Did You Know?
Gina Philips (Trish) and Justin Long (Darry) were not allowed to meet Jonathan Breck before filming (in order to get a true reaction from them when they actually did see him with his full costume and makeup), nor did they see the BEATNGU truck before the opening scene was shot. When Philips first saw the truck, she said something to the effect of: "Is that the truck? Jeepers, that's creepy."
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The gear shift in the car was originally in the steering column. It was installed into the floorboard to fit the needs of the script.
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In Jezelle's living room scene, Victor Salva's high school graduation picture can be seen doctored up to look like a record album from the 1930s with "Jeepers Creepers" on it.
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The original truck from the film is owned by a private collector in Maryland, who keeps it in storage awaiting the filming of JC3.
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At the time of its release Jeepers Creepers was the highest grossing film to ever be released during Labor Day weekend. The record would subsequently be broken by its own sequel, Jeepers Creepers II.
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Director Victor Salva wanted the countryside settings for the film to have an eerie quality about them. However Salva said that the Florida filming locations were so beautiful that often times the footage for the film would have to be darkened down to give the locations a more menacing appearance.
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The oath "Jeepers Creepers!" originated in the early 20th century as a polite euphemism for Jesus Christ. Jiminy Crickets was a synonym before the latter phrase was co-opted by Walt Disney as the name of a cartoon insect.
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Thanks to a slash in the budget, the shooting schedule was cut down from 42 days to 35 instead.
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In the scene with the cat lady, all her cats look through the screen on the windows because of tuna smeared on it.
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Jonathan Breck shaved his head for the role, inspired by the notion that the Creeper was naturally hairless and would have to "borrow" hair from victims.
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When Darry is looking at the missing person posters in the police station there are several comedic comments such as Tim Sullivan's hair being "dusty beaver" and his occupation being "a butcher a baker and a candlestick maker" among others.
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The scene where Trish and Darry witness the Creeper dumping a body down a well by an abandoned church was inspired by the case of Dennis DePue, a former Michigan Property Assessor who murdered his wife and was seen by witnesses near an old school house with a bloody sheet. Two witnesses also recall DePue speeding past them in a van and eventually tailing them and riding their bumper for several miles. The case was also profiled on a 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries.
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Spoilers
In the end of the film when Justin Long's character, Darry, is heard screaming, it is actually Tom Tarantini, who also had the minor role of car thief Austin McCoy as well as Coach Dwayne Barnes in Jeepers Creepers II. Tarantini stood in for Long, as he was busy shooting Season 2 of Ed, while this scene was filmed.
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