Forced to travel with her boyfriend, Laine begins to experience premonitions associated with the urban myth of The Creeper. She believes that something supernatural has been summoned – and that she is at the center of it all.
I was a big fan of the first two Jeepers Creepers films, especially the first one. It was fraught with tension, suspense, uncertainty, and a sense of permeating dread. Part 2 was a decent follow-up but came nowhere near the greatness of Part 1. Part 3 was a huge disappointment, so when I saw the trailer for “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn,” I figured it couldn’t be as bad. I was wrong. This iteration is absolutely horrendous and should never have been made. The acting, story, and CGI are cringeworthy, and the new creeper is just not scary. At least in the first three, actor Jonathan Breck made the creeper genuinely terrifying. He wasn’t just an actor in fearsome attire; he portrayed the character like Nick Castle did as Michael Myers in the original “Halloween” as an unstoppable force of evil. Even though his face was hidden for most of the movie, you could feel his malevolence through his make-up and costume.
This time around, a young couple, Chase (Imran Adams) and Laine (Sydney Craven), make their way to the Horror Hound Festival and win the top prize of one night in a creeper-themed escape room, followed by an internet TV crew who want to film their experiences. Once there, however, Laine begins having mysterious visions of an unspeakable terror that involves her unborn baby. When bodies start turning up, and Chase and Laine realize it is not part of the charade, they try to escape but quickly comprehend they are trapped. With talk of the creeper circulating, it quickly becomes apparent it specifically wants Laine, but Chase will stop at nothing to protect her. With no way out, they must try and survive until morning, hoping the new day will bring new hope and the possibility of escape, but the creeper is hungry and wants to feed, and Chase and Laine are on the menu.
One of the cardinal sins “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn” commits is making the first three films in the series fictional. They are mentioned in passing, and that they were made simply to cash in on the rumors of the real creeper, and while I wouldn’t have minded this element so much if this movie was any good, it is not, and the filmmakers state that this iteration is THE legitimate story of the creeper. Jarreau Benjamin, the actor who plays the new creeper, has no sense of menace or intimidation; he walks around wearing the creeper’s clothing and make-up to appease the hardcore fans. Of course, it doesn’t, and that typically falls on the shoulders of the director, in this case, Timo Vuorensola, the man responsible for “Iron Sky” and “Iron Sky: The Coming Race.”
He is incapable of building any character development or tension. The story is equivalent to dropping rats in a maze and sitting back to see what happens. The actors have no character arcs or a sense of purpose; they are meat for the grinder and not a very good one, I might add. Towards the end of the film, some characters manage to escape onto the roof of the old house, and the use of CGI here is excruciatingly embarrassing. It’s like the filmmakers just gave up and didn’t even try to hide their abomination. They even have the gall to infer that the creeper is part of a Satanic cult when all three predecessors never made mention of this characteristic. The creeper is an ancient, mysterious demon who has been around for thousands of years, and beyond that, not much else is known, and that’s what makes it the ideal monster; its lack of origins.
“Jeepers Creeper: Reborn” is supposedly the first in a new planned trilogy, but I hope the abysmal reviews and apparent lack of die-hard fan participation quashes those plans. This installment is nothing but a quick cash grab, a way to try and keep interest in the franchise alive. Rumors are that original writer and director Victor Salva has a script that involves Trish (Gina Philips), the sister of Justin Long’s Darry, who was killed in the first film, tracking down the creeper to exact revenge, and that brief synopsis is all I need to stay interested. Here’s hoping that vision will come to fruition soon.
Available on Blu-ray™ and DVD November 15th
