The Rule of Jenny Pen

The Rule Of Jenny Pen actually creeps me out more than the usual horror movies about possession, zombies, and/or other creeps. This story is about old people in a retiring home or care facility that are getting bullied/terrorised by one of its habitants without anybody doing something about it. I find these kind of stories creepier because it could happen to any of us, unlike other horror movies where the stories are just fantasy or far fetched and thus so far from our bed or just unreal. Nobody wants to end up in a retiring home and certainly not in this one. Geoffrey Rush did a great job playing the resistant. John Litgow showed again he can play anything, from comedy to drama, to horror. I just love that actor. In my opinion this movie from New Zealand deserves a higher rating on here.

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.

6/10 STARS - John Lithgow has the most pinchable face when he's playing a baddie and this movie was no exception. The Rule of Jenny Pen is a new movie based on a short story written by Owen Marshall, and it tells the story of a judge who suffers a stroke and ends up in an elder-care facility. While there, he becomes aware of another resident in the home who routinely bullies and abuses the other patients. This sets up the conflict between the judge and the bully, which is the framework of the story. This movie didn't hold back from depicting the sad reality many elderly people face when they near the end of their life and are no longer able to live safely on their own. In this case, it is made even worse because of the vicious bully in their midst. It was interesting to see these two magnificent actors "facing off" against each other through their characters. Both men are masters in their profession, and it shows in this film. I do have a couple of issues with it though. One is the runtime. While it's not terribly long (the film clocks in at an hour and 43 minutes), the repetitive nature of some situations feels like it drags the movie down a touch. Second issue is that with all of the problems this bully causes, I find it hard to suspend my disbelief that his actions could go completely unnoticed by the staff, especially given how long he has been in the facility and how routinely he terrorizes the occupants. Those are rather minor complaints and not enough to detract significantly from my appreciation for this film. Video review on my YouTube channel.

Went into this completely blind, not having seen a trailer, only that very cool poster! And with no expectations, I somehow left disappointed.

Let's start with the good. It's very well shot and edited together. There's a few sequences that are elevated in their suspense because of the way they're composed together. Also, the performances are excellent. I was also really with the movie and engaged the whole time.

But then, all the mystery the movie had created seemed to have little payoff. The ending did not give a good explanation on John Lithgow's character. Doing my best to avoid spoilers, but let's just say there really isn't anything deeper, mysterious, or creepy going on in the nursing home. I definitely expected something more horror-tinged. Partially due to the poster, being awesome and the only promotional material I saw. But also because plenty of scenes in the setup make it seem like there's something horrifying going on, when there really isn't.

At the end I went "that's it?"

This was a truly interesting film but also a fairly unsatisfying one. The premise of having psychological torment in a nursing home is a pretty original idea that was surprisingly well executed given how ridiculous the trailer made the movie look. Lithgow gives a nasty performance as one of the most hatable villains I've seen in a while, while Rush plays his part as protagonist with carefully calculated defiance and cynicism against Lithgow's sadism. The camera angles and editing choices were unique, disquieting, and overall effective in their mission of creating unease. I was a little frustrated with a few key plot points that seemed like they'd be discussed later on but instead were left on the back burner. As far as the psychological horror/abuse went in the film, it was effective. A little too much. The vile representations of sexual torment paired with the overall sadism got on my nerves a bit, even if it may have worked to psych me out. That being said, not a bad movie.

Just not my cup of tea.