Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Jeepers Creepers 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 19, 2018

Jeepers Creepers 3 has been a long time coming. The franchise began 2001 with the fan-favorite and effectively chilling original and, as the case usually is with these Horror franchises, still the best. The sequel released in 2003, and it’s been about a 15-year hiatus since The Creeper freshly stalked prey on the screen. His third outing actually takes place between first and second films, so call it more 1.5 than 3.0. Regardless of numbers and nomenclature, though, the movie is a decent enough outing for the series and the genre in general, nowhere near as memorably creepy and intense as the original but a decent little flick in its own right. And in a funny and fairly unique little twist, this film sets itself up for its sequel, which is really the previous film in the franchise. That’s a pretty nifty little turn of events at the end that fans should enjoy in a movie that’s otherwise serviceable-at-best with precious few legitimate scares and gory kills and only light myth-building and characterization at work.

Forget the peepers...where'd you get those wings?!?

For 23 days every 23 years, The Creeper (Jonathan Breck) roams and hunts, killing and stocking up bodies in the back of his truck for later consumption. The film begins with law enforcement tracking down his corpse-infested and trap-filled truck, but The Creeper secures it back into his possession and continues the hunt. Amongst his victims are four teenage boys, one of whom survives a grisly attack and finds himself in the back of the truck alongside a young girl named Addison (Gabrielle Haugh) whose grandmother (Meg Foster) remains traumatized from a run-with The Creeper the last time it hunted. Meanwhile, Sheriff Dan Tashtego (Stan Shaw) and Sergeant Davis Tubbs (Brandon Smith) pursue The Creeper with the help of several mercenaries with a plan to bring the creature down in a firestorm of rat-a-tat lead.

The film's unusual makeup -- the middle part of a three-film sandwich despite billing as the third film and releasing well over a decade since the previous -- might make it a little off-putting for all but series veterans, but then again it's hard to imagine anyone picking up the movie without having previously been exposed to at least the first film. This picture's scattershot plot doesn't help either. It deals with a number of characters, each battling The Creeper, and in some cases life, in their own way, ranging from a young girl trying to save her horse from starvation and befriending the freckly-faced teenager with a crush on her, her senile grandmother with a past (and present) with The Creeper, motorcycle-riding teenagers who encounter The Creeper's truck, and Tashtego and Tubbs and the machine gun-toting mercenaries out to get The Creeper. The result is a film that never settles into a rhythm, even as the characters' run-ins with the film's winged nemesis necessarily brings them together in various ways. But they're largely filler and fodder. The film offers precious little adds as far as expanding the universe's lore is concerned, and, slow to build, quickly devolves into a collection of disjointed subplots that struggle to carry the flimsy narrative that is essentially "Creeper has come to feed, and these are his potential victims."

The film does take place predominantly during the day, allowing for the audience to absorb the wonderfully intricate practical makeup that gives The Creeper his distinct look, but it also betrays the shoddy visual effects quality that drags down a number of key scenes, including gunshots wounds, hatchets in the face, and rolling bombs that add danger to a car chase scene late in the film. There's not enough substance to cover for the visuals, and the kills aren't gory enough to help, either. In fact, several characters are only wounded by what might be the most interesting character in the movie, The Creeper's truck, which is a big, rusted, death trap that's part van and part hearse and part hellishly profane monstrosity muscled and welded into one. "BEATNGU" its license plate says, and its occupant has rigged it with enough tricks and traps to make both Batman and Jigsaw envious; harpoons, steel teeth, hidden lances to slay anyone who might still be alive on the inside...there are plenty of surprises that await suspecting and unsuspecting characters alike, and there's almost certainly death for one teenager who dares use the front of the truck as a urinal.

Jeepers Creepers 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jeepers Creepers 3 may be a fairly low-budget and, in the greater world of cinema and Blu-ray, inconsequential title and release, but don't tell its 1080p presentation. Its only real flaw comes by way of moderate banding appearing in a few scenes, notably around the 15:30 mark and for the duration of the scene at that timestamp, but beyond that and a little source noise here and there this is a fairly stout, highly enjoyable image. Details are insanely sharp and effortlessly complex, with hair and skin, clothes, environments, The Creeper's patchwork metallic truck, and Creeper prosthetics all delivering exceptional texturing with razor-sharp clarity that reveals the absolute finest qualities available. Colors are equally up to the challenge, delivering a healthy, vibrant palette that dazzles with intensity of primary splashes. Bold greens, intense reds, bursting blues, every shade, particularly, in the film's bright, day-drenched environments, sparkle. Black levels are impressively deep and flesh tones appear accurate. Aside from a couple of minor drawbacks, this is a great presentation from Screen Media.

Jeepers Creepers 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much like its video counterpart, Jeepers Creepers 3's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack plays bigger than the movie it accompanies. The track offers a steady diet of high energy sound effects and surround implementation. Low end engagement, which can be and often is substantial, such as when The Creeper takes his truck back early in the film, wants for no intensity or bass. In fact, any scene involving the truck is usually of near reference quality. Sound traversal in various scenes draws the listener into the experience. At film's start, birds flock and sounds swoosh left to right. A quartet of motorcycles zoom front to back in chapter three, and a harpoon mightily whips through the stage not long after. Gunfire is crisp and tight, music is large and aggressive yet still abundantly detailed, and dialogue is refined, well positioned, and prioritized. The Blu-ray's A/V presentation should satisfy any viewer.

Jeepers Creepers 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Jeepers Creepers 3 contains one supplement. Interview Footage (1080p, 8:11) features Actor Jonathan Breck discussing his portrayal of The Creeper, including secluding himself from his co-stars in the first film, building the character with animal and human characteristics, the role's physical challenges, costume and makeup, the difference between portraying The Creeper then and now, fan response, and more.

Jeepers Creepers 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jeepers Creepers 3 delivers serviceable Horror entertainment but accomplishes little in terms of character building or mythology expansion. A sequel to the first film and a prequel to the second, its most interesting quality is its positioning between the first two films, beginning where the first ended and ending where the second begins. The film is light on gore and meaningful characterization; it's scattershot storytelling at best, playing more like a collection of scenes than a tight, cohesive, purposeful narrative. But that's largely par for the course for middling Horror franchises, and fans should find just enough red meat to keep going, though the pickings are obviously rather slim. The film's Blu-ray release, courtesy of Screen Media, delivers high-yield video and audio. Extras are limited to a single, but quality, interview with the film's star. Worth a look, but only for established franchise fans. Everyone else should start back at the beginning with the vastly superior original.