Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)

Jeepers Creepers 3: Directed by Victor Salva. With Stan Shaw, Gabrielle Haugh, Brandon Smith, Meg Foster. Sheriff Dan Tashtego and a team of creeper hunters enlist the help of officer Davis Tubbs to help stop the monster’s eating spree.

“Normally with a movie like this that took so long getting and presumably had trouble securing financing, youu0026#39;d expect the problem to be a restrictive budget. But actually u0026quot;JC3u0026quot; would have been better-and more like the earlier films-if it were smaller scaled and less costly. Thereu0026#39;s too much action here, too many characters, all unconvincing and sometimes silly. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut whatu0026#39;s really inexplicable is that thereu0026#39;s way too much of the Creeper, who is no longer a seldom-seen figure of mystery but one seen WAY too often, in broad daylight, moving around like a regular guy albeit in some kind of Comic Con costume. Heu0026#39;s not scary this way. Heu0026#39;s just some dude in a mask. Nor is the hitherto teasingly doled-out mythology at all heightened by overly graphic FX views of him in flight, or so much dwelling on the armored truck heu0026#39;s got that isnu0026#39;t just a u0026quot;death wagon,u0026quot; itu0026#39;s made out of indestructible stuff and has all kinds of lethal gizmos more appropriate to a u0026quot;Phantasmu0026quot; movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLingering on a few characters in peril, with few and frightening glimpses of the Creeper, was clearly something that worked well for the prior installments. All that gets thrown out the window here, only lessening atmosphere and suspense. Victor Salva remains a technically proficient filmmaker (at least compared to most direct-to-video-level horror directors), and there are scattered things to like, notably giving Meg Foster a major role. Having #3 bridge the narratives of #1 and #2 was at least an unexpected decision. The movie isnu0026#39;t good, but at least it isnu0026#39;t dull (something you canu0026#39;t say about some of those later u0026quot;Phantasmsu0026quot;). Getting an interview with Creeper actor Jonathan Breck, who appears a pleasant guy, provides a nice (if sole) bonus feature. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill, this is a disappointing film that goes from generally wrong-headed to just plain ridiculous at its ill-judged climax, at which point the Creeper becomes so feeble a menace he might as well be shown dancing to u0026quot;The Monster Mash.u0026quot; Itu0026#39;s almost as if Salva wanted to deliberately kill off his own franchise, no matter that (of course) he claims #4 is already written.”