Is Jeepers Creepers Based on a True Story?

Categories
Featured Horror Mystery and Lore Scary Movies and Series

Is Jeepers Creepers all fiction, or could it be that there was some true story inspiration for such a terrifying opening, not to mention the bloody events that follow?

Victor Salva’s millennial cult classic Jeepers Creepers (2001) was an important film in the lives of many budding horror fans. Its story of a brother and sister’s road trip crossing paths with the twisted and deadly Creeper captivated audiences in its day. Though packed with genre clichés and predictable cheese, the film features one of the more imaginative and effectively chilling openings of the 2000s; a long and sparse shot of a rural stretch of road where an increasingly menacing-looking van approaches our protagonists’ car. While the rest of the flick doesn’t quite retain the nail-biting tension offered here, Jeepers Creepers still remains a fun and gory horror outing for nostalgic or less-demanding viewers.

The Horrific Story of Dennis DePue

Dennis and Marilynn DePue


Here we introduce Dennis DePue, a disturbed murderer and a direct influence on the character of the Creeper himself. Dennis’ story, and that of his wife Marilynn and their three children, follows unsettlingly similar beats to that of Salva’s 2001 pseudo-slasher, though the reality is far more horrifying than any fictional, bat-winged killer scarecrow could hope to be.

Marilynn had many, many opportunities to treat me fairly during this divorce, but she chose to string it out, trick me, lie to me. And when you lose your wife, children, and home, there’s not much left. I was too old to start over.

Dennis DuPue

Following building tensions on an already tense marriage, forty-six-year-old Dennis DePue had murdered his forty-eight-year-old wife Marilynn earlier that day, beating and pushing her down a flight of stairs, as reports go. He carried her body to the car, telling their children that he was taking her to the hospital. They never saw her again. her body found by an eerie old school bus also ties back to Jeepers Creepers as it is similar how the creeper stores his bodies.

DePue was found only when his story aired on Unsolved Mysteries. Having changed his name and attracting a new girlfriend, Mary, DePue was living happily as Hank when his story was made public. After he disappeared and Mary discovered who he really was, she contacted the police immediately and DePue was located within just four hours. After firing a couple of warning shots at approaching officers, DePue then turned the gun on himself, thus ending the grim saga.

Comparing the intro to DePue’s Story

AndersYdna on youtube got creative and spliced together the intro from Jeepers Creepers and the Unsolved Mysteries story about Dennis DePue to show the similarities. It’s a quick 10 min watch.

The Thornton’s True Story Inspiration

April 15th, 1990. A couple, Ray and Marie Thornton, set off on their weekly routine of a peaceful country drive outside of Coldwater, Michigan. Little did they know that their usual Sunday tradition would this week land them in the centre of a horrific and bloody mystery. As they drove south on Snow Prairie Road a strange van revved loudly from behind as it sped past them. Marie noticed that the van’s license plate began with “GZ”, exclaiming, “jeez, he’s really in a hurry”.

Some miles down the road, the Thorntons passed an old schoolhouse where they saw the mystery van a second time. The van was parked between the school and a huge tank, and its driver was carrying a blood-soaked blanket across the grounds. Not long after this, the now-clearly-dangerous stranger was behind them once more, this time tailgating them within inches for at least two miles. As Ray pulled off the highway, the van parked itself at the side of the road and the bold Thorntons decided to swing back in an attempt to see the rest of its license plate. When the mystery driver was seen changing his license plate, the Thorntons decided to head back to the schoolhouse where they found the bloodied blanket partly stuffed into a rabbit hole. They immediately went to the police.

Jeepers Creepers Film poster featuring a scary eye peeking through a sack

Is Jeepers Creepers Based on a True Story?

While many Jeepers Creeper fans will see a lot of similarities between what the brave Thorntons did (and saw) that day and the establishing minutes of Jeepers Creepers, the reality is no less harrowing than Salva’s reimagining. Although DuPue seems to have a direct influence on the Creeper it does not appear to be based purely on him.

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Dennis_DePue
https://www.truecrimeedition.com/post/dennis-depue
https://reallifevillains.miraheze.org/wiki/Dennis_DePue

blank

Advertisements

Join "The Horror List" for Weekly Horror in your inbox






Is the Bedeviled Movie Based On a True Story?

Categories
Scary Movies and Series

Is the Bedeviled App Real?

A group of friends is being picked off one by one, trying to figure out exactly what is happening.  Turns out, a killer Siri-like app is responsible for the carnage!  Anyone with a smart phone or an Alexa device is familiar with the creepy-powerful abilities of a “personal assistant.”  Today’s personal assistants are practically A.I. Robots who have the ability to remember our name, interests and make potential suggestions.  Bedeviled harnesses the power of “What If” psychological horror when it comes to a killer, out of control app that knows everywhere you go, everything you do and everyone you talk to.

