Starring - Phil Herman (Amityville Zombies, Psycho Night), Debbie D (Phil Herman's Unearthed, Return to Bloody Creek), and Christopher Kahler (Sundown on Black Waters, Return of the Corn Zombies)
Release Date - 2025
Genre - Horror/Crime
Tagline - "The end is coming"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
I've been reviewing movies here at Horror Society for almost 15 years now and I still find it funny when something I reviewed all those years ago comes back to me. In March of 2016 I reviewed the Jacker double feature from my friends over at The Sleaze Box. These S.O.V. crime thrillers looked like a lot of fun so I snagged a copy from them and added them to my watch list along with another Phil Herman S.O.V. film, Burglar from Hell. It's almost ten years later and I was recently asked by filmmaker Phil Herman to review a couple of his newest films with one of them being a sequel to his S.O.V. classics. I want to thank Phil for sending over Jacker 3: Road to Hell for review.
The film takes place 30 years after the notorious carjacker turned serial killer Jacker (Herman) went missing with no leads as to where he could be. However, after a body is discovered murdered in a similar fashion to the way Jacker did his victims, the police start to suspect that the notorious killer was back. Things take an even more unusual turn when former lover turned victim Gloria (Debbie D) reveals that she is alive and well before turning to news and podcasts to discuss her terrifying encounter with the Jacker.
When I originally watched these films from Phil Herman, I really liked Burglar from Hell but the two Jacker films were not for me. I can see why S.O.V. fans would enjoy it but it was a little underdeveloped in the story department in my opinion. I went into the third film with an open mind and a hope that this one would be a bit more enjoyable. Sadly, this is probably the weakest of the three. The acting in this one is very uneven. The cast in some of the scenes spit out their dialogue with absolutely no conviction. It's almost as if they are reading their lines instead of acting. Other scenes may feature a little better acting but it is awkward with unnatural body movement and delivery. I've seen a lot of no budget genre films over the years and this one features some of the most awkward scenes I've had to review. The story for this one is a rehashing of the first two films after a 30 year break. The first two Jacker films were released in 1993 and 1996 before going dormant for 30 years with the Jacker randomly picking up where he left off. By this point the Jacker has reached an almost cult like status with people cowering at the mere mention of him but the character himself is not that menacing. There is nothing about him that makes him stand out or sends chills down the viewer's spine. He looks like everyone's uncle that only shows up around the holidays with a buzz offering up unsolicited life advice. We then add Debbie D as Gloria where she retells her story before we get back into a story almost identical to the first two films. Finally, there is several deaths in the film but most of them are gunshots with very little effects. The kills are not that imaginative and get lost in the shuffle of things. Overall, Jacker 3 is not what I was expecting. I was hoping the film would turn the killer into something a bit more terrifying instead of looking like the dude that hangs out at gas stations revving up his truck. Sadly, I can't recommend this one.
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