In the darkest corners of urban decay, where forgotten buildings whisper with the echoes of the dead, See No Evil 3 (2025) resurrects
the terrifying legend of Jacob Goodnight for one final chapter of blood, vengeance, and redemption. Directed by horror newcomer Melissa Crane and produced under the revived Twisted Pictures banner, the third installment in the cult slasher franchise takes the horror back to its brutal roots—only this time, the monster is more human than ever, and the terror is disturbingly real.
Set ten years after the events of See No Evil 2, the film begins with the demolition of Black Creek Correctional Hospital, the same asylum where Jacob Goodnight was presumed to have died in a fire. As a demolition crew enters the building to finish the job, they unknowingly awaken something deep in the ruins—something that should have remained buried. When workers start disappearing and mutilated bodies are discovered hanging from meat hooks, it becomes horrifyingly clear: Jacob Goodnight is alive.
But this is not the same Jacob. Scarred beyond recognition, both physically and mentally, he has become a silent specter of vengeance. Once a tool of his mother’s fanatical religious wrath, Jacob now wanders the crumbling halls of Black Creek like a ghost of pain and rage, driven by memories he can’t silence. See No Evil 3 doesn’t just aim to scare—it digs deep into the mind of its infamous killer, peeling back layers of trauma and manipulation, exposing a tragic figure shaped by abuse and isolation.
The film follows Ava Mercer, a tough, street-smart urban archaeologist tasked with documenting the hospital's demolition. She’s joined by a small crew, including ex-convicts, historians, and a local priest with ties to Jacob's past. As night falls, the group becomes trapped inside the building, stalked one by one by the relentless killer. What sets this entry apart is not just the inventive kills—though they are gruesome, brutal, and unflinchingly gory—but the psychological horror that permeates every scene. Jacob doesn’t just kill. He watches. He studies. He waits.
WWE’s Glenn "Kane" Jacobs returns to portray Jacob Goodnight with terrifying precision. His physicality, combined with subtle gestures of confusion, hesitation, and even sorrow, brings a chilling humanity to the monster. Director Melissa Crane cleverly balances slasher traditions with modern psychological depth, delivering a character study hidden beneath layers of blood and shadows. The hospital becomes a character in itself—a maze of flickering lights, broken crucifixes, and decaying corridors that seem to trap not just bodies, but souls.
As Ava pieces together Jacob's forgotten history through tapes, journals, and the priest’s confessions, the film builds toward a haunting revelation: Jacob’s resurrection was not accidental. He was lured back, deliberately awakened by a cult of pain worshippers who view him as a dark messiah. In a shocking twist, the film’s final act turns into a battle not just for survival, but for Jacob’s very soul.
The climax is a violent and emotional crescendo. Ava, standing bloodied but unbroken, faces Jacob in the burning chapel of the hospital. As fire consumes the building once again, she pleads with him—not to spare her life, but to end the cycle of horror. And for one brief second, Jacob hesitates. A single tear falls. Then he disappears into the flames, choosing oblivion over further bloodshed.
See No Evil 3 closes not with triumph, but with ambiguity. The monster is gone, but so is the chance for justice. Ava walks out alone into the dawn, forever changed, forever haunted. And in the ruins behind her, a pair of burned eyes briefly flicker open.
A masterful blend of slasher brutality and emotional depth, See No Evil 3 redefines the horror legacy of Jacob Goodnight. It’s not just a film about fear—it’s about what happens when monsters are made, not born.
