With Jeepers Creepers 3 just one day away from its somewhat surprising theatrical release, I chatted with Jonathan Breck, the actor who plays the monster known as the Creeper in all three films.
He talked about not just what made the first film such a hit but also dropped a few hints about where the franchise might be headed in the future.
IGN: One of the biggest draws of this franchise is the unique, original monster, The Creeper. Part of that is it has a great look and design. For me though, one thing that sets it apart is the way it moves. A quick flick of the wrist and out pops an ax from behind its back, or the way it flips its coat like a matador and stalks back and forth. Even though he has this brutish presence, there’s a grace to it. What influenced you in coming up with the way the Creeper moves?
Jonathan Breck: That’s a great question right out of the gate! The Creeper for me is a combination of many things from [many] generations. So he’s picked up things over the years, over generations, like back when they used to wear capes they would work their capes. It was part of their wardrobe and part of their movement, totally an extension of their body. I flipped through several different generations just to inhabit different movements and behavior, human and otherwise.
Jonathan Breck as the Creeper in Jeepers Creepers 3.
IGN: The Creeper performs a lot of crazy stunts – flipping through the air, flying on wires, etc. – how much of that was actually you taking abuse?
JB: I did a lot it myself and particularly in this last movie, the third movie, I did a great deal of it. And mainly that was a function of wanting to be there and do all the stunts and also having a limited budget. I really had to lace up my bootstraps and do a lot of these my self. The first one I did a lot of those stunts too, with the exception of the car hit. In that particular car hit, it looks real because it is real. The recoil in the wire brought [the stuntman] back down and he busted the windshield out and onto Justin [Long] and Gena [Phillips]. Seriously, cut Justin’s forehead. But more importantly injured the stuntman pretty badly. I think he broke four ribs, punctured a lung and spent a few days in the hospital.
IGN: What do you think made the original Jeepers Creeps such a phenomenon?
JB: It was back in the day when they would package a bunch of films, financiers would package eight or ten films hoping maybe one of them would hit, and it would pay for all of them. And Jeepers Creepers was one of I think ten films that was part of a package that was being done by [United Artists] at the time. Francis Coppola was producing it. And Jeepers was the one that just took off to massive success, fortunately for us. I think the reason it appeals to people is because people don’t take the time to make original monster movies anymore. They’re very rare. And aside from being a horror film I think it was a good story. The writer/director, Victor [Salva], is a great storyteller above all. And so a great horror movie with an original monster but it had real characters in it, three-dimensional characters. I think all those elements, you just don’t see them very often.
IGN: Victor Salva has a well-documented criminal record. According to some reports his history contributed to some of the delays in making this film and there are those who say they’ll continue to protest anything he produces. How do you respond to that?
JB: Obviously it’s a very serious issue. But I can truthfully say the very first time I met Victor it was 2000 and the Internet wasn’t what it is today. I didn’t even know anything about his background when I met him. I had the advantage of just getting to know him for who he was, how he treated me, what kind of artist he was. I got to know him through my own personal experience with the guy. It’s one off the best creative experiences I’ve ever had working on these films, a real highlight of my career. I just think it’s a shame because in this day and age, the Internet being what the Internet is, it’s been great in a lot of respects and in some respects it’s really cheated us. We can sit in our office or sit in a room and type somebody’s name and read something about somebody and judge them in ten seconds and think we know them. The truth is, Victor’s not the same guy he was 33 years ago. He’s just not. Most people aren’t. I believe people deserve second chances. It was a horrible thing that happened and a horrible mistake that Victor made and nothing can change that. But I know who the guy is today and he’s not the same person and I’d like to see him have a second chance. But then there are those who feel like he should just crawl in a hole and bring the dirt in on top of him, that he should haven’t the chance to make a living and he should just go away and never been seen or heard from again. And that’s certainly their right to feel that way. Working for him has been one of the biggest privileges of my career. I can say that with a hundred percent confidence. There is redemption in all of us.
IGN: In your opinion, non-canon, where do you think the Creeper comes from?
JB: We’ve really taken great care to protect that. I think the idea is to really let the audience in little by little more detail about who he is, where he comes from. That’s something that we’re intentionally rolling out slowly. We both put our heads together and [Victor] shared where he thought it came from and I layered on top of that.
IGN: Wait so you actually know the real answer??
JB: Yeah. He’s much, much older, he’s been around a lot longer than anybody can imagine. Let’s leave it at that. I think also that’s why he taps into things that are so hard to define because there’s a universality to it that is kind of deep in our bones.
