This is a difficult film to describe in print, but its certainly worth taking a look at. Let's Scare Jessica to Death is quite an attention-grabbing title. Although the film is hardly one of the scariest films ever made, it certainly qualifies as "creepy". The story has a young woman, her husband, and a male friend moving into an old farmhouse in Connecticuit. The three of them also find kind of a "new age" young woman already living there when they arrive, and they decide to let her stay. Jessica, the lead female, has just been released from a mental hospital. We are not told much in particular about why she was there, but it's obvious from very early on that one of two things is happening. Either Jessica is truly deranged, or virtually the entire cast is out to make her think she is. The film plays out slowly with several eerie moments. Jessica sinks further and further into paranoia as the story unfolds. What exactly are we witnessing? Hard to really say. The film's conclusion is ambiguous and completely open to speculation.
There are quite a few moments that are designed to either make you jump, or make you think you're about to jump. The film contains little in the way of blood and gore, hence the PG-13 rating that was tagged on when this was released on DVD. The acting is a bit wooden, but the female characters seem to do the best in that department. The cinematography looks good, and the rustic setting adds to the feeling of isolationism. The film relies on some dated sound effects during its most spooky moments, but they actually worked pretty well in terms of accenting the mood.
There are so many things left unanswered. Perhaps too many to really elevate this film into the upper echelon of horror films. Was it all a hoax, or was Jessica really imagining it? If it were an elaborate hoax, then obviously the entire town would have had to be in on it. And also, there is the question of why anyone would go to all that trouble to make Jessica think she's crazy. Obviously there is a good bit of sexual tension between the four main characters, but would that be any reason for Jessica's husband to torment her that way? Most likely the strange events of the film are due to her imagination.
Watch and decide for yourself. 7 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
There are quite a few moments that are designed to either make you jump, or make you think you're about to jump. The film contains little in the way of blood and gore, hence the PG-13 rating that was tagged on when this was released on DVD. The acting is a bit wooden, but the female characters seem to do the best in that department. The cinematography looks good, and the rustic setting adds to the feeling of isolationism. The film relies on some dated sound effects during its most spooky moments, but they actually worked pretty well in terms of accenting the mood.
There are so many things left unanswered. Perhaps too many to really elevate this film into the upper echelon of horror films. Was it all a hoax, or was Jessica really imagining it? If it were an elaborate hoax, then obviously the entire town would have had to be in on it. And also, there is the question of why anyone would go to all that trouble to make Jessica think she's crazy. Obviously there is a good bit of sexual tension between the four main characters, but would that be any reason for Jessica's husband to torment her that way? Most likely the strange events of the film are due to her imagination.
Watch and decide for yourself. 7 of 10 stars.
The Hound.