Verdict
Summary
A very slight step up from the abysmal first entry, The Jester 2 is still a poor man’s Terrifier, which in my book is as bad as horror movies can stoop before scraping the absolute bottom, and yet all the ingredients are there for a new franchise icon, at least at the “B” or “C” level.
Plot:
A magical serial killer is on the loose on Halloween again.
Review:
It’s that time of year again – Halloween – and a magical serial killer is roaming the streets, looking to rack up a body count before midnight. The Jester (Michael Sheffield) is his name, and he wears a mask that has melted into his flesh (maybe the mask is his face, it’s not really clear), and he’s a mischievous killer with powers beyond the possible. If he sets his sights on you as a victim, it’s pretty much curtains for you. Out trick or treating and having fun that night is a pretty teenage outcast named Max (Kaitlyn Trentham) who works at the local magic shop (didn’t realize there were any of those left, but whatever). Max happens to be pretty good at sleight of hand, and when The Jester approaches her to show her a card trick, she surprises him by showing him a trick or two. This immediately cancels his plan to kill her and he decides to make her his apprentice, though she doesn’t realize that he’s a diabolical killer. Because she’s dressed like a magician (remember, it’s Halloween), and he’s dressed like a ringmaster, they sort of blend into the sparse Halloween crowd, but as soon as The Jester begins to induct her into his sick game of killing people in impossible ways, it’s too late and she’s locked into the game until it plays out. He plans on killing a certain amount of people before the night is over in order for his deal with the devil to be secure for another year, but when Max pushes back against his plan, he might have found an adversary that could muck up his plans.
A very slight step up from the abysmal first entry, The Jester 2 is still a poor man’s Terrifier, which in my book is as bad as horror movies can stoop before scraping the absolute bottom, and yet all the ingredients are there for a new franchise icon, at least at the “B” or “C” level. Art the Clown gets an “F” for me, while The Jester gets a D-, so he’s got those bragging rights, but that’s just semantics. The problem with The Jester character is that the rules the filmmakers create for him are never clear (same with Art the Clown, but he’s worse in every way), and as soon as they try to set rules, they break them. The next problem is that he’s not scary. He’s overpowered without having any clear form; is he physical or spiritual? He walks among us, but he can appear and disappear and do incredible, impossible feats without lifting a finger. Even Freddy Krueger could cross into the real world, but as soon as he did he became vulnerable. The Jester (like Art the Clown) is some kind of demon without any cinematic rules and continually seems like he can be defeated, but he never has any trouble surviving whatever attacks are inflicted on him. It’s aggravating and this movie even tries to give him a voice and a motive, but then he’s pitted against this Max girl, who is a weak foe for him. The film is shot digitally and has a very slick and smooth visual pallet, but the actors and the script are not up to snuff and it left me with no hope that a third entry would correct all the wrongs of the first two entries. Too bad. From writer / director Colin Krawchuk.
Dread / Epic is releasing The Jester 2 on Blu-ray in time for Halloween, and the disc comes with a commentary, a making-of feature, and bonus trailers. It’s numbered #58 on the spine if you’re collecting this line.
