John Lithgow tends to nibble on surroundings.
Or, within the case of “Cliffhanger,” devour it with out mercy. He even admits as such.
Now, at 79, the actor has the right marriage of these impulses with “The Rule of Jenny Pen.” It’s a fiercely unique story the place he’s joined by Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush.
Collectively, they spin a morbid net of getting older, loneliness and creepy hand puppets. “Pen” by no means works up right into a style lather, however the outcomes are by no means lower than partaking.
Choose Stefan Mortensen (Rush) suffers a large stroke behind the bench because the story opens.
He’s deposited right into a nursing dwelling the place employees pressure to revive his mobility. Stefan is understandably glum, however his despair goes past the stroke’s aftermath.
He seems lonely, for starters. Nobody visits to brighten his temper. No flowers or playing cards adorn his bedside. He’s compelled to share a room with a fellow affected person (George Henare), an indignity he refuses to cover.
Worst of all, one other affected person haunts his room at night time, dancing about with a foolish puppet completely affixed to his hand.
That’s Lithgow’s Dave Crealy, a senior with loads of life left in his physique. He’s a daily on the middle, utilizing his “Jenny Pen” puppet to sing songs and interrupt the lives of everybody within the facility.
He’s a first-class bully and nobody will stand as much as him, not even the middle’s employees. And he makes use of Jenny Pen as his enforcer.
It’s scarier than it sounds.
How can Dave run round unchecked? It’s a query the movie doesn’t absolutely handle, though there are hints alongside the best way. That’s greater than sufficient to set this duel in movement.
Rush’s character is wholly convincing, from his boastful mien to the stroke’s merciless negative effects. He’s trapped in his physique, unable to fend off Dave’s more and more violent visits. Rush’s face conveys the depths of his distress and, later, horror.
The screenplay shrewdly lays out sufficient of Dave’s again story to justify his actions. Stefan’s plight presents a bleak mirror picture of Dave’s ache.
One character may study from the errors of his methods. The opposite chooses the very worst classes from his previous.
Fascinating.
Tonight at @GlobeCinema see the New Zealand horror THE RULE OF JENNY PEN as a part of our Off the CUFF Sequence! Tickets can be found on-line prematurely and on the door.https://t.co/hHRJ3s0g8m pic.twitter.com/KvJgcEppob
— Calgary Underground Movie (@CUFF) February 26, 2025
Director James Ashcroft (“Coming Dwelling within the Darkish”) uncorks morbid visuals from a stark setting. Jenny Pen turns into a larger-than-life presence, a horror film tic teased out for max affect.
The puppet’s empty eyes are the embodiment of cruelty.
“Jenny Pen” isn’t a fast burn. The story is in no rush to get to the subsequent adrenalized set piece, and the pacing might be problematic, even for a cagey style yarn.
Lithgow’s efficiency is near-perfection. He’s older however no much less vivid in his capability to create a monstrous determine, one whose devotion to cruelty is a piece of brutal artwork.
The power seems clear and reasonably effectively run, however there’s a machine-like effectivity which presents one other layer of unease. The indignities of getting older are by no means removed from the display.
Two fantastic actors. A narrative we haven’t seen earlier than. Route that makes probably the most of its setting and themes. What’s to not relish about this “Rule?”
HiT or Miss: “The Rule of Jenny Pen” stands out as the 12 months’s most unique horror movie, one aided and abetted by two actors on the high of their video games.