Mediocrity comes in threes

JEEPERS CREEPERS 3 (2017)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

It is not likely to cause much fear in the hearts of men, the Creeper's visage that is. Seen mostly in the daylight, this bat-like monster is not that frightening or scary. In fact, his booby-trapped, bulletproof truck (you know, the kind of truck where bullets ricochet off of it when struck) is more fearsome than the monster - it would've been a nifty idea for Indiana Jones to try his hand at outmaneuvering it.

Stupidly set in between the events of "Jeepers Creepers" 1 and 2, the creature is back as it is still feeding time for the mysterious Creeper in the same town of the first film.  Sergeant Tubbs (Brandon Smith returning from the original film), incredulous at the idea that he is fighting a killer that is more monster than man, reluctantly joins forces with Sheriff Tashtego (Stan Shaw, in a largely thankless role) and some band of avenging outsiders who are ready to destroy the Creeper to smithereens. Meanwhile, we get some ragtag group of young bikers who get a little too close to the Creeper's truck; a clean cut teen couple who are ready for a CBS Schoolbreak Special than a movie; a borderline eccentric grandmother (Meg Foster, always a mighty presence on screen) who sees her son's ghost issuing warnings; and a few occasional kills to keep the viewer awake.

Number 3 in the Creeper saga doesn't have the velocity and ramped-up "Duel" rage of the first film. Some scenes of terror are sprinkled throughout but a lot of it made me wince (when did the Creeper update his truck with booby traps when none of this was evident in the first film? Also, did he not fly away with a victim at the end? Why would he return to this damn town? Why not just follow the events of the second film instead of doing a semi-prequel?) Writer-director Victor Salva has forgotten some key ingredients that made the first film a sweaty mixture of dread and unseen horrors: atmosphere as in showering the Creeper in shadows as a nocturnal presence (who can forget his whistling the title tune while approaching his victims), and characters with some depth of personality whom we can care about that builds the tension. Seeing the Creeper in daylight hours robs the monster of true horrific evil - it was best when he was in the shadows.

As for the supporting characters, Meg Foster's granny is the most watchable, the one I gravitated towards yet her character is left in the winds. What passes for character motivation on her part is digging up the Creeper's severed, still living hand and grabbing it that allows her eyes to turn white and see something...what? Nothing apparently. I wanted to believe for a second that she might've been related to the Creeper - that would have been a novelty. Sadly that could've been a curious novelty in a mediocre movie that has none.