Because I knew this was coming up on my viewing schedule this month, I made time a few days ago to check out The Jester. It was okay. I might have rated it higher if I was feeling charitable, but I also could have easily rated it lower if in a bad mood, so I think the absolute mid-point was a good rating for it. I'd heard that the sequel was a bit better though, along with comments about not really needing to see the first film anyway, so I was slightly optimistic when I pressed play on this.
That optimism was unwarranted. While I'm not sure if The Jester 2 is worse than the first film, it's certainly not a much better film. Writer-director Colin Krawchuk seems determined to keep this character mired in films that never make the most of his potential. It might help if there were other characters to keep things interesting. It might help to spend more time showcasing The Jester while he's being playful with his victims. I fear it's too late to see any positive changes though. Krawchuk has probably built up some kind of fanbase by now that will deter him from considering ways to improve his creation though. He'll probably be busy thinking up extra gore gags to get his killer jostling alongside Art The Clown in conversations about new slasher icons and memorable kills.
Kaitlyn Trentham plays Max, a young magician who ends up crossing path with The Jester (Michael Sheffield). The Jester needs to collect four souls after performing four tricks for people every Halloween. He loses his mojo, however, after having a trick interrupted by Max, and then ends up tying their fates together. Max has to perform tricks for The Jester, essentially picking a victim for the killer each time. Once she becomes aware of the full situation, Max tries to figure out how to break the cycle.
Sheffield doesn't do bad as the villain here, although he's hampered by having to wear a mask throughout. He's very good when he gets to overdo the gestures and physicality, but those better moments are few and far between. Trentham does well enough in her role to make you wish that she was in a better movie. Jessica Ambuehl plays her mother, not onscreen for long, and Dingani Beza is Willie, one of the few other characters onscreen to not immediately feel like "douchebag due a death scene".
It clocks in at just under 90 minutes, but feels a bit longer, and there's little else worth praising outwith the two central performances. Krawchuk seems to have a talent for some individual moments, as well as some good atmosphere, but he's unable to string things together into a well-paced and satisfying feature. Which I doubt will stop us from getting a sequel to this. I guess the joke's on me.
5/10
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