The Rule of Jenny Pen

Not sure why people are giving this such low star ratings, very disturbing movie and Lithgow genuinely makes your skin crawl with the creep factor. This isn't a jump scare or gore scare movie, but even scarier in the idea that for many of us this is what we will face when we get old. Older people get taken advantage of and are very mistreated and this just showed the even darker side to that truth. I am not a fan of horror movies WHAT SO EVER and I am glad I saw this. I will say confused on why this movie is classified as a mystery though that part confused me ? Rush's acting is very believable as well, but Lithgow is the one that takes the movie to a new level. I felt sick to my stomach and had a feeling of dread come over me about getting older, so the movie did what it set out to do. Never have I hated a character than Lithgow ( well maybe the main guy in "nightingale" ) so he makes the movie a 9/10.

There's something inherently terrifying about losing control, and The Rule of Jenny Pen plays into that fear beautifully. Geoffrey Rush is compelling as Stefan Mortensen, a once-powerful judge who suffers a stroke and finds himself in a care home. The isolation and vulnerability he experiences are horrifying, even before the supernatural elements creep in. The fear of being forgotten or dismissed feels almost tangible. However, the film faltered in its execution. While it starts strong, introducing a tense and eerie atmosphere, the plot gets tangled in its own complexity. Some character choices felt exaggerated, and a few plot holes made me question the narrative. Despite that, the sense of dread stayed with me. It's a flawed film, but one that still offers a lot to think about.

Greetings again from the darkness. John Lithgow frequently plays likable characters that take advantage of his innate ability to connect with viewers as an 'every-man' type - often reminding us of people we know. However, over his career that spans approximately fifty years, I've always been more interested and more intrigued when nice guy Lithgow plays the villain (see "Dexter"). It takes a talented actor to be believable as characters we love and characters we loathe. Writer-director James Ashcroft and co-writer Eli Kent have adapted Owen Marshall's oddball short story into an equally oddball feature film.

As the film opens, (Oscar winner) Geoffrey Rush is Judge Mortensen, presiding over a contentious court case. As he is providing his findings, the honorable judge begins sweating and having difficulty conveying his thoughts ... even clumsily handling a glass of water. It's obvious he's showing signs of a stroke, and ultimately collapses on the bench. As painful as this sequence is, it pales in comparison to what awaits Mortensen.

The judge is checked in to a rehab facility and rest home for the elderly. What he discovers is that one of the patients, Dave Crealy (Lithgow), thrives on physical and psychological abuse of the other patients. His reign of terror involves a plastic doll named Jenny Pen, and the two of them make nightly rounds torturing that evening's unlucky victim(s). The bit of fun here exists in the head-to-head battles between the psychotic Crealy and the physically limited Judge. There is also a nice touch with a local cat that compares to the appearance of oranges in THE GODFATHER. If you know, you know.

Lithgow sports an Aussie accent and hillbilly teeth, while Rush spouts crisp and intelligent dialogue with a dose of arrogance that turns into bewilderment. Of course, most of this makes little sense as the facility would likely have security cameras capturing Lithgow's late night wanderings, or at the least enough of an overnight staff that might glimpse his movements. And at some point, enough patients would team up to narc on the resident psycho bully. It's these details that prevent this from being a top notch psychological thriller, although watching two masters like Lithgow and Rush go at each other provides plenty of entertainment.

Opens in theaters on March 7, 2025.

I think if I had attended Fantastic Fest last year and this had been the opening the film, I would've been a little disappointed. And not even simply because I didn't enjoy it, but because I think of the festival's opening movie being something over the top and extravagant and I just found this movie - unremarkable, I'm sad to say.

I really enjoyed James Ashcroft's debut film 'Coming Home in the Dark'. Everything I liked about that film was lacking here. The conflict of this movie felt forced, but also it was just unpleasant. Elder abuse is not a fun film subject to watch for over 100 minutes.

I usually love John Lithgow in villainous roles. What he did in 'Dexter' I will never forget. He seems to thrive on playing mad men. Here though, I just found his character annoying. I didn't want him to come on screen.

This was a film I simply couldn't connect with. 4/10.

A former Judge has a stroke, he enters a nursing home that occupies an elderly psychopath who is fixated on a child's puppet to abuse the elderly residents of their shared nursing home with deadly consequences. Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow gives a masterclass on acting, the story is good, but the film misses the mark on logic. Where was the security cameras, and the nursing staff on duty when all of this chaos and murder was happening? The protagonist Lithgow kept me glued to the screen & Rush also. I wanted more realism but otherwise it was en enjoyable film. A 6 out of a 10 for the acting alone.