“The Jester 2” Does Better Tricks This Time, But Still Missing Some Charm | Review

I have a weakness for movies about killer clowns, and I’m probably not alone. Beyond the fact that a lot of people suffer from a fear of clowns, their appearances on the big and small screens are, in many cases, very impressively successful. You probably already know that the “It” movies, which center on Pennywise, are the most profitable in horror cinema. In recent years, Art the Clown from the “Terrifier” movies has transitioned from independent fringe cinema to the mainstream, becoming a horror icon in the making. In other films that did not put the clown at the center, such as “Tarot” or the “Hell House LLC” movies, one of the most memorable villain characters is a clown, or, in some cases, a jester.

In this respect, the movie “The Jester,” released in 2023 after several short films featuring the same character, which were hugely successful on YouTube, introduced a new villain into our lives. Despite the dominant, creepy-looking villain, the film was disappointing because it failed to justify itself as a full-length film rather than a series of scenes stitched together. The good news is that the recently released sequel, “The Jester 2,” solves some of the problems of the first film by introducing a female character you can connect with and a particular kind of plot, believe it or not. It has many flaws, such as the fact that the plot doesn’t really connect to anything interesting, and the clown’s backstory is presented in a way that is far from satisfactory. So is the film still worth seeing, or can we settle for other clowns who flood the cinema and television screens (mainly the TV series “IT: Welcome to Derry”)?

What Is The Jester 2 About?

The framework story of “The Jester” is straightforward. There is an evil character of a court jester – like duh – first introduced in short films on YouTube, who performs tricks and magic acts. When someone doesn’t appreciate his trick, the Jester will murder them in cruel, unrealistic ways, using tricks that also work on the viewer.

The first film of “The Jester” tried to expand on this meager plot through a frame story about two estranged sisters with some father who died sometime of something, but it’s hard to say anything connected there. The main feeling was a collection of segments, some of them cool by the way, in which a clown murders someone. And along with that, too many scenes that seemed like they came out of another film, about a family melodrama or something like that. As you could read in our full review, what we actually got was a relatively short film that doesn’t justify being anything more than a very short film, with a few sparks: a villain character who is hot in both appearance and behavior, and a few entertaining kills.

“The Jester 2” tries to keep roughly the same idea – you know, a court jester who does tricks and kills people in cruel ways – with a few innovations. This time, there is a slightly more interesting female protagonist: Max (Kaitlyn Trentham, in her first significant role) is a 15-year-old, a social outsider with a penchant for magic tricks. She wants to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night, but has trouble recruiting supporters. Her family is quite estranged from her, as are her classmates. Well, I guess they are her classmates, because Trentham actually looks a little older than 15 (she’s actually 22), and she has a classmate in trigonometry with a Justin Long haircut, who looks like he’s been in the same class for about ten years. He must be an awful student.

Max’s only real friend is actually the salesman at the magic shop (Dingani Beza, who, for some reason, reminded me of Virgil van Dijk, the Liverpool football team’s center-back), who offers her social support and encourages her to continue with her magic tricks. One day, when she’s sitting alone in a restaurant, the Jester himself (Michael Sheffield, who played the role in the first film and the previous shorts) sits down at her table. When she reveals one of his tricks and does something herself, he gets annoyed. Later, he’ll chase her, not to kill her but to use her as a sidekick, for whatever something-in-the-plot we learn as part of the character’s backstory, which is far from exciting or interesting. Of course, a lot of people will die in the process, some of them stupid teenagers and others not, and at some point, we’ll get a confrontation between the last girl and the villain.

Here is the trailer of “The Jester 2”, to get you into mood:

“The Jester 2” looks pretty good in some aspects. The cinematography and compositional choices are satisfactory, sometimes even creative. The use of lighting was solid – that is, unlike many films, you could actually see something in the frame even in dark scenes – with an aesthetic reminiscent of 1970s grindhouse films or even familiar slashers, such as “Halloween”. It’s easy to see, however, that the film is low-budget, and, by the way, according to various online reports, even lower than in the first film. This fact probably made it difficult for it to leap in terms of style and effects, unlike, for example, the “Terrifier” films, which only increased their budgets and improved their cinematic work as they became more and more mainstream.

Colin Krawchuk, the director and screenwriter of both films, manages the low budget well. The result certainly looks reasonable, especially for the small screen (in fact, the film was shown in selected theaters in the United States for only two days). Some kills here are creative and incorporate gore. The correct and obvious choice, given the budget, was to rely on practical effects rather than computer graphics that would have looked terrible.

An improved Character, With Too Many Tricks

The villain’s character is a bit more evil than in the first film, especially since he got a more refreshing, elegant look. To the clown’s detriment, his killings and physical mannerisms were repetitive, making them less effective. Although the attempt to combine magic acts with killings is certainly original, I didn’t feel like they took his sadistic madness to the extreme. And yes, here again, a comparison will come to Art the Clown and his magnificent killing sprees, because the similarity is obvious. It seems the creators drew inspiration from Art the Clown and the “Terrifier” movies, for example, in some of the clown’s physical gestures, but they didn’t exaggerate the shock the viewer is supposed to feel.

