The Jester 2 is a worthy addition to spooky season watch lists. Not only is the sequel once again set during Halloween time, but it features plenty of inventive kills. The sequel also expands upon the lore of the first film with the introduction of new characters and somewhat of a backstory regarding the dramatic and maniacal Jester.
Prior to the film’s nationwide release, we spoke with writer/director Colin Krawchuk. This interview was edited slightly for clarity.
The sequel introduces new characters, but it also somewhat expands upon the lore of The Jester and gives us some of his backstory. How else do you think this sequel differs from the first film?
Colin Krawchuk: I think the main way it differs from the first film, in addition to the things you listed, is that it takes it back to the tone and atmosphere of the short films. That’s what my hope was. The short films were so much fun and had so much whimsy. We played with the Jester a lot more as the audience. I just wanted to get back to that. My goal was to extract the tone and atmosphere of the short films.
The Jester is a dramatic character and one who doesn’t speak. What’s it like to work with a character who’s essentially silent throughout the film?
Colin Krawchuk: It’s really similar to directing dialogue, except you’re talking about the dialogue with the actor, in this case Michael Sheffield. You’re essentially talking about what The Jester be saying right now. How do we communicate that through the body language? It’s the same way you’d talk to an actor about dialogue.
The reason The Jester didn’t talk in the short films was a logistical issue, but now it’s part of his personality. It does present plenty of challenges, but it’s super exciting when you land on something that works.
Was there any scene in particular with the character where you felt like you really landed on something that worked?
Colin Krawchuk: There’s a scene in this movie where The Jester is trying to earn Max’s trust. He points out some characters that bullied Max previously in the film. He goes up and does Jester stuff to them. I think it’s a lot of fun, but it’s also pretty upsetting what he does to one character in particular. It’s a different way. It’s not violence, but humiliation. It’s a big tactic The Jester uses. His personality comes through so much in that scene. I did not see any of that in the first feature, so it was nice to see that in this film. The real character of The Jester comes through in this.
This film has a lot of really gnarly and creative kills. Which was your favorite to film?
Colin Krawchuk: In terms of trying to be inventive, there’s one that takes place early. It takes place in an alleyway with an endless sleeve of scarves. I like that one a lot because when we were shotting it, I had said to the DP that it feels like he’s Bugs Bunny and evocative of Looney Tunes, which I love so much.
There’s another scene that takes place in a fire station. That fire station location came through at the last second, and it was the second to last day of shooting. The three weeks prior to that, we really didn’t know what that scene was going to be. When it turned out it was going to be a fire station, we had to come up with it really fast. There’s a really quick one, two punch. One guy gets got before another guy gets got. We thought, if we’re in a fire station, this is what we have to do.
This movie takes on another layer because of The Jester's uneasy alliance with Max (Kaitlyn Trentham). Can you talk about that aspect of the film, without spoiling anything?
Colin Krawchuk: I love Max, and I’m hoping other people like Max, too. We wanted The Jester to be the protagonist, but in order to reveal more depth to him, he had to interact with somebody. We had to figure out what would be interesting. If he was partnered up with somebody, who would that person be? There are some things The Jester does that are generally helpful to Max. It’s good advice that he gives her, and he encourages her to believe in herself. But he’s also a supernatural, trickster, murderer ghost thing who’s not someone to take all your lessons from.
The fact she’s 15 is interesting. It’s a specific age. I think we’ve all been in Max’s shoes at some point. She’s at a point in her life where she loves magic, but she’s also reaching this age where it’s a genuine interest of hers that she’s being ridiculed and criticized for. She’s at this turning point in her life where she has to decide how much of her childhood to take with her and how much does she leave behind. It’s not an easy choice for any of us.
Are there any behind-the-scenes memories that you'd like to share?
Colin Krawchuk: At the end of the movie, I really wanted The Jester to be on fire. It became a nonnegotiable at some point. The scene went through different iterations of how he catches on fire to be more achievable. The way [special effects artist] Jason Baker and his team were able to make it work with the budget and logistical restrictions we had was like a $50 plastic skeleton from a Halloween store. [Laughs]. We attached some broom handles to the elbows and dressed it up in the Jester’s suit and just lit it on fire. That’s what you see at the end. It was low-budget, no-budget, down and dirty filmmaking. It was the last day of production, and it felt so good to light that thing on fire. [Laughs].
The Jester 2 is in theaters nationwide 9/15 and 9/16 from DREAD and Fathom Entertainment. Tickets are now on sale.