After the downtick of horror films in the late 90’s, the turn of the century marked a revival for the genre. Final Destination made death fun. The Blair Witch Project launched the found footage sub-genre. Resident Evil gave birth to a multi-decade zombie craze and House of 1000 Corpses made it o.k. to have a hard R- rated film again. The only thing missing was a new creature feature. Enter Jeepers Creepers. A fantastic creature design, well written and acted dialogue, and a terrific new lore for horror hounds to salivate over, made Jeepers Creepers an instant classic. The film spawned two sequels as well as a legion of fans. The first two films came in quick succession before the controversy from the horrific past of the film’s creator, Victor Salva, halted any further installments. Infinity Films and Black Hanger Studios acquired the rights to the franchise with intentions to kick start a new series of films. Writer Sean Michael Argo and Director Timo Vuorensola (Iron Sky) take the helm. Salva, now removed from the franchise, left many open-ended questions with the original trilogy. Will Reborn be able to close out the old chapters, while birthing a highly anticipated future to the beleaguered franchise?
Chase, a young man with a fascination with the supernatural, drags his girlfriend Laine to Louisiana for a horror festival. Not just any horror festival, not just any town, but the infamous town which is home to the legend of The Creeper. The couple harbors a major secret each, which is exacerbated by images that begin to haunt Laine. At the conclusion of the festival, Chase and Laine are chosen to accompany a major internet show in a Creeper themed escape room, situated at the very home of the legend. Once inside, the entire crew quickly realize that they are about to become part of the Creeper’s lore.
JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN misses the mark on just about every single aspect that makes a great entry into a franchise. It was a bold effort from the filmmakers to abandon the original storyline. Perhaps this was to distance themselves from the dark legacy of Salva, or due to budget constraints, which are blatantly obvious. The CGI and use of green screens is so bad, one would think they are watching a mid-90’s direct to video production. The Creeper design and the Creeper himself, looks like a backyard wrestling villain. Leads Sydney Craven (a name born to be a scream queen) and Imran Adams do their best to put in a shift with what they have to work with. Even the iconic Dee Wallace can not turn anything out with her blandly written cameo. The written plot itself is more jumbled than a preschooler’s crayon box. A cult of the Creeper is introduced and then disappears with zero explanation nor any relevance to the conclusion. Only the slightest of nods are given to the previous films, with no satisfaction for franchise fans. The pacing of the film is laughable. Just when the audience can maybe get into a character’s performance, there is another useless jump cut to another set piece. A decent ending could have pushed the film to be at least watchable, but yet again a completely basic finale ensues, leaving the audience asking questions. The primary one being, can I get my money back? Usually, there can be segments of a film that can be praised, it is hard to find any in this installment. REBORN could be admired if it was a fan made homage film, made by a passionate team on a under twenty-thousand-dollar budget. Despite a big studio budget, the entire team behind this film should be embarrassed. If this franchise has any prayer of actually being reborn, it will take a strong studio, with proper money, and previous installments performers, to properly conclude the original storyline. After the expected feedback from this outing, that may be another 23 years.
Scream Score 3/10