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Jeepers Creepers 3 hit theaters for one night only on September 26, and certain plot points are rubbing critics the wrong way given the criminal history of writer-director Victor Salva. The 59-year-old was convicted in 1988 of the sexual molestation of Nathan Forrest, the 12-year-old actor and star of his film Clownhouse. Salva videotaped the sexual act and was also convicted of possessing commercial videotapes and magazines containing child pornography.
Salva only served 15 months of his three-year sentence, and he somehow went on to have a career in Hollywood in the years that followed. Disney hired him to direct their supernatural drama Powder, and Salva found his greatest success with Jeepers Creepers, the 2001 horror film that spawned a franchise. The third installment is the latest Jeepers Creepers entry, and apparently Salva’s screenplay includes a molestation backstory for the main character. Addison, played by Gabrielle Haugh, is an 18-year-old whose father made sexual advances on her when she was younger.
If the idea of a convicted pedophile writing a character who was molested by her father isn’t gross enough, Salva also includes a character in Jeepers Creepers 3 that defends the abusive act. A review of the film by IGN’s Adam Dileo confirms that at some point in the movie a character justifies the molestation by saying, “Can you blame me though? I mean look at her. The heart wants what it wants, am I right?”
Salva’s history rightfully caused numerous production delays on Jeepers Creepers 3. The Union of British Columbia Performers (UBCP) made an official warning against Silva and urged actors not to audition or accept a part in the movie after a casting call revealed Salva was looking for an 18-year-old to play a character whose stepfather made “overtures” at her when she was 13. Salva left this backstory in the film for the theatrical cut.
The director is already working on a fourth Jeepers Creepers movie. The third film will reportedly return to theaters for a second showing on October 4.
