This was an interesting one. I’ve seen comments from people online who were deeply unsettled by it, calling it “nightmare inducing.”
My reaction was more like, “huh…”
Is that because these people are sensitive crybabies whereas I am an emotional mute whose empathy has been destroyed by watching years of horror films?
Possibly.
The story is pretty simple. A New Zealand judge named Stephan, played by Geoffrey Rush, suffers a stroke and lands, wheelchair bound, in a care home. He soon finds himself tormented by Dave, an aging bully played by John Lithgow. It’s essentially middle school all over again.
The two men battle it out in their own infirmed way up to the climax.
Lithgow’s torments include waving around a strange doll he calls Jenny Pen, and forcing his victim to kiss her bottom.
Stephan isn’t just battling his abuser, but also his body’s decline as he suffers recurring strokes. The film, and particularly the score, does a good job of capturing the disorientation he feels.
I suppose the horror here is that his fate is something that will happen for many of us—if we’re lucky. I dunno… I made peace with that long ago and it just doesn’t unsettle me. Maybe it will when it gets closer.
The film is well acted—how could it not be with such stars? Lithgow cemented his status in my mind as a great portrayer of villains with his character on one of the seasons of “Dexter”.
Still, I felt the film wandered to a fairly obvious conclusion. It’s not bad, just not resplendent in the way you’d think it would be with talent of that calibre.
Also, I have to say, the security in this facility was unbelievably lax.
Best line: “Gonna break you one of these days, Judge.”
My related reviews
- Madhouse (Asylum horror)
- Compulsion (Vintage thriller)
More on “The Rule of Jenny Pen”
Like horror? Check out my slasher novel The Mirror Man – available now on Amazon. Kindle Unlimited subscribers read for free.
