While at my best friend’s house, SyFy was airing a variety of horror movies, some of which were big screen, among others usually just on that channel. Most of the time, we talked over looking through old high school items I recently found. Her husband was tuned into the horrorfest, watching “Underworld: Evolution,” followed by another TV movie, one called “Trick or Treat.” When that ended, we joined him to watch “Jeepers Creepers III” (2017). I didn’t even know there was a third part and wasn’t necessarily up for it for two reasons – only saw a few minutes worth of both previous installments and of course, the gore factor. But I figured, why not? I doubted I’d ever catch up later with the first and second of these movies anyway. And we did have some laughs from watching it, because someone always does something that leads to getting killed off. We were saying, “No, get away from that thing,” and “Oh, sure, bang on the window,” etc.
Despite that, this horror sequel had an unpredictable element in terms of what would happen to the four young guys who spot the creepy truck during their dirt bike adventure. I thought for sure it would be the cocky, dark-haired leader of the pack who would die first as he kept getting closer to it before his friends dared to do so. Then, one of them attempts to damage the seemingly abandoned vehicle out in the middle of nowhere. For that reason and figuring he was a less important character, I changed my mind, saying, “Oh, he’s gonna get it!” But no matter who it turned out to be, I never would’ve seen it coming how it happened. I only knew that I didn’t want to see it. Even that was unavoidable, as several gory scenes snuck up on me. I’d look away, look back, look away again and so on, always with bad timing.
Even those who ended up surviving had moments when I thought for sure they weren’t going to make it out alive. The creeper and his crazy arsenal seemed inescapable. Each time someone was trying to run for safety, with scenes cutting back and forth from that person to the creeper’s weapon, I’d call out, “Duck! Get down!” This winged creature was bent on bringing about death to the locals. In some cases, it seemed as though certain people were intended targets for revenge and I wasn’t sure what drove any vengeance by the creeper. Part of the story involved a dismembered hand belonging to the creeper. Flashbacks were also incorporated to connect to previous incidents, whether from the second installment of the franchise or a more implied scene between parts two and three. That’s one example that relayed the idea of certain people being the creeper’s targets, especially one family. Other victims were random, giving the sense of nobody’s safe in the world of this movie. Some horror movies don’t come across as though everyone is going to die. But in this case, it kept making my friends and I think the whole town is doomed with the creeper out there.
The three of us were joking about whether or not there would be more of this horror movie franchise and its unstoppable monster. Well, its ending sure had a cliff-hanger tone with one survivor challenging the creeper upon a return appearance.
“Jeepers Creepers III” starred a cast mostly of actors and actresses I hadn’t seen in anything else. However, I recognized one man whose character seemed to know a history about the relentless monster. Stan Shaw played that particular role, Sheriff Dan Tashtego. Another familiar face was that of Meg Foster, who was the grandmother of a young girl taken by the creeper.
Overall, it’s not a horror movie that I’ll watch again. My best friend’s husband commented that there didn’t seem to be much of a background story given in the plot. I’m just not familiar with the franchise enough. I’d have to see the rest of it to find any particular connecting points. Since “Jeepers Creepers III” isn’t my usual type of cinematic scare, it doesn’t draw my curiosity to watch the first and second parts beginning to end. Tuning in was simply part of getting into the Halloween spirit with friends that night.
Film Inspired 