There was originality in the way the clown “speaks” in part of the film, because there are scary clowns who don’t say a word: yes, like that clown we’ve mentioned several times. To try to advance the plot and explain something about the character, the director chose a trick we’ve already seen in quite a few films, in which the villain manages to speak through the characters of people he’s killed (and does it in a voice that sounds a bit like Freddy Krueger). He entertainingly combined these segments without becoming too ridiculous (relatively speaking, right?).

In general, you can see a lot of inspiration here, both in the characters and the plot tricks. Michael Sheffield did the most with what little he had as a horror character. A large part of the character’s identity is based on her visual appearance, which can be creepy even when she’s standing or looking at a street billboard. When there were more interesting aspects of this character, they were too routine and familiar. For example, I was thrown into the character of Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street” on several occasions. Well, maybe combined with Art the Clown, the Joker, the Grabber from “Black Phone”, Jigsaw from “Saw” (“Tic Tac, Max!”), and a few other identities that I might have missed.

The feeling was that the character drew more and more gimmicks and tricks as the film progressed, rather than developing uniquely and engagingly, which hindered our ability to enjoy it. Because with all due respect, for games like “Time is Running Out” we’d be better off watching “Saw”, and the idea of ​​”you can’t cheat death twice”, as the movie poster proclaims, we’ve seen done much more successfully in the “Final Destination” movies.

The Plot Of The Jester 2: Moving, But Where?

Earlier, we mentioned that “The Jester 2” has some plot that moves in some direction. Obviously, there are many points for improvement here, because the first part of the film (which mainly presents the story and Max’s social ostracism, combined with somewhat random killing scenes here and there) goes on a bit too long. The feeling I got was that there were several cases where the progression between scenes was just chronological: that is, something happens, then something else happens that seems a bit random.

I found that in several cases, the connections of cause and effect or contrast that one expects when building a script were lacking. The result is that the film exhausts itself too quickly; some might say it also repeats tricks here and there (sometimes literally). Unlike the previous movie, I didn’t get the feeling of a short film artificially extended to look like a feature film, but it’s hard to say the film’s plot progresses too smoothly or is compelling.

An Underdog Final Girl

I have no complaints about the unknown Kaitlyn Trentham, who was given a chance in a leading role here and took it with a quiet but sensitive performance that connected with her backstory. On the negative side, I expected she would move more toward the tough, disturbed side of the character as the film progressed, as Lauren LaVera did in “Terrifier,” and that didn’t happen. We’re left with an outsider character who is a bit reminiscent of characters we’ve seen in, for example, the “Goosebumps” books and movies, with a look reminiscent of Hermione Granger from “Harry Potter.” Still, without the positive boldness and audacity we expect from a “Final Girl.” The film does pretend to present her as someone who designed her own costume, courtesy of Sienna, but the result is somehow dull, even visually.

The rest of the supporting characters, as might be expected, are as flat as a cardboard cutout on a diet. It’s hard to point to one character who stole the show or was too interesting. Most of the characters are there to say a few things that will annoy the clown and eventually die as a result, which makes sense considering the genre, but it’s still disappointing. When I refer to characters from a particular film as “the guy who looks a bit like Virgil Van Dijk to me” or “the guy who looks older than his age, with a Justin Long haircut,” it’s clear that there wasn’t much character development here. Or am I just bad at comparing faces?

Should You Watch The Jester 2?

“The Jester 2” is an improvement on the first film in several ways, and it’s fun at times: it has a great villain, the main protagonist is reasonable and well-played, and there is even a plot that moves at a certain pace. On the other hand, the film reveals many of its tricks and gimmicks quite quickly and repeats them; the plot structure is problematic, and the second part is far from satisfactory in terms of plot development. We have received additional points to connect in the clown’s story, but with many question marks that may get some answers in the next film, if there is going to be a third film.

So even if it is clear that our court jester is far from entering the list of great villains, and probably not the unforgettable clowns either, it is still a film that you can give a chance. A bit like a trick by a mediocre magician.

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The Jester 2 (2025) – Frequently Asked Questions

Who directed The Jester 2?

The director of the film is Colin Krawchuk, who is also responsible for the first movie and the short films that came before.

Who plays in The Jester 2?

The cast of the film includes Michael Sheffield once again as the Jester, Kaitlyn Trentham as the main protagonist, and Jessica Ambuehl, Dingani Beza, Hassen Kacem, and more.

Who wrote The Jester 2?

Director Colin Krawchuk also wrote the script.

How long is The Jester 2?

The film runs about 87 minutes.

What languages can we hear in the film?

English, corpses speak English in a disturbing voice because that’s how the clown communicates.

When was The Jester 2 released?

The film was released in select U.S. theaters for two days. The official release date is September 15, 2025. The film became available for streaming on October 17, 2025.

What was the budget of The Jester 2?

The film’s budget is undisclosed. But it’s low, probably even lower than the first film.

How much did the movie gross?

The film got as little as $146,000, according to Box Office Mojo.

What do the reviews say about The Jester 2?

The reviews of The Jester 2 are negative, but it could be worse. On IMDB, it currently holds a 4.8 rating (out of 10). There aren’t enough reviews yet to give a weighted score, known as the “Tomatometer”, on Rotten Tomatoes.

What is the official MPAA Rating (Parents Guide) of The Jester 2?

The film is unrated, but it has enough violence, gore, and intense scenes to be equivalent to an R rating.