Last month, we heard that John Lithgow (Conclave) and Geoffrey Rush (Shine) star in a psychological horror film called The Rule of Jenny Pen, which will be getting a theatrical release, courtesy of IFC Films, on March 7th – and now, with the release date just a few weeks away, IFC Films has unveiled a trailer for the film! You can check it out in the embed above.
Directed by James Ashcroft, who made his feature directorial debut with the 2021 horror thriller Coming Home in the Dark, The Rule of Jenny Pen has the following synopsis: Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen (Rush) suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. Resistant to the staff and distant from his friendly roommate, Mortensen soon clashes with seemingly gentle resident Dave Crealy (Lithgow) who secretly terrorizes the home with a sadistic game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen” while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. What begins as childish torment quickly escalates into far more sinister and disturbing incidents. When Mortensen’s pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy’s reign of terror. That sounds like a recipe for a good time to me. Ashcroft also wrote the screenplay with Eli Kent and Owen Marshall.
Catherine Fitzgerald and Orlando Stewart produced the film, with James Ashcroft executive producing alongside Eli Kent, John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Gotto, Nicholas Lazo, and Samuel Zimmerman.
As you can see in the teaser trailer, legendary author Stephen King said this was one of the best movies he has watched in the last year. Alex Billington of First Showing said it’s the birth of a new horror icon – but is that icon Lithgow’s character Dave Crealy, the creepy doll itself, or are they a package deal? We’ll have to wait and see.
The Rule of Jenny Pen will be making its way to the Shudder streaming service after its theatrical run. Does this movie seem interesting to you? What did you think of the teaser trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Here’s the poster!