IGN: What should fans of the first two films be excited about? What will we see in Jeepers Creepers 3 that we haven’t seen yet?
JB: I think the thing fans will be excited about, and really surprised about, is number one you’ll get to see the Creeper do things he’s never done before. But also this is a little bit different type of movie because you see generations of people that have been affected by the Creeper and we’ve never seen that before. You see a little bit more of the human toll that this Creeper has caused over the years.
IGN: This movie is set between the first and second films. Can you tell us what day of the 23 we’re on now?
JB: I don’t want to spoil anything but it pretty much takes us from the end of the first movie to the beginning of the second movie, pretty close. So the second movie was really day 23, right? So this is day 21 and 22, probably. I don’t want to spoil anything because it’s really unbelievable how it ties both films together and you’ll never see it coming.
IGN: There may be no answer to this but why is the Creeper allowed to eat for 23 days every 23 years? Why that number?
JB: That’s beyond me, really. Victor has his own reasoning for that and we never really talked about that honestly. I know he’s got his own reasoning behind it but he’s kept that a pretty closely guarded secret so even the Creeper doesn’t know.
IGN: When the Creeper is dormant for those 23 years in between feedings, he’s underground or wherever, do you think he’s conscious or has awareness of what’s going on around him?
JB: He’s alone and he’s absolutely awake. He lives with his family and his family are his victims. Much like you saw in that first movie, that crazy Sistene Chapel where he’d sewn everybody together, that’s kind of his homage. In a sense he loves them like his family. He’s an artist and a craftsmen. Certainly he spends time honing his weapons and taking what he learned from his previous 23 years and adding it to his arsenal. He spends a lot of time in the Creeper shop thinking about the next 23 days. That’s my feeling.
IGN: There’s a more organized group, a team, that’s hunting the Creeper in this film. But we know this group can’t succeed because the Creeper is still alive in the second film. How will that play out in a satisfying way given what the audience know has to happen?
JB: We’re going to see enough fresh perspectives during the movie. We’ll learn a little bit more about the Creeper. I don’t think the mystery’s gone just because we know he’s not going to be killed in the third movie. Just because we know he survives doesn’t mean we don’t want to see how it happens. I mean look, you know if there’s a fourth movie you know the Creeper’s not going to die in the fourth movie. So what’s going to keep you watching it? You know the Creeper’s not going to meet his end. We’re a long way from figuring out what’s going to take him down. What’s fun is to watch all the different ways people try and all the different ways that he deals with it.
IGN: I’ve heard there’s a story or possibly even a script out there for a fourth film. If it comes to be, will you be back as well?
JB: Yeah, if we’re lucky enough to have it happen. I don’t know that there’s a script written yet for Four. I know that we had a script for a long time for Three. You’re probably familiar with the name Cathedral. Cathedral got broken up into a TV series. So he re-wrote three to be what you’re going to see on-screen on Tuesday night. But he still has Cathedral, which is written out into the first season of a TV show and it’s amazing. So that’s already written and ready to go and there’s a good possibility that a TV will be spawned from this movie. But beyond that he’s already working on the script for Four and that’s really going to get interesting because we have to go a whole new direction and deal with a whole new 23 days, right? So we’re either going to go forward or we’re going to back, or we’re going to go some combination of both.
IGN: If I can throw in my two cents as a fan, you should do whatever you have to do to get Ray Wise back to play his character Jack Taggart. Maybe pick up with the next 23 days where the second film left off. We’re not that far off from 23 years after the first film in real life.
JB: I can almost guarantee you that we have not seen the last of farmer Taggart. We are going to absolutely deal with him. Me and farmer Taggart have unfinished business. We’re not going to go onto a fourth movie or potentially a TV series and not deal with his sorry old ass, trust me.
IGN: Do you think we’ll ever hear the Creeper actually speak?
JB: That’s another good question and I actually did in the first movie. I had a line in the first movie. Of course I was all excited at having a line. And Francis himself said, “You’re not going to talk.” He cut my one line! And I have to say it was the right call. When I was dealing with the cat lady, Eileen Brennan, rest in peace, the great Eileen Brennan. In that scene I had a line where I looked down at Darry where he’s looking at the cat lady. I kind of appear from behind her and I look at Darry and say, “She don’t smell too good, Darry.” And that was it man! We’ll never see the Creeper speak, I don’t think.
Jeepers Creepers 3 plays in theaters for one day only on September 26. You can get tickets at fathomevents.com.
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