Watching a movie like "Jeepers Creepers 3" in a packed theater was a blast, fans lined nearly every seat at my showing, who jumped at every scare and laughed at every funny moment- intentional or not. Any horror buff could see every "shock" coming a mile away, which is something I fancy myself as, but that doesn't mean I didn't leap from my seat from time to time. It is the kind of movie where your heart skips a beat at the loud musical clash, only to find yourself laughing at yourself for falling for such an old trick. Yes, you have seen every scene "Jeepers Creepers 3" has to offer, but it is an effective little horror-comedy; the latter part I'm not sure was intentional.
So the plot goes like this: every 23 spring for 23 days, the Creeper gets to eat. Does it travel the world? Are there more of these things? (Are they what killed the dinosaurs?) Questions like this only distract from director Victor Salva's nack at building suspense, who introduces characters, you guess which will survive, only to find your guess was completely wrong. And there are a lot of characters, something that plagued the second installment back in 2003. Here, they are all cliches, but the actors deliver each line as if they are auditioning for a Steven Spielberg film; you see all the muscles in their faces as they speak some pretty ridiculous dialogue (including one of my favorites "... you just want to hold hands with that thing!" or something like that. I'm not sure, I was too busy laughing to hear the entire exclamation). That all adds to the charm, playing out like a lost relic of the '80's slasher cinema. There isn't as much skin shown as those movies, but with the director's sordid sexual past, I guess that is for the best.
There are more questions that burn only when you step back from the insanity onscreen: why are all the cell phones here flip phones? Why are there so many antique cars driven casually in this fictional movie town? Why is the newest car I saw a Ford Bronco? What decade does this film take place?! But I could go on forever, so let us get back to the review.
There are two primary stories that play out simultaneously and independently: one where Addison (Gabrielle Haugh) struggles to feed her horse on her grandma's farm (played by Meg Foster), who struggles to cope with the death of Kenny (Jordan Salloum), who is her son? Grandson? The film doesn't make a big deal about plot. Ken died at the hands of the Creeper, who appears in her mind warning her that the antagonist will be back (of course it is, there wouldn't be a sequel he didn't). Addison, often called Addy, flirts around with the idea of actually flirting with Buddy (Chester Rushing), who's family owns the local horse food store. What happens between the two is obvious, but the awkwardness of the two characters almost leads to unorthodox chemistry. But who cares about that when the other story, the one where non-believer Stg. Tubbs (Brandon Smith) becomes a believer by partnering up with believer Sherif Tashtego (Stan Shaw), is so goddamn interesting!? They are by far the best thing in the movie, particularly Tubbs, who's facial expressions and commentary to Tashtego's speeches are almost as over-the-top as the speeches themselves. They ham it up, lavishing in the absurdity of their situation while never "winking" at the camera like they're in on the joke.
The Creeper (Jonathan Breck) himself is effectively played and costumed, as he enters scenes above both the camera and the other characters. He has plenty of bizarre weapons at his disposal, even his truck is loaded with traps to keep outsiders out and those on the inside, well, in. The way he "smells" his victims is creepy (pun intended), but he doesn't have much to do aside from stalk and kill people, but I guess that is kinda the point of this type of movie. He doesn't stand up to Michael Myers or Freddy Kruger, but in a cinematic world of killer dolls, ghosts, and clowns, he'll have to do.
While the makeup is well-done, the other special effects often expose the film's low budget- it doesn't help that much of it is filmed during the day (one scene scene suffers from some obvious CGI explosions and bullets). When the sun does set in movie world, the night obscures much of these monetary quirks, where fortunately much of the blood is shed under the dull light of the moon. Another sore spot is the film's abrupt end, interrupting what should have been a climactic foot-chase scene to slot this film clumsily into the series' chronology.
Things here almost came together into a small-scale guilty pleasure, and there are elements that are better than the two-and-a-half star rating imply (particularly its idiosyncratic sense of humor), but there are just a few too many cracks in this old-fashioned horror flick to get a full recommendation.
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