Jeepers Creepers

This article originally released in July 2018 has been updated as of 4/30/2019 to reflect new titles and updated information on Jeepers Creepers 4 progress.

After 17 years, the tale of the seemingly indestructible and immortal Creeper may be coming to an end with Jeepers Creepers 4. Originally thought to be Jeepers Creepers 4: Cathedral, it sounds as if we may get a 2 for 1 movie and TV series deal. Jeepers Creepers 4 is in the works and will likely go straight to VOD/DVD release, but Jeepers Creepers: Cathedral is also said to be in development for a potential TV series. Victor Salva, who has directed all three of the prior Jeepers Creepers films, will be also directing what is rumored to be the final installment.

The production of the franchise has hit many snags when fans learned Victor Salva was convicted in 1988 for child pornography, sexual misconduct, and lewd/lascivious conduct. Salva’s continued involvement has cast a shadow on the horror franchise after its breakthrough success of the Jeepers Creepers in 2001.  The series has continued with 2003’s Jeepers Creepers 2 and 14 years later in 2017’s Jeepers Creepers 3, which was supposedly filmed back-to-back with Jeepers Creepers 4.

Is Jeepers Creepers real? Read about the true life events that spawned the series and gave the Creeper life.

Jeepers Creepers 4 Plot Details

Details are scarce on the premise of the fourth movie, but here’s what we know so far: Trish has a teenage son named after her brother—Darry. She is also seeking vengeance for the Creeper’s murder of her brother twenty-three years ago at the hands of the Creeper. It is said that Jeepers Creepers 4 will be the end of the series. Jonathan Breck, who plays the Creeper has said that the 4th installment of the series will be going in a totally different direction.

Jeepers Creepers Release Date

Jeepers Creepers 4 has yet to be given a release date. The Jeepers Creepers: Cathedral TV series is in very early development.

Jeepers Creepers’ History Lesson

Before we talk about the newest film in the Jeepers Creepers franchise, let’s take a stroll down memory lane. In 2001, it all began as we saw siblings Trish (Gina Philips) and Darry Jenner (Justin Long) have the road trip of their lives back from college…that is, if they were able to stay alive long enough to escape the deathly, fear-fueled grip of the Creeper (Jonathan Breck).

The first installment bore witness to Trish breaking some major horror tropes, as she eventually outdoes and outlives her brother, whose shocking demise made for an iconically grisly conclusion of the Creeper’s first tale on the silver screen.


Following Trish and Darry’s encounter with the Creeper, Jeepers Creepers 2 saw the efforts of the farm-wise Taggarts—Jack Taggart Sr. (Ray Wise) and Jack Taggart Jr. (Luke Edwards)—to figure out just exactly what the ancient demon is after with his newest slew of victims. Amidst the gore and chaos of the second film, a series of visions from cheerleader Minnie Hayes (Nicki Aycox), leads to audiences learning that the Creeper emerges every twenty-third spring to hunt and eat humans for a twenty-three-day smorgasbord.

The ending sees an aged Taggert Jr. keeping watch over a hibernating Creeper twenty-three years after the events of the film, which he has marketed as “The Bat Out of Hell” for a morbidly humorous roadside attraction.

The loose strings of the franchise began to tie together in the straight-to-DVD Jeepers Creepers 3, with a cameo from Trish in the film as a fleet of law enforcement officers—including Sheriff Dan Tashtego (Stan Shaw), Sergeant Davis Tubbs (Brandon Smith), and Deputy Dana Lang (Joyce Giraud)—attempt to put an end to the Creeper. Like the end of the second movie, we see Trish twenty-three years into the future vowing revenge on the Creeper for Darry’s death.

Is Jeepers Creepers Real?

While most horror franchises are made from tales of creepy ghosts, vampires, and imaginary monsters, Jeepers Creepers is originally based on a true story. Well, some of it at least. The winged monster and other details are stretched quite a bit, but yes, the opening story of Jeepers Creepers was indeed based on the real-life misdeeds of a man named Dennis DePue.

DePue’s Grisly Crime

In 1990, Dennis DePue was on the run. DePue had murdered his wife and left her body behind an empty schoolhouse. He was never charged and the truth behind the murder may never be known. Many people postulate that DePue’s wife filed for divorce and he killed her in a fit of rage. He would never have been discovered, but an unlucky turn of events led to him becoming the main suspect.

Sadly, DePue had previously beaten his wife, Marilyn DePue, in front of their three children. Afterward, he told the children that he was going to the hospital. Instead, he took their mother to the schoolhouse where he shot her in the head. He assumed that he would not be bothered because few people drove down the isolated Michigan road. On April 15, 1990, DePue reported his wife as missing. His neighbors immediately suspected him as the DePue’s marital decay was well known.

Eerie Scene Becomes the Opening for Jeepers Creepers

Dennis DePue and his wife Marilyn

While DePue was disposing of his wife’s body on an isolated road, Ray and Marie Thornton happened upon DePue and witnessed the act. The Thornton’s were playing a license plate game while on their drive when they first noticed DePue’s van. The van was pulled over at a church when Marie Thornton noticed DePue moving what she described as a bloody sheet from his van.

Once they passed by, DePue quickly began to follow them very closely for several miles. Eventually, DePue gave up. However, the Thornton’s turned the tables and went back to investigate only to find DePue changing his license plates on the side of the road. They saw blood in the van when they drove by which convinced them to return to the church where they had seen DePue and the bloody sheet. They would eventually report their findings to the police.

Later on, the scene of the Thornton’s following the murder was told on Unsolved Mysteries. It would eventually be recreated in the opening scene of Jeepers Creepers.

Unsolved Mysteries Jeepers Creepers Opening Scene Similarities

The early scenes of Jeepers Creepers copied nearly the exact dialogue, including the license plate game and the chase scenes from the “Unsolved Mysteries” episode. Interestingly, film director Victor Salva credited Steven Spielberg’s Duel as the inspiration rather than the Unsolved Mysteries episode. He may have thought no one would make the connection, but the similarities were noticed by viewers.

Dennis Depue’s Demise

After discovering that Dennis DePue was also missing, the police began investigating him in his wife’s disappearance. He disappeared into hiding and the case initially went unsolved. In 1991, the episode of Unsolved Mysteries showcased the murder which caused Dennis to panic. He left the hideout that he had lived in for 11 months and fled to Texas. While in Dallas, he took on the name of Hank Queen and tried to start a new life. The police ultimately discovered the ruse, and Dennis DePue fled to Mississippi. The manhunt ended when DePue took his own life leaving many questions unanswered.

Early in the morning on March 21, 1991, Dennis DePue was found slumped over his steering wheel. The chase started in Louisiana after Mississippi police were notified about a van with stolen Texas tags. The police set up a roadblock on the Interstate 20 bridge, and officers were told to shoot out his tires. DePue managed to make it through the roadblock with just two tires damaged, and he turned off the freeway. He shot at the deputies and rammed a police car. Realizing the risk, Sheriff Paul Barrett told his deputies to take DePue out.

They caught up with the vehicle as DePue opened fire again. When the shots died down, the deputies approached the vehicle to find DePue dead. The van was filled with bullets and clothes. From the angle of the shot, it was apparent that DePue had shot himself. In the movie, the murderer continues his killing spree. The real killer died long before the movie ends in a police chase that ended in a suicide.