One thats been on the back burner for quite some time 'Lets Scare Jessica To Death' is a kind of pseudo Hitchcockian work crossed with a dash of 'The Wicker Man'. an oft forgotten mid budget studio flick thats had a larger resurgence over the past few years. I'd had it recommended to me a few times over the past few months, so I swiped it from Shout factory during a recent OOP sale and I really dont have any regrets.
The film follows 'Jessica' a new yorker whos spent the last 6 months in psychiatric care for 'unknown' reasons. Who's travelling with her husband and best friend out to the 'sticks' to get away from the hustle and bustle and hopefully start a new life in an old orchard and farm house.
The locals to the area however dont take too kindly to the gang when they turn up with a Hearse packed with their personal belongings…nor are they happy that said hearse has a tiny 'Love' hippie logo on the side of it. and so, the gang are more or less immediately shunned.
Nevertheless, they head up to the farmhouse, only…Jessica is having a bit of an issue, she keeps seeing strange women staring at her from a distance. She tries to convince herself that they arnt looking at her, but when she gets into the house she finds a squatter who frightens the life out of her. This, is Emily. A woman with almost no background, history or explanation for how she got where she is. She almost packs up and leaves then and there…But Jessica and the gang are an affable bunch and ask her to have dinner with them, and to spend the night.
But things start to go a bit strange from there. Emily seems to have a bit of a hypnotic presence over the household. the gang find various antiques in the place that Emily tries to pursuade the gang to keep, rather than sell…and when Jessica and her husband finally DO take some of the antiques down to a local trader. He explains that, unbenownst to the pair, the house they've purchased has a bit of a macarbre history, with theories ranging from ghosts, to vampires, to murderers and beyond being flung around.
As Emily begins to get more and more involved in the gangs lives, and slowly Jessica begins to feel more and more isolated, paranoid and unwell. the tension escalates into a violent and thrilling finale that'll have most on the edge of their seats!
And, i'll be honest, while some people rave about this film (Kim Newman claims this is his favourite horror film of all time) I thought it was a really solid slow burn psychodrama/horror piece…But not one without its faults.
The plot itself is, as mentioned, very slow burn, very much around building up atmosphere and tension, and I think it really succeeds at that. the pacing is a little bit *too* slow in places for my taste, but when it gets the balance right, its a masterclass in building unease and suspense. the tone has a serious feeling of forboding running right through its core. Which it also handles fantastically.
We have a clean 3 act structure with borderless smooth transitions that work fantastically, the characters are detailed enough to make you care, vague enough to keep you asking questions. they all get decent exploration and development across the runtime, and their various payoffs I feel are very much worth it.
The ending is a little bit sudden, but is ultimately still satisfying, and the twists and turns will make sure you're firmly planted to your seat throughout!
The direction and cine is gorgeous, taking on an almost 'folk horror' aesthetic. The choice to shoot this in early fall creates a misty, amber toned colder toned feature that really puts you in the mood for that autumnal vibe. Theres a clear and distinct creative vision behind this that really helps keep the audience hooked and the consistency really has to be applauded.
Same for the cine, beautifully choreographed shots that have rock solid compositions, are creative and burst with colour and rich detail. I loved the visuals here, and while it does share some elements of its cinematography with films like 'Night of the living dead' it feels in many wayt to be an evolution of that style. All of this is beautifully curated into a wonderfully precise edit that I really just fell in love with.
The performances are where I do have to dock it some points. while, broadly speaking, the cast are pretty solid and DO get some really great moments to work through a good range of emotions with some VERY meaty dialogue. I really struggled at times with some of the delivery choices…particularly from Zohra Lampert and Mariclaire Costello…Both of which were fine for about 75% of there deliveries…but that 25% where they didnt nail it, either came across as totally unbelievable, or overtly campy in a way I am (assuming) was not intended.
The soundtrack was also a bit of a mixed bag for me, its a very stripped back ambient piece of heavy bass, synth and acoustic guitar. A strange brew for sure, and one that hits about as much as it missed for me. I still cant quite make my mind up as to whether I loved it, or hated it…
All in all though, colour me impressed! I thought 'Lets Scare Jessica to Death' isnt an overt horror in the traditional sense. It has more in line with 'The Haunting' or 'Footprints on the Moon' than it does more traditional horror offerings. But its script and aesthetic really won me over, and I can definitely recommend checking this one out if you havent seen it before. I personally think it would pair up as a great 'warm up' film for something like 'The WIcker Man' as a double feature.
But if your looking for a more soft touch psychological horror this Halloween, then I think you should really give this one a go.
source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/lets-scare-jessica-to-death/
