Everyone knows there are many different kinds of horror movies, and Shudder includes a wide array of types. The Rule of Jenny Pen, in theaters on March 7 and coming to Shudder later this month, fits firmly in the slow burn category, with a hefty dollop of grim on the side. *NOTE: This review contains mild spoilers.
Let’s start with the obvious: Its biggest strength lies in the acting performances of John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush. That’s not to say that the storyline and screenplay are lacking at all, by the way – it’s a premise that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. But what we are watching onscreen is two A-list actors who have mastered their craft, and Lithgow in particular gives what is possibly the most terrifying performance of his career. It says a lot that the two men shared the Best Actor award at the Sitges film festival.
Stefan (Rush) is a judge who is pretty much the opposite of warm and fuzzy; he’s arrogant and not very likeable, as we see in the opening court room scene. When he suffers a serious stroke, he loses his mobility and is placed in a nursing home, where he expects he will fully recover and be able to return home.
Because of his aforementioned arrogance, Stefan doesn’t exactly endear himself to the other residents and staff. His disdain for the residents is amplified when he discovers that Dave Crealy (Lithgow) has been basically terrorizing them for years, and they are too afraid to speak up and let anyone in charge know.
The staff think he is just another dementia patient, but as we soon learn, he is snowballing them in order to sadistically torture the elderly folk who live at the facility. He goes into their rooms at night, wielding a creepy doll/puppet he calls Jenny Pen, gets in their faces while they are helpless in bed, and inflicts bodily and psychological pain on them.
It’s hard to watch at times. At one point, he pulls on the catheter tube of Stefan’s roommate Tony (well played by George Henare), which just…ugh. He also convinces a dementia patient that her family is waiting outside of the facility to take her home, opening the front gate so she can wander off into the night. It doesn’t end well for the poor woman.
Stefan is tough, though, and doesn’t buckle to Crealy’s demands to say “Jenny Pen rules”, which the other traumatized people are more than ready to do. This makes Stefan Crealy’s number one target, and the judge is infuriated that Tony won’t back him up. Meanwhile, he is mentally and physically deteriorating.
What makes this film so horrific is that anyone who has had a loved one in a facility for the elderly will see some truth in the atmosphere of the nursing home. The staff act kind enough, but they don’t pay real attention to the vulnerable people under their care. They believe Crealy is harmless, if a bit batty, and think Stefan is the aggressor. The residents are not seen by anyone as humans, and are more treated like children. My parents were in assisted living for a few years, and I observed this sort of treatment on multiple occasions.
The animosity between the physically able Crealy and Stefan, who is confined to a wheel chair grows, and builds up to a violent showdown.
The Rule of Jenny Pen is one of those movies that will no doubt divide horror fans. If you like Ari Aster’s films or find slow building movies to be frightening (as I do), I highly recommend catching this one when it comes to Shudder. But if slow burns (or as the haters call them: “boring movies”) infuriate you, you probably won’t think Jenny Pen rules.
The Rule of Jenny Pen will be available on Shudder March 28.