After watching “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn,” I’m left with the overwhelming sense that some horror franchises should be allowed to rest in peace. This fourth installment in the Jeepers Creepers series represents an attempt to revitalize the franchise with a new director and without any involvement from the original creator, but unfortunately falls flat in almost every aspect.
The film follows Chase (Imran Adams) and his girlfriend Laine (Sydney Craven) as they attend a horror convention in Louisiana centered around the legend of the Creeper. What starts as a typical horror fan event quickly descends into actual horror when they win a contest to participate in a Creeper-themed escape room experience that turns all too real.
I couldn’t help but notice this film perfectly exemplifies the inverse relationship between plot quality and lead actress attractiveness in horror reboots. Sydney Craven is undeniably stunning, easily the most attractive lead the franchise has seen, yet she’s trapped in what might be the worst-written entry in the series. It’s as if the producers knew they needed something—or someone—to draw audiences in when the script couldn’t. This phenomenon isn’t unique to “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn,” but it’s particularly glaring here, where Craven’s photogenic presence stands in stark contrast to the film’s abysmal quality.
While I appreciate the meta concept of acknowledging the previous films as “movies based on a real legend” within this universe, the execution leaves much to be desired. The production values are shockingly poor, with CGI that wouldn’t have passed muster in the early 2000s. Green screen effects are painfully obvious throughout, and the scenes meant to depict the Louisiana setting look artificial and unconvincing.
The Creeper himself has been redesigned for this entry, and while the practical costume elements look decent enough, the CGI wings and effects surrounding him undermine any sense of menace. The original Creeper was frightening because of his ruthless efficiency and mysterious nature, but this version feels like a pale imitation without the same threatening presence.
The performances range from stiff to outright wooden, with dialogue that feels unnatural and plot progression that defies logic. Characters make decisions that serve only to advance the plot toward the next kill scene rather than reflecting believable human behavior. The relationship between our leads feels equally forced, making it difficult to care about their fate.
The pacing is perhaps the film’s biggest flaw. At a lean 88 minutes, it somehow still manages to feel tediously slow, spending too much time on uninteresting festival scenes and not enough on developing genuine suspense or dread. By the time we reach the climax, any investment in the outcome has long since evaporated.
For die-hard fans of the franchise who simply must see every entry, this might be worth a rental, but for everyone else, this is one movie that should remain unwatched. “Jeepers Creepers: Reborn” fails to capture any of what made the original film effective and instead delivers a forgettable entry that neither honors the series’ legacy nor successfully charts a new course. The only thing truly reborn here is the age-old horror movie marketing strategy: when your script is weak, cast someone beautiful to distract the audience.
★½ / ★★★★★
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