very resilient. From handgun shots to being pierced by spears and swords, the monster has endured all and lived. In addition, he has also been slammed by trucks and pushed from heights but was still able to collect himself. There’s no tried-and-tested way to kill the monster, at least not yet. The Creeper also boasts a keen sense of hearing and smell and can precisely pinpoint his victim’s location, sensing their fears. But in movies, there have been instances when people have successfully managed to repress their fear and state of mind to avoid getting captured.
The Creeper has superhuman strength, evident by the ease with which it tears through people and flips cars with a single punch and push. The Creeper is likewise swift and agile, as demonstrated in a scene where Triss tries to ram the monster, but the monster manages to dodge it and lands on the car’s roof after doing a backflip. Even though the monster was gravely bruised later, the fact that Trish flung him into the sky by crashing into him at a ridiculous speed and then running over him on many occasions demonstrates his resilience. The Creeper’s two huge flaps tucked behind his shoulders are so powerful that they can support not only his own load but also that of a grown man. These make dodging very difficult since his wings can quickly match the rate of a speeding vehicle.
The Calm, Calculated And Cunning
Typically, the Creeper is portrayed as having a dark side in all three pictures. He appears to take pleasure in torturing his prey before executing them. This serves two purposes: it gives him pleasure while also increasing his captives’ level of terror. But as his hours on Earth wind down, he grows more cruel and relentless and will follow his targets no matter how badly they are hurt. The 2011 movie bestowed the flesh-hungry monster with a couple of human-like characters. You might recall a scene in the first movie when the monster was hell-bent on creating macabre works of art out of the remains of his subjects. This says a lot about his character and personality. Creeper has been living among us for centuries and has grown to like both music and art. His methodology of killing and torture has evolved over time and is no longer primitive or ancient. The Creeper may appear and act like a monster and may have no ability to communicate with others, yet it demonstrates human-like feelings and intellect. He is found to grasp a range of feelings, including humor, rage, sorrow, terror, and, for a split second, the possibility of kindness. In the first movie, we see the monster’s emotional side (even for a split-second) when he stops and actually thinks about Trish’s proposal to take her instead of his brother. Creeper’s time on earth has taught him a lot about modern-day innovations and tools, as well as human psychology and anatomy. He never has any trouble behind the wheel of a truck and has figured out how to make it go places it shouldn’t be allowed to go. His knowledge of anatomy is further shown by his capability to retain human carcasses immaculately intact for generations and by the fact that he utilizes discarded limbs and organs to fashion his sharp shurikens.
Moreover, the Creeper is demonstrated to be very cunning and clever in the pursuit of his prey. Except when faced with a very difficult opponent or when time is running out, he seldom resorts to a full-on assault on his prey. Rather, he chooses to observe his targets from a reasonable distance, either by sabotaging their cars or assuming a disguise. This allows him to choose the most probable targets and devise a plan for capturing them with little effort.
Is The Jeepers Creepers’ Monster, A Vampire?
Many believe it to be a monster, demon, or extraterrestrial alien from a different planet. There are many legends that point out the Creeper once used to be a man who was cursed, and in order to keep himself fed and alive, the monster is forced to kill and feed on human flesh. But after closely analyzing his personality and his methodology, it’s safe to say that the monster is somewhat of a vampire. As established earlier, the Creeper doesn’t hunt for blood but rather devours his victim’s remains to rejuvenate his own organs. Vampires and the Creeper share many characteristics. Both cherish the ability to come back from the dead and are highly intelligent beings. But unlike the Creeper, the vampires seem like any other healthy human being going about their daily lives unnoticed. Sometimes a vampire would disguise himself as an animal — a raven or fox, for example — to get the jump on their prey. But the Creeper can neither change its form nor blend in with human civilization unless it’s Halloween. Although vampires share the gift of eternal life, they do possess several vulnerabilities. They are vulnerable to religious symbols, burning, decapitation, and glorious sunshine, and they avoid garlic. Also, they have incredible stamina and never leave any traces. The Creeper, too, is vulnerable to decapitation and burning but isn’t deterred by religious objects. The Creeper’s regeneration abilities allow him to grow the severed body part by consuming his victims.
What do you think? Is he a vampire, an alien, a devil, or something else?