Is there a Real Killer App Like in the Bedeviled Movie?

Anyone who sees the technology-inspired horror movie Bedeviled, wonders if Bedeviled is a real app. The truth is, there are apps that function a lot like Bedeviled. Three tech giants, in fact, are making a few artificial intelligence-like apps quite capable and commonplace. One of the well-known apps like Bedeviled is Siri, an Apple spawned application for the iphone that has the power to understand who you are and learn your habits.  Alexa, an Amazon personal assistant device, is able to even purchase goods.  And Cortana, a Microsoft application, is even built into Windows these days.  With these apps all over the devices we use today, it makes a lot of sense that one of these apps could become corrupt!

Final Notes & Review of Bedeviled (2016)

Although Bedeviled is a creative idea, ultimately, there is no real “killer app” like Bedeviled. However, it is reasonable to worry about the apps in existence today and the movie really makes us think about the direction of technology in the future! The app features in the movie seem a little outdated and unimpressive. Still, the ideology behind technology being so intricately woven into our lives that an app like this could become a killer is enough psychological terror to thrill.

In the end, Bedeviled may not be the best horror movie, but it is creative enough and done well enough to enjoy the entire film without bailing halfway through. And while other reviews may indicate the movie is too cheesy to be scary, Horror Enthusiast would still give this film a solid 5 out of 10 stars and an honorable mention!

Look out for Siri, ladies and gentlemen! You just never know!

blank

Advertisements

Join "The Horror List" for Weekly Horror in your inbox






Is the Slender Man Movie About the Murders?

Categories
Horror Mystery and Lore Scary Movies and Series

Behind the Scenes: The New Slender Man Movie (2018)

Slender Man is a world renown horror figure in form of a tall, slanky man without a face or real defining characteristics. He is ghostly in appearance and has abnormally long arms. Slender Man haunts children and is responsible for the disappearances of many of them. This horror icon was born long before the upcoming theatrical release was even conceived.  So, was the plot for the Slender man (2018) movie (release date of May 18, 2018) based upon the myth and legend of Slender Man himself?  Does the Slender Man movie have anything to do with the murders attributed to the monster? Horror Enthusiast probes internet lore and mystery surrounding Slender Man, and compares details about the script for the film, to determine the true origin of the movie.

The Real Story of Slender Man

The real Slender Man is scary, because many people believe that he is real.  He is a tall, long-armed face-less man that sometimes wears a black suit.  The truth is, the real Slender Man started out as a simple meme. People swear, however, that they see Slender Man. They claim they see him in their dreams, in the mirror, in photographs, out their window (almost like a Mothman type of entity), and in their house.  Usually he is a stalker or abductor of children.

Unfortunately, the Slender Man fiction inspired a series of violent activities, most notably an almost-fatal stabbing of a teenage girl in Wisconsin.  This stabbing would be known as the “Slender Man Stabbing.” Two teenage girls lured one of their peers into the woods to stab her in order to impress and gain notoriety with Slender Man.  They truly believed he was real, so much so that they were declared not guilty by reason of mental insanity.  Instead, they would be sentenced to a mental institute for 25 years.

About the Slender Man (2018) Movie

The Slender Man movie most definitely capitalizes on the mainstream attention that the Slender Man Stabbing achieved…however, it does not appear to be directly about the incident, at least, not from what has been leaked so far.  The movie seems to be about a man on a mission to find his missing daughter. The trailer is grotesque, including actual maggots and a disturbing collection of Slender Man clips.  One character exclaims that he gets into your mind…and another girl is depicted as delusional and in psychiatric care.  There is no doubt the movie would be an instant horror classic and it appears to be a unique representation of the horror villain, rather than a true crime or “inspired by true events” type of movie.  The movie appears to focus on the true essence of Slender Man and his reputation as a horror icon.

Slender Man’s Painful Backlash

Regardless of whether the movie is about the actual Slender Man Stabbing or not, the victim’s father and several others noted the film as “distasteful” or otherwise poorly timed.  Many theaters have vowed not to screen the Slender Man movie.  The mother of the victim has revealed how traumatic the event has been for her family and her daughter, explaining that the stabbing has defined their lives.  This was not the only Slender Man-inspired crime, either.  Two more young girls are on record in the same year (2014), also wreaked violent havoc, attributing their criminal activity to Slender Man’s beck and call.

No Matter What Slender Man Gets the Final Say…

Slender Man would make for a scary horror movie killer. And there is no doubt he would be responsible for a lot of deaths, and probably have a really high body count.  Though, it is hard to make a horror movie directly about a string of high profile violence so close to the time of occurrence…the exact reason many critics spoke negatively after the release of the Slender Man trailer.  Still, Slender Man set its release date for May 18, 2018 and there does not seem to be any going back!

blank

Advertisements

Join "The Horror List" for Weekly Horror in your inbox






Join The Horror List