Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)

The Jeepers Creepers franchise is a true head-scratcher at this point. The original film is an absolute gem of early 2000s horror, and although the writer/director of the first three installments has numerous unforgivable criminal acts to his name, this review is going to be about the art, not the artist. The second movie featured an even scarier Creeper but was a bit lackluster on the story and character fronts. I have not seen the third entry in a while, and although its reputation is quite poor, it’s hard to imagine it being worse than this. Jeepers Creepers: Reborn is one of the worst films I have ever seen.

The opening scene may be the only redeeming quality of this horror abomination – and that is saying something. In a callback to the original, the film begins with an elderly couple driving down a quiet country road on a seemingly tranquil, relaxing afternoon. The Creeper suddenly startles the senior citizens by tailgating them and beeping the horn of his signature old truck. The couple passes by the Creeper minutes later only to see him dumping what looks like a body wrapped in a blood-soaked sheet into a giant pipe. They eventually investigate the pipe, and just as they look inside, the sequence is revealed to be a true crime reenactment being watched by one of our main characters. The scene is nowhere near as well-done as the first movie; however, it is still a decently promising start.

After that, virtually every aspect of Reborn falls flat on its face. The use of green screen is so obvious it’s painful. Numerous action moments, including two character throwing a steeple off of a roof, are bafflingly bad. Above all else, though, it is the simple lack of tension that ensures the movie never entertains beyond being unintentionally funny. You know when an action star walks away from an explosion looking super cool? Think Will Smith’s Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys. The Creeper does that in this film, and it serves no purpose whatsoever. It was at that point that I knew there was no redeeming this thing.

There are movies that are so bad that they’re good, or even intentionally bad. Jeepers Creepers: Reborn is neither – it’s just plain bad. Unless you’re a cinema masochist or dedicated completist, do what the old-timers should have done at the beginning: stay away.

Rating: 1/5