On the eve of release, American Zoetrope and Myriad Pictures have conjured up a trio of terrifying clips for Jeepers Creepers 3, the long-in-development horror flick that’s coming by way of Victor Salva. And therein lies the source of controversy.
Truth be told, the sequel known as Ravenous will soon face another uphill battle if it’s to really attract a mass audience. Jeepers Creepers has always been celebrated as a cult franchise with its own quirks and spooky delights, but the threequel has been a big point of contention amongst horror fans, mostly due to Salva’s heinous crime, for which he served 15 months in state prison. For the record, his victim, Nathan Forrest Winters, has since issued a statement to say that it’s really up to the audience whether they want to catch The Creeper’s resurrection on the silver screen.
Perhaps more than any other horror film in recent memory, the fate of Jeepers Creepers 3 rests in the hands of its potential viewers, and early signs point to a fairly major backlash occurring over the next ten days. Take the one-night-only screening at LA’s TCL theater as an example. Despite a big push from backers, organizers were forced to scrap it when a vocal minority threatened to protest the film’s limited release.
Those plans have since been folded into an entirely new domestic release on September 26th, with a second and presumably final rollout penciled in for October 4th. But will Jeepers Creepers 3 provoke further protests? Or can Salva’s contentious threequel carve out an audience to call its own? All will be revealed very soon.
Beyond flesh-eating monsters and tales of controversy, the full human ensemble for Jeepers Creepers 3 includes Gabrielle Haugh (Addison Brandon), Stan Shaw (Sheriff Dan Tashtego), Joyce Giraud (Deputy Dana Lang), Jordan Salloum (Kenny Brandon), Tamsin Sparks (Terra Bowers), Ryan Moore (Kirk Mathers), Brandon Smith (Sergeant Davis Tubbs), Gina Philips (Trish Jenner) and Christine Ko as Kiya Wong.
Third time’s the charm? Jeepers Creepers 3 will take flight across select theaters on September 26th and October 4th, meaning Salva’s contentious threequel ought to draw in those adrenaline junkies in search of a spooky Halloween delight.