Jeepers Creepers 3: Review

21st October 2018

By Eric Trigg.

Stay away from these peepers

For 14 years fans of this series waited for the long overdue 3^rd entry that seemed like it was going to remain trapped in development hell. Several years of speculation, and rumors would come but no 3^rd film. Originally Jeepers Creepers 3 was going to be set 23 years after the first two installments and would follow Trish Jenner (Gina Philips), Jack Taggart Sr. (Ray Wise) and his son as they team up to hunt down and kill the winged monster. That idea was scrapped for a prequel set in between the first two entries and it does not work at all. The original films told the story about an ancient evil that awakened every 23^rd spring for 23 days to eat from humans to regenerate body parts.

Victor Salva returns to write and direct this 3^rd installment, Jonathan Breck reprises his role as the creeper, and Brandon Smith returns to the series as Sgt. Tubbs. Starring Meg Foster, Gabrielle Haugh, Chester Rushing, Brandon Smith, and Stan Shaw. Jeepers Creepers 3 focuses on the creeper in pursuit of an old limb that was buried 23 years ago during it’s last feeding cycle. Once again set in Poho County we follow Sgt. Tubbs who teams up with a task force lead by Sgt. Tashtego (Stan Shaw). After years of promise and rumors fans were ultimately given a half cooked 3^rd entry that was seemingly rushed from start to finish and not taken seriously at all.

Our final girl Addison (Gabrielle Haugh) does not carry this film well compared to those that came before her and it’s amazing that she was casted in this role because her acting is some of the worst on screen. Jeepers Creepers 3 was set to reveal everything about the creeper and all it did was develop plot holes and raise more questions. For most of the film the creeper is hunting down this old hand that belongs to him because when someone touches it the hand exposes the creepers origins. This plot device raises several questions and makes the creeper look like a complete fool. Only operating for 23 days one must wonder why the creeper waited so long to start tracking this hand? Also, the plot device creates logic gaps in the creeper’s operations for Jeepers Creepers 2 which takes place days later.

In the 2003 sequel the creeper attacks a school bus of cheerleaders and basketball players. During this film the creeper seems to have no problem abandoning limbs it no longer needs. So, since our winged bat knows that the limbs hold its origins why does it not care in Jeepers Creepers 2 which is days after the 3^rd film? Did the creeper not learn its lesson or was Victor Salva very stoned while writing this? The narrative for this 3^rd outing suggests that the limbs allow the person in contact with it to be granted access to the myths of the winged creature. Illogical writing is just one of many flaws in Jeepers Creepers 3 and the film gets progressively worse up until a nice surprise before the credits.

Certain actors in the film seem to not care, while others just give bad performances, and then there are some that are trying but their on-screen love interest are very dull. Bad acting, illogical script, horrible visual effects, mixed with the best cinematography in the trilogy make this film the worst. Serving as a direct sequel to the first film it does not help that several characters are aware of the myths surrounding the creeper. What made the monster scary was that lack of knowledge that the viewer and the victims had during the first two films. The task force lead by Sgt. Tashtego (Stan Shaw) team up with Sgt. Tubbs (Brandon Smith) and this task force knows all the crucial information about the creeper’s operations. The film never addresses how they know it instead tries to reason it by letting the audience know the task force consist of people who encountered the creeper 23 years ago.

So, by that logic if I meet a vicious grizzly bear and live to tell my story I now will have knowledge of its schemes including when it likes to feed? That is not how that works at all the narrative here is suggesting that the only way the task force know about the creepers operations is because they encountered it once before. In the original film a psychic was in the area, so she had a reason, but these guys just know due to contact it seems. Jeepers Creepers 3 might be a strong contender for worse 3^rd entry in a horror franchise. The film switches back and forth from one group to the next it tries to focus on way too many characters at once.

In the 2^nd film you had a different set of characters that would get enough screen time to allow proper character development but here the movies focus on too many sets at once. For fans of the original two films I would say you will enjoy watching the creeper do its thing but that’s really it. Jonathan Breck gives another amazing performance as the creeper, but his peers do nothing but coast by. Avoid this movie unless you are a completest because this movie is not worth it.

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