Victor Salva/The Creeper
The Creeper from Jeepers Creepers is the physical manifestation of Victor Salva's (the film's writer & director) pedophilia. He is also a convicted sex offender, his victim was a 12-year-old boy named Nathan Forrest Winters who also starred in one of his films, Clownhouse. He served fifteen months in prison.
There is no cure for pedophilia and The Creeper cannot be killed. Most of the time he lies dormant so his potential victims have an idea of when he is a threat which is every 23rd spring for 23 days every 23 years, that's not the case with pedophilia. No one knows when a pedophile will strike until it's too late. The only protection against The Creeper and pedophiles is awareness. For The Creeper it’s when he awakens from hibernation. Pedophiles have to inform their employers and neighbors of their sex offender status.
From what I've seen, The Creeper is part humanoid and demon. Victor's pedophilia is a personal/inner demon that he struggles with yet like all pedophiles he is still human. In the films it's The Creeper versus humans, there is never a true winner. The battle ends when The Creeper gets what he wants or he goes into hibernation. He's never defeated.
Victor and The Creeper happen to both be gay. It's not as if The Creeper doesn't kill women, he does but it's quick and usually off screen. It's because he has since they're almost always in between him and a potential male victim. With males, specifically young men, he relishes the chase. In the first movie, he is focused on Justin Long's character and eventually captures him. The sequel, he is openly flirting with a high school basketball team by winking, smiling, and licking the window of the school bus that they are trapped in while largely ignoring the women (excluding the masculine looking bus driver). These basketball players are shirtless and almost hairless. As a woman it was nice to see some half naked boys in a horror movie because it's usually the ladies who are losing their tops. After some time, I thought it got gratuitous. These young men also needlessly sunbathe and urinate together too.
Victor's crime was performing oral sex on Nathan and he filmed it. There is a scene in Jeepers Creepers 2 where this is reenacted. The Creeper's head is severely injured so he needs a new one. His wing wraps around a teenage guy and the victim's head is slowly sucked off his body...along with his shirt and jacket. Somehow the top button of his jeans becomes undone. The first thought that entered my mind was "The Creeper just got head!" Immediately followed by, "I am reading too much of The Arrow's reviews!" lol
I wouldn't call myself a fan of Victor's but I do find The Creeper to be fascinating. Knowing his past, I'd rather have him act out his demons in his films than in reality where he can do actual harm.
Chillin'
Are you comparing pedophilia to addiction or a mental disorder like schizophrenia?
I'm saying it is a symptom of a mental illness and/or a trauma response. Most pedofiles were abused themselves as children. I would say probably it is more like a tick - a compulsion - than an addiction. I'm not an expert though, I don't know exactly what the current science says. My point is it is far more complicated then the person just being a sick-fuck degenerate that we should lock up and/or execute.
Oh as interesting that this is,i wish i didn't know now it really makes these films really fucked up.I personally think pedophils are the lowest of the low,they have stolen some of the worlds innocent and replaced by suspicion.As a kid i was almost grabbed,a guy stopped his car and asked me for directions(i was only 6/7),then asked me to get into the car to show him.I was lucky enough that my older sister saw what was going on and pulled me away.O.K i was a never a victim but i could of been so my view is gas the bastards like the animals they are,fuck the pc talk.
Great essay. I also couldn't help but notice what a homoerotic fantasy Jeepers 2 was. I love Jeepers because it's not as blatant, but in the sequel he's basically a demonic gay pedophile who loves to rape young guys with his powers. It's quite sick. Even before the Creeper appears, it becomes apparent the whole movie just one big excuse for Salva to parade guys around without their shirts.
Acerbus and brewsky, I understand where you're both coming from. I know that some peodphiles are sexual abuse victims themselves and acknowledge that their desires for children is wrong. They try to seek help by taking drugs and going to therapy. As far as we know Victor has not harmed another child but it is not known if he has received any kind of treatment.
This is not to say that every victim of sexual abuse becomes a pedophile. With treatment, some survivors grow up to be relatively normal or they work in the sex industry.
I have seen a lot pedophiles who believe they are just fine. They don't call or view themsleves pedophiles, they're "lovers of children". That's frightening because in the age of internet they can easily find each other and their victims. I understand why a lot of people want them locked up because no parent wants a pedophile on their street even if he or she is receiving therapy. No parent wants to risk having their child harmed.
@ Terminal, definitely. I watched JC2 with my sister and the first half we looked at each other and said that shirtless almost hairless guys reminded us of gay porn stars lol
Yeah, I can assure you unless you're truly desperate, young guys do not huddle in groups to pee next to one another and compare sizes. Never. Salva really made it blatant in that movie.
@Terminal, that was weird because the bus broke down between two massive fields yet the guys all chose to urinate close to each other.
Don't guys usually avoid peeing next to each other in a bathroom if they can? Like all the stalls are taken and there's only free urinal so you have no choice but to use that free one?
Yeah that's very true. Guys just go to the urinals and look straight ahead. It's not about homophobia it's about decency and having a concept of personal space and respect. I once went to work with my dad cleaning garbage in a small alley and whenever one of us had to pee we'd all go around the corner one by one, never all together. And guys do not compare penises at all unless they're just joking around. It's absurd. And why they have a humongous open space with trees and decide to go together on the road is just ridiculous. Salva really didn't make it too subtle.
That is very interesting, I did not know the history of that. Personally I think that child molesters are mentally ill, and I think it is really unfortunate how we chose to deal with them as a society. These are people that have an abhorrent psychological need to do this stuff - they can't control it in many cases. I believe that we make these people into monsters and lock them away instead of finding out how to help them. Their crimes are completely awful so I totally understand why society has such a violent reaction to them - but in the end they are sick and need help.