WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
It’s a shame to say it, but of this set of films I’ve watched the 2nd more often than any of the others. I don’t know what it is but there’s just something about that film that makes it better than the rest! Anyway, there’s been long discussion about the order to watch these films in so I thought I would try and shed some light on that…
Are All Four Films 23 Years Apart?
Every 23rd spring, for 23 days – it gets to eat! This raises the question on the timescale of the 4 films – are they each set 23 years apart OR does it all take place in the same spring? Unfortunately, because it’s never made clear when each film is set there is no way of knowing exactly which one is the case without looking into it. Turns out, at least the first 3 films are set within the same spring – taking place over a matter of days! Would this not say that the final scenes of Jeepers Creepers 3, Trish reading the open letter,and Jeepers Creepers 2, where Jack Taggart Snr is pointing a shotgun at The Creeper, are happening days apart 23 years after the events of their respective films?
Now, if we say that both Jeepers Creepers and Jeepers Creepers: Reborn are set in the same year that they were made – this would say that the first 3 films all take place in 2001 and the fourth is in 2021 – meaning that it would be too early for The Creeper to rise. This makes even less sense when it’s clear the closing scene of the second film is 23 years later – making it 2024.
Links Between One and Three
One of the most obvious connections between the first and third films has already been mentioned – the return of Trish Jenner, older sister of the late Darry Jenner from the first film. Secondly, and probably one of the characters people wouldn’t have remembered around the release of the third film, is that of Sergeant Davis Tubbs. It took me watching the films in chronological order to make the connection between the two – that it is the same Sergeant Tubbs at the police station in Jeepers Creepers as it is working alongside Sheriff Tatchego in Jeepers Creepers 3. In addition to this, they actually reference the closing scenes of the first film in the opening scenes of third – specifically mentioning that Trish is a “trainwreck” waiting for their parents to pick her up, meaning that Jeepers Creepers 3 starts hours after the end of the first!
Three Before Two
There are clear reasons I would say to watch Jeepers Creepers 3 before Jeepers Creepers 2 even though it’s not obvious at any point in the films what the actual timeline is. Reason number one; The Creeper’s truck. At no point in the 3rd film do we see the truck or is it made reference to as being used, especially as the students have absolutely no idea about The Creeper in the first place. Having said that, why doesn’t he have the truck in the second film? It’s not like it’s been destroyed. Reason number two, given what we know of the timeline now, the ending of the second film clearly shows that the third film has to come first. The fact that The Creeper is hibernating at the end of Jeepers Creepers 2 says that the events in the third film must happen first or else they’re happening 23 years later which we know is not the case.
The Curious Case of Buddy Hooks
While on the subject of the endings of these films, let’s talk about the ending of Jeepers Creepers 3. From what I understand, the bus that we see Buddy get on at the end of this film is supposed to be same bus transporting a basketball team in Jeepers Creepers 2. Now, if this is the case, why is there no character known as Buddy on the bus? I think on the part of the filmmakers in 2017, they felt that there needed to be a connection between the two films to make the new order of the cannon make sense.
Day 22
I know, I know, I keep coming back to timeline but it’s the only way you can accurately determine the order of events. Knowing that Jeepers Creepers 2 takes place 3 days after the incidents of Jeepers Creepers, this means we must begin on Day 19 of The Creepers cycle. With that in mind, how many people has he killed between day 1 and us meeting Darry and Trish? Also, what was wrong with making the fourth film in a way that it took place before the events of the first three? Make it a prequel in the same way that Jeepers Creepers 3 is an interquel (yes, I have only just learnt that that word existed).
A Reboot For Rebirth
I’ve gone on and on about the first three films and only mentioned Jeepers Creepers: Reborn a couple of times. However, I would love to know how you can consider a reboot of a film as a sequel to the original cannon. Especially as they have practically mirrored the opening scenes from the original film of Darry and Trish with an elderly couple. Now, the fact that it turned out to be a documentary on the original events I would accept it more if they had kept the same names as the original characters as well as making them the same age! This way it’ll work a lot more like a sequel as it is properly referencing what had come before.
What annoyed me more is that in the opening conversation with our lead characters they out and out state that there have been 3 films made about the killer that attacks every 23 years. Breaking the fourth wall without directly breaking the fourth wall right? I’ll give them this though, at least they stuck to The Creeper leaving a barn when he first appears, a barn that could easily be that of the Taggart family.
Here’s another negative however – it messes with the mythology of The Creeper. Through all the original three films, The Creeper chooses who he kills based on the scent of their fear and what he needs from them whereas in this film the followers of The Creeper pen people in for The Creeper to hunt and ends up killing basically everyone. They also seem to imply that someone has always been in control of The Creeper as somehow there’s a voodoo doll of Darry sitting at the Barbakett House, even down to the rose tattoo round his navel.
In Conclusion
I was expecting to end this article by saying that it didn’t really matter if you watched 1,2,3 or 1,3,2 as long as you watched Jeepers Creepers: Reborn last but with everything I’ve noticed – you need to watch Jeepers Creepers 3 between the first and second films or else the reference to Darry and Trish will make absolutely no sense. The one thing I will say about rewatching these films is that the third film actually isn’t as bad as I remembered. Anyway, however you choose to watch the original three films that is up to you but I genuinely wouldn’t bother with the fourth – that straight to video style film will not count for me and I think, much like Matrix Resurrections, I’m going to pretend it doesn’t exist.
