Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022) Review

Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022) Review

The Horror Hound festival is a big deal, and now, it’s coming to Louisiana for the very first time – the excitement is immense. The geeks, freaks and die-hard horror fans are coming from far and wide to experience the fear and the fun.

Chase (Imran Adams – Hollyoaks, Ghosts), a lovable geek, is one such fan. He can’t wait to go and has bagged tickets for him and his devoted girlfriend Laine (Sydney Craven – EastEnders, A Christmas Carol), who has even more exciting news she’s waiting to share…

But as the festival approaches, Laine experiences disturbing premonitions involving the town’s terrifying past … and can’t shake the feeling that something evil is coming.

As the festival kicks off and blood-soaked entertainment builds to a frenzy, are Laine and Chase ready to face the legend of the Creeper, in a brand-new horror attraction? Or could Laine’s fears be about to come true – is one of the most wicked demons ever set to wreak havoc, death and devastation on the unsuspecting crowds?

The pair must prepare to fight for their lives as they realise their worst nightmare has come true as Jeepers Creepers is Reborn.

JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN is not only the fourth film in the franchise it is also a reboot. The intention is that this will serve as the first in a planned trilogy set apart from Victor Salva’s original trilogy. IRON SKY director Timo Vuorensola, making his Hollywood debut, has brought back the demonic Creeper in a fun, if forgettable horror flick, that’s crammed full of ‘boo’ moments and a pleasing amount of gore.

Things kick off promisingly with genre favourite Dee Wallace starring as one half of a couple that are travelling in the middle of nowhere and soon find themselves being stalked by you-know-who. It quickly becomes apparent that JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN is a far cry from the under-your-skin creepiness of the 2001 original, and instead a movie where folks unbelievably do stupid things and the plot jettisons logic out of the window.

After the Dee Wallace intro, we meet Laine and Chase. Chase a big fan of the Creeper legend and original JEEPERS CREEPERS trilogy, and he is simply gagging to arrive at the Horror Hound Festival. What happens when Chase and Laine, along with a couple of friends, arrive at the event, is hugely predictable and is intended to be so. There are no real surprises, just a few stupid people doing stupid things before meeting a bloody end.

As far as reboots go it pales against the likes of PREY, the recent PREDATOR reboot, that did something fresh and innovative with a brand that was previously dying on its feet. Where the original trilogy was tonally uneven and tainted by its creator’s previous personal history, they still created unease and moments of tension. JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN doesn’t want to, it just wants to have fun, even when much of it makes no sense. For the most part this is gleefully stupid dumb fun but that didn’t stop my interest levels waning towards the end.

Trailer

Theatrical release 24 September 2022

Released on digital, Blu-ray and DVD 10 October 2022