The Jeepers Creepers Theory That Proves The Demon Is Not The Big Bad, Explained

As horror film franchises go, Jeepers Creepers is as straightforward as they come. It revolves around a truly unique monster called the Creeper – a hulking killer who initially comes across as a rural maniac with folk horror aesthetics but soon turns out to be a winged demon who wakes up every 23 years to hunt people and eat select body parts to renew its own. The Creeper is an effective villain who might end up on a list of the scariest movie monsters of all time one of these days. Everything from its devilish appearance to its gruesome modus operandi codes the character as irredeemably evil. But what if the Creeper isn't the first film's greatest villain?

According to a theory posited by TikTok user @itscamj_dablacksheep, the Creeper is actually just a servant, though obviously an extremely terrifying and powerful one. The story's real villain is none other than Jezelle Gay Hartman (Patricia Belcher), the worrying psychic who warns Darry (Justin Long) and Trish Jenner (Gina Philips) of the Creeper's true nature. Jezelle appears to act as the Big Good of the first Jeepers Creepers movie, constantly seeking to warn people of the Creeper's various abilities and eccentricities before it's too late. However, this theory suggests that Jezelle is actually just toying with the other human characters ... because she's the one who summoned the Creeper after her community shunned her, and she's the one who controls its murderous actions. 

The theory suggests the Creeper isn't actually hostile to the Jenners when he harasses them on the road at the beginning of the film. Earlier in the scene, an RV promptly gets off the road when the Creeper approaches, and the creature simply ignores it since the RV got out of the way. If Darry would just do the same in the two occasions the Creeper's truck is behind their car, the monster might not bother the Jenners further. For that matter, should Darry decide against exploring the Creeper's lair — which the theory imagines as the very church that banished Jezelle, prompting her Creeper-summoning antics — Jezelle might not sic the creature on him.  

However, when the psychic Jezelle notices that the Jenners have put their nose too far in her business, she decides that it's time to put a stop to Darry's antics. This is when she steps in with her ominous warnings via phone, and later gets up close and personal with the youngsters to enjoy their terror first-hand. It's worth noting that Jezelle even survives a face-to-face encounter with the supernatural killer with zero damage, just before the creature faces the Jenners and takes Darry. This is something very few characters in any horror film franchise can say, and suggests that the two might share a connection.

If you buy into this theory, it certainly makes Jezelle's eerie phone call and eventual sudden appearance far more ominous. It also explains the Creeper's utter disinterest in harming her. Considering Justin Long's penchant for playing characters who unwittingly but voluntarily step in dangerous situations in horror movies (like the surprising and delightful "Barbarian" and the somewhat less delightful Kevin Smith walrus body horror flick "Tusk"), it's also tempting to think that he'd unwittingly bring doom on himself in "Jeepers Creepers."

Despite all this, it's unlikely that the "Jezelle is a villain" theory has actual legs. The TikTok user specifically notes in the video description that they made up the theory. Besides, later installments expand on the Creeper, establishing it as an extremely powerful entity that's not explicitly connected to religion and has been doing its thing for many centuries. It's unlikely that Jezelle could have controlled him like a summoned demon. Still, the theory adds a fun potential layer to the story, and could very well spice up all those actual things you forgot about "Jeepers Creepers."