Jakob's Wife

This film starts as a serious movie, then takes a turn to semi comedy that never really works. It's an attempt at a Fright Night type of movie, but the trudges along , but not really at a slow pace, but one that keeps your curiosity on the hook just long enough. Your lead (master) vampire should be menacing and frightful, this one however, was not, so the overall punch is lost. It was more like a life coach in a bald cap. The editing is odd at times which doesn't help matters. It's one of those films that leaves you squinting at the screen in confusion at times, thinking, huh? Barbara Crampton carried the film and it was great seeing her again.

A vampire movie? A commentary on religion? A feminist manifesto? A horror comedy?

SNL used to have a skit where a husband and wife argued over a canned product. The wife said, "it's a floor wax!" and the husband said, "No, it's a dessert topping!" And a salesman comes in and says "Hey folks, it is both! It's a floor wax and a dessert topping!"

Which brings us to Jakob's Wife.

Either the movie had too many writers, each with a different idea, or the main writer got stoned and lost his train of thought 2 or 3 times during the course of writing this movie.

In chronological order; it is serious, it is scary, it's funny, it is feminist, it's boring, it is stupid and bam, it's over.

Ugh.

A couple of fun, bloody effects, an interesting vampire who looks like Caillou with bad teeth and a couple of cops who get a few good lines. Other than that, nothing to see here.

When I sat down to watch the 2021 horror movie "Jakob's Wife" from writers Kathy Charles, Mark Steensland and Travis Stevens, I wasn't sure what I was in for here. Well, aside from it being a horror movie and it was something with vampires, from the movie's cover/poster.

But of course, I opted to sit down and watch "Jakob's Wife" given the fact that it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, plus it also had horror icon Barbara Crampton on the cast list. And I have always enjoyed her movies since back in the 1980s when seeing her in "Re-Animator", "From Beyond" and other such classic horror movies.

The storyline told in "Jakob's Wife" was actually good, and it provided a nice, new approach to the vampire genre. So the writers definitely managed to churn out something that broke the usual stereotypical formula that is often used in vampire movies. And it was a storyline that proved entertaining and enjoyable from beginning till end, and the pacing of the movie was nicely constructed.

The special effects were good, and it certainly was nice to see that writers Kathy Charles, Mark Steensland and Travis Stevens took a Nosferatu approach to the appearance of the vampires in the movie.

"Jakob's Wife" does have a good ensemble of actors and actresses, with the likes of Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden. It was also nice to see Bonnie Aarons in the role of The Master, as she really portrayed that character rather well.

If you enjoy vampire movies then "Jakob's Wife" is certainly well worth giving a chance. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from director Travis Stevens.

My rating of "Jakob's Wife" lands on a six out of ten stars.

This is a fun little film with some of both Crampton's and Fessenden's finest acting. It mixes a few genres into the horror. And the thing seems like a slice-of-life about a married couple that has to deal with a supernatural outbreak on top of their other issues. It goes in a few weird directions. I liked it.

And succeeds in almost combining an otherwise dull vampire tale with a story of feminine liberation from marital woes. Crampton, one of the last legitimate scream queens, goes for the the gold. The core problem remains that horror films are supposed to provide thrills in otherwise dull lives. Today reality provides all the horror anyone can stand.