Jeepers Creepers 4, or Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, is a reboot of the original Jeepers Creepers from 2001 and attempts to breathe some fresh life into the modern monster movie franchise. The Jeepers Creepers franchise is not the most consistent series, with only the first film having a Rotten Tomatoes score above 25%. Even that first film is more novel and schlocky than it is “good,” but there are some things to like about the films, including the darkly comic tone, the gorey kills, and the unique, тιтular “Creeper” at the center of the film.

In 2022, Jeepers Creepers 4 was released as Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, serving as a reboot of the franchise, with a much different story than that Justin Long/Gina Philips-led original. This time around, the Creeper has lost his signature truck, with the vehicle only appearing in an opening which turns out to be some kind of “supernatural mystery show”. The real story involved sweethearts Laine (Sydney Craven) and Chase (Imran Adams), who go to a horror festival in Louisiana. Chase’s interest in the “Creeper” legend becomes all too real when the attendees are targeted by the hungry monster.

What Happens At The End Of Jeepers Creepers 4

Laine And Chase Manage To Defeat The Creeper

At the end of Jeepers Creeper 4, Chase, Laine, their tour guide Stu (Pete Brooke), and a camera crew are now all too aware that the Creeper is in fact, a real monster. Its swathe of violence at the festival has led him to the haunted house where the surviving group flee. After capturing Laine, the Creeper begins to slice open her abdomen, a doubly horrifying moment because we learned earlier that Laine is pregnant. A gunsH๏τ from Stu distracts the Creeper momentarily as he goes off to hunt the rest of the group, giving Laine a chance to escape.

Stu, Chase, and the other realize that the legends of the Creeper are true, and Madame Carnage (Jodie McMullen), the organizer of the event, worships the Creeper and attracts people to her festival to feed the monster. What she really wants, however, is Laine’s child, which she will use to ensure the Creeper becomes immortal. After killing everyone besides Stu, Laine, and Chase, the Creeper advances on Chase. Laine distracts the monster by offering him her child, but he fails to notice the shuriken she throws at him, cutting out both of his eyes.

The now-blinded Creeper is led outside. Stu and Chase climb the roof of the house and drop a large weather vane on the Creeper, piercing him through the mouth. A flock of crows devours his body but knocks Stu off the roof to his death as well. Sitting in the car as the police approach, Laine’s eyes go black, and she has a vision of the Creeper being reborn. The Creeper is rarely down for long in these movies, and Jeepers Creepers 4 suggests that Laine is not even close to being done with the monster.

Laine Has A Special, Mysterious Connection With The Creeper

The Creeper Wants Laine’s Baby To Become Immortal

Throughout Jeepers Creepers 4, Laine is shown to have some kind of psychic connection with the Creeper. When she and Chase are on their way to the horror festival, they stop in a small roadside gift shop. She has an odd vision after touching the shop owner. Later at the festival, Laine picks up a shuriken to be used in a carnival game. Despite never having seen the weapon before, she discovers she’s preternaturally talented at throwing it. More concerning, she soon begins having visions of being naked with a circle marked on her forehead, surrounded by cloaked men.

Laine continues having visions of a satanic ritual being performed on her, and she comes to realize that it’s her unborn baby the monster wants. There is clearly some sort of relationship between Laine and the Creeper, but that connection is never fully explained. So at the end of the film, when Laine’s eyes go dark and the movie cuts to the Creeper’s rebirth, the meaning is muddled and confusing. It’s not clear if she’s now possessed by the Creeper, if she is herself becoming a Creeper, or if we are just being signaled that her connection remains open.

I tend to think that Laine’s connection to the Creeper is simply open, and perhaps she’s realizing that the monster is not gone for good. Her lack of reaction makes it hard to tell. Furthermore, the Creeper’s power was never about possessing people or transferring its consciousness. Its horror signature is taking people’s body parts to reconstruct the missing pieces of its own body. It would not make sense for the Creeper to possess Laine somehow, particularly considering she is still pregnant. It feels like a silly cliffhanger that was added on for the sake of adding it on.

The Real Meaning Of Jeepers Creepers 4’s Ending

Laine Is Unsure About Having A Baby With Chase

Jeepers Creepers 4 is not exactly rife with themes, but motherhood and commitment are certainly woven into the story. Laine is a nervous about her child and has yet to tell Chase about the child. Chase, for his part, is preparing to propose to her, so it’s likely he would be immensely supportive of her having the child. The Creeper is the only one who both knows about the baby and is excited for it, though his excitement comes from an entirely different place.

Laine uses something she fears the most, her pregnancy, to help defeat the Creeper, claiming the child she was unsure of as her own. It’s an interesting message, but one that could possibly have used a few more nods towards it in the script. Instead, Laine’s pregnancy feels a bit forgotten about for parts of the film until it’s needed.

Jeepers Creepers 5 Is Unlikely

The Producers Of Reborn Are Being Sued

With a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, Jeepers Creepers 4 did not do too many favors to the Jeepers Creepers franchise. Horror movie reboots can be hit or miss, and even the worst ones don’t usually wreck the franchise and simply serve as a misstep. However, there are some other problems with Jeepers Creepers 4 that could suggest there won’t be any more entries in the franchise for quite a while. At the moment, there are no plans for Jeepers Creepers 5.

Any and all talks about a fifth film will have to wait until the lawsuit is settled. Myriad Pictures, which produced Jeepers Creepers 2 and Jeepers Creepers 3, is suing Infinity Films Holding, who produced Jeepers Creepers 4 (via UniCourt). The suit was filed almost immediately after Jeepers Creeper 4 was announced and alleges (via JoBlo),

“[a] breach of a right of first negotiation and last refusal for worldwide distribution rights to subsequent productions of the horror movie franchise, Jeepers Creepers.

Cross-Defendant Myriad Pictures, Inc. (“Cross-Defendant” or “Plaintiff”) alleges in the Complaint having a contractual right of first negotiation and last refusal for worldwide distribution rights to subsequent productions. Cross-Defendant further alleges that defendants produced and filmed Jeepers Creepers IV without Cross-Defendant’s knowledge or involvement, even though Cross-Defendant had been working with defendants to develop the sequels throughout 2018 and 2019.

Once the film was sH๏τ, defendants purported to extend to Cross-Defendant a right of “last negotiation” which was illusory because defendants had already granted distribution rights to Cross-Defendant’s compeтιтor Screen Media.”

In a sense, Myriad Pictures is accusing the filmmakers of making and distributing Jeepers Creepers 4 without the consent of Myriad Pictures, which would even put into question if the movie is a part of the official Jeepers Creepers canon.