16/09/2022
VICTOR SALVA: THE REAL LIFE MONSTER BEHIND JEEPERS CREEPERS
âJeepers Creepers: Rebornâ is coming to theaters this week as a soft reboot of the popular horror franchise originally created by director/writer Victor Salva. Not only is the film bringing the Creeper back, but âRebornâ is also reportedly the first chapter in a brand new âJeepers Creepersâ franchise. Thereâs a lot of money being invested into bringing the Creeper back, with a new cast and crew taking over the franchise and staying as far away as they can from Salva, a convicted pe*****le who many people think didnât get the appropriate conviction for his abhorrent crimes. All this leads us to ask: does the âJeepers Creepersâ film franchise really need to continue now that Salva has been booted from the property? Or should we just let the Creeper die? After all, even if Salva is not involved in any way with the new films, the buzz surrounding âRebornâ will definitely lead more people to watch the original trilogy, which inevitably benefits the original filmmaker.
But should we really keep condemning Salva for his crimes, even after he confessed to them, was judged, and served part of his sentence? Shouldnât we separate the artist from the art and judge the âJeepers Creepersâ franchise for what it does without thinking about Salvaâs history? The matter is more complicated than it sounds, as Salvaâs cinematic creation, unfortunately, has a thematic relation with his crimes, which makes it harder to forget his actions.
Letâs get this nasty business out of the way. In 1988, Salva was convicted for s*xually abusing a 12-year-old boy who starred in the filmmakerâs feature debut, âClownhouseâ. Salva was in a position of power as an adult, the "boss" of the young boy, and a close friend to the boyâs family. To add insult to injury, Salva not only r***d the child star but recorded all the acts he did to the young boy. After the boy spoke to his family about the abuses he suffered at the hands of the filmmaker, Salva was apprehended, and the police found a huge stash of child p**nography at his home. So I guess itâs fair to say Salva is far from being a decent citizen.
Salva pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct, oral s*x with a person under 14, and procuring a child for p**nography. For his crimes, the filmmaker was convicted to three years in state prison, a sentence he only served eighteen months of. Letâs be honest, that doesn't sound like a proportionate sentence for Salvaâs crimes. Even worse since his victim testified the abuse had first started when he was only six-years-old and had continued for six years before the boy gathered the courage to look for help. So, while Salva was convicted for his crimes in a court, under the rule of law, and officially paid for his crimes, some of us find it difficult to support the filmmaker.
Donât get me wrong. The entire justice system is founded on the belief criminals can be rehabilitated, and ex-convicts should have a second chance to become a functional part of society. But in Salvaâs case, his history didnât prevent him from signing a deal with Disney to direct âPowderâ only five years after getting released from incarceration. âPowderâ, just to underline the seriousness of the issue, is a movie about an outcast child. So, while Salva had the right to build a life for himself after fulfilling his sentence, it seems weird, to say the least, to put him in charge of a movie featuring a child star.
By the time âPowderâ was released, Salvaâs crimes were made public when his victim decided to step forward and ask people to boycott the film. However, the filmmakerâs past remained mostly hidden from the audience until 2017, when Salva released âJeepers Creepers 3â. Thanks to social media, Salvaâs history reached millions of unaware fans. By that time, the Creeper was already a horror icon. And while many watched the âJeepers Creepersâ movies as uncompromising horror fun â myself included â it was no longer possible to dissociate the âJeepers Creepersâ films from their creator. And thatâs because, even if we choose to believe in redemption and second chances, the whole issue becomes more complicated with art, a human domain that works with the creation and distribution of ideas. And once the cat was out of the bag, and everyone learned about Salvaâs past, watching the âJeepers Creepersâ movies became a difficult task.
Every âJeepers Creepersâ movie follows an ancient creature that feeds on humans to stay alive. The Creeper eats the organs of its victims and claims them as their own, an interesting concept at first glance, which explains why the first chapter of Salvaâs trilogy was so popular. Thereâs also an aura of mysticism around the Creeper, as he follows some very strict rules that are never explained. The Creeper hibernates for 23 years, and after his long slumber, he hunts for 23 days before falling asleep again. The three âJeepers Creepers â films written and directed by Salva take place in the same 23-day cycle.
From the very first film, itâs easy to find some of the Creeperâs behaviors uncomfortable. The creature takes pleasure in making his victims afraid, and likes to sniff dirty underwear to check if his potential victim is tasty enough. And while the Creeper can eat people of all ages, and will kill anyone who gets on his path, itâs easy to realize the monster prefers young victims. In the first film, Justin Long plays the role of the Creeperâs main target, a college student who still takes his dirty laundry for his mom to wash. The second movieâs first victim is a child, no older than Salvaâs real-life victim. And for the rest of the movie, the Creeper will hunt down a bus filled with teenagers. The third movie tries to diversify the Creeperâs menu, but the main targets are still teenagers. Knowing Salvaâs history, how can we watch these movies without wondering where the filmmaker got the inspiration for his very s*xualized predator?
âJeepers Creepers: Rebornâ crew knows of the issues surrounding Salva and the Creeper itself. So much so that they have been constantly trying to get some distance from the franchiseâs creator. On Twitter, Rebornâs director Timo Vuorensola was quick to let fans know that Salva âis in no way associated with this production and not benefiting from it in any way.â Vuorensola also underlined how âthe Creeper and the script are completely new creationsâ for the reboot. They are even bringing a new actor to play the creature, as Jarreau Benjamin takes over the role from Jonathan Raymond Breck. But if they use the same name, lore, and look to bring the Creeper back, how distant is the reboot from the original trilogy?
If the goal was to create something completely different, Reborn would not be a reboot, but the start of a brand-new franchise. Instead, the new âJeepers Creepersâ is trying to bank on the original movieâs success to convince the audience they can enjoy this horror universe without feeling guilty. In short, âRebornâ wants to have its cake and eat it too. Which begs the question: if everyone involved is so ashamed of the Salva connection, why are they still moving forward with the project? The âJeepers Creepersâ franchise might have a nice-looking creature, but thereâs too much real-life subtext to the Creeper itself for it to ever surpass its disturbing creatorâs history. So, maybe, the best would be to let this franchise die.
Not an easy subject or a simple one. And there are a lot of differing opinions on this. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
