The Jeepers Creepers movie franchise has become an increasingly complicated brand. The most recent film, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, was released in 2022. It was intended to launch a new trilogy with little else having been shared since its release. This could be due to the negative feedback the horror movie has faced; however, it’s been making a comeback on Paramount Plus.
Quite interestingly, as of this writing, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn has broken into the Top 5 on Paramount Plus. As shared via FlixPatrol, this makes it the second highest streamed horror movie on Paramount Plus – just behind Pet Sematary: Bloodlines. Quite a feat for a film that, according to Rotten Tomatoes, has a 0% critical score.
One reason for the film’s negative feedback is that Jeepers Creepers: Reborn has little to do with its predecessors. In fact, the film even recast the franchise’s iconic villain, with Jarreau Benjamin taking over for Jonathan Breck. Breck previously played The Creeper in 2001’s original Jeepers Creepers, 2003’s Jeepers Creepers 2, and 2017’s Jeepers Creepers 3.
Perhaps one positive is that the film removes controversial filmmaker Victor Salva from the director’s chair. Salva helmed the original three films in the franchise. For those unfamiliar, Salva was convicted in 1988 for sexually abusing a 12-year-old actor during the production of his film Clownhouse.
Salva’s controversial history became publicized around 2006. In the years since, horror fans have arranged various boycotts, and Jeepers Creepers 3 faced backlash upon its release. As such, some fans were hopeful that Jeepers Creepers: Reborn would bring a clean slate to the franchise, with Timo Vuorensola acting as the film’s director. Unfortunately, it did not do as well as hoped, and now it’s unclear if any additional installments will ever be made.
Nevertheless, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn is doing high numbers on Paramount Plus, so it does suggest that there’s still some life in this complicated horror franchise. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any updates as we have them.