There are so many horror franchises out there, but there are only a handful that manage to stand the test of time and establish themselves in with the big ones. In 2001 director Victor Salva brought his new creature feature Jeepers Creepers to the big screen. The film was a big enough hit to spawn a sequel in 2003 that brought more terror from the creeper, but mixed reviews from the fans. Despite controversy director Victor Salva has delivered another entry into the franchise with Jeepers Creepers 3, but does it bring anything new to the legacy of the creeper or will it fail to spread its wings?

 

Jeepers Creepers 3 follows Sgt Davis Tubbs who assembles a task force to destroy the Creeper once and for all while growing closer than ever before to learning the secrets of its dark origins, as the monster terrorizes a local farming community. This latest chapter actually takes place between the first and second movie to bridge the gap. The film stars Stan Shaw, Meg Foster, Brandon Smith from the original, and Jonathan Breck back as the Creeper once again. I wasn’t sure how well another chapter was going to work, but this one manages to bring more of the same fun while still not being all that great. For the first time in the franchise, at least in my memory, the creeper has a bit more character and spends most of the time in the daylight. It’s king of off putting and takes some of the menace of the character away at times, but then he reminds you why he is so dangerous.

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The cast all do an ok job with some of them being a bit bad at times. There is one group of guys that are just painful to watch, but thankful they don’t last long. The story is actually pretty clever on how it connects to bridge the gap to the first two while also offering up a fun twist ending that sets up another film should it do well. The look and vibe of the creeper and his killing is here, but this chapter might throw some off with its new direction. I am not a fan of all the CGI blood and gun elements these films use these days, but while noticeable it still doesn’t hurt the movie all that bad.

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In the end this is another chapter of the franchise that if you liked the previous ones then you will likely have a good time here as well despite its issues. I loved the ending twist and how it all cleverly connected making it stand out a bit more than it might have had it just been another sequel and I hope we get that fourth entry it is clearly wanting to make.