The controversy surrounding Jeepers Creepers 3 rages on today, as the film continues down a bumpy and troubled road to its upcoming theatrical release.
For those who haven’t been keeping up, director Victor Salva’s disturbing past – in short, the filmmaker was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor almost two decades ago, and served 15 months in state prison – has cast a shadow over the much anticipated threequel. Just this week we caught word of the high-profile cancellation of the world premiere (which was set to take place on September 13th), and after Salva’s victim went on record to reveal that he had nothing to do with that, the real story is now starting to come to light.
A report from Horror Freak News claims that it was the producers behind Jeepers Creepers 3 who were “actively working to undermine the event.” Apparently, they didn’t want to promote it as they felt it might distract from the upcoming nationwide premiere, on September 26th – which doesn’t exactly make sense. If anything, it would just increase excitement and anticipation for the pic.
So, why would they be trying to sabotage their own project, you ask? Well, from what we understand, they’re currently in a “deep feud” with Salva, which has gotten so bad that they’re now attempting to “block a worldwide distribution deal that would surely bring in some money for all parties involved.”
The exact source of this feuding is still unclear, but we imagine it has to do with the director’s criminal actions. That begs the question though of why would the producers even get into business with him in the first place? Surely they knew what he did, so why finance Jeepers Creepers 3 if they weren’t comfortable with his past?
Perhaps they weren’t aware of just how much controversy it would stir up? Or maybe had a change of heart along the way? Again, we don’t have all the answers, but it’s starting to look like the film may get buried pretty quickly.
Once scheduled for a back-to-back screening at LA’s TCL theater before a vocal minority said otherwise, Jeepers Creepers 3 is now expected to light up Regal Cinemas in three weeks’ time. However, whether fans choose to support the unnerving horror flick given Salva’s criminal record is another question entirely.
