The Rule of Jenny Pen

A small-scale New Zealand production that managed to secure the not insignificant services of Oscar winning Australian acting icon Geoffrey Rush and screen legend John Lithgow, The Rule of Jenny Pen is a unique psychological horror that benefits greatly from the work of its co-leads but is let down by a wafer thin plot filled with Swiss cheese levels of holes and a sense it never culminates in a fashion befitting of its set-up.

Actor turned director James Ashcroft (who also co-writes here) starts things off in a promising enough way as watch Rush's long-serving judge Stefan Mortensen suffer a stroke while at work, leading him to a sad and depressive rest home that is being traumatised by John Lithgow's Dave Crealy and his hand puppet Jenny Pen, creating an eerie sense of dread and intrigue that Rush and Lithgow relish in, only to peter out in an increasingly far-fetched and repetitive fashion.

It's a premise that on paper may seem like something you'd find in a dark comedy offering or cult British TV show but there's nothing humorous going on here as Crealy's increasingly unhinged behaviour and Mortensen's intense battle to have his actions caught out ensure Jenny Pen is an unnerving experience but also a frequently frustrating one.

Built around a fairly out there premise that's played with an ever straight bat, there's an element of suspension of disbelief that needs to be accepted early into Ashcroft's offering but that's a requirement that can only take its audience so far as an inept bunch of staff, curiously dismissive character actions and hard to fathom decision making moments take us out of the experience as Jenny Pen struggles to keep its head above a rising water of unbelievable events and reactions.

With the tidal waves of disappointing moments coming thick and fast, there's no denying that Rush and Lithgow come out unscathed here with both actors delivering top-quality performances and their limited interactions together create some fantastically devious sparring matches, making one wish that the film around them was able to come together in the same fashion as it becomes more and more like a what might have been rather than a what is.

After a period of turbulence in his personal life and a career lull that has kept him to two acting roles in the past 6 years, it's particularly pleasing to see Rush back plying his trade and while his performance here won't be regarded up there with the best in amongst some top quality productions, it's a stern reminder of his talent that we hopefully get to see more of moving forward.

Final Say -

Initially inviting hopes of something great to come, The Rule of Jenny Pen gives way to an abundance of questionable story movements and repetitive happenings, leaving far too much of a weight on the shoulders of its game leading men.

2 incompetent staff members out of 5.

THE RULE OF JENNY PEN (2025) *** Geoffrey Rush, John Lithgow, George Henare. (Dir: James Ashcroft). Unsettling and expertly executed horror film adaptation of Owen Marshall's short story about an acidic judge suffering a stroke and being placed in an assisted living home in New Zealand who finds himself at odd with its resident bully who wields the titular puppet with nefarious actions ensuing. Veteran character actors Rush & Lithgow as the sharp-witted magistrate and the creepily venal force of will respectively have field days matching their wits and combative actions against one another with aplomb. Director Ashcroft keeps things off balance with interesting camera work by cinematographer Matt Henley shifting its plane of existence through out keeping the film off-setting while the dread instills echoes WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? & MISERY in its victim/threat ethos sharply intact.

Nothing amazing, but a decent little film, I thought. Better than many of the reviews here would lead you to believe. Definitely worth a watch, as long as you can suspend your disbelief about no-one having a mobile phone or there being no security cameras. Otherwise, this is original, engaging, very well acted, darkly humorous, well-shot, and thankfully not quite as grim or disturbing as I was expecting, given the subject matter - bullying in a old people's home.

It's not a supernatural horror, it's more of a dark thriller with horror elements. No gore, that I remember. Lithgow and Rush gave excellent and brave performances. Would recommend.

A former Judge has a stroke, he enters a nursing home that occupies an elderly psychopath who is fixated on a child's puppet to abuse the elderly residents of their shared nursing home with deadly consequences. Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow gives a masterclass on acting, the story is good, but the film misses the mark on logic. Where was the security cameras, and the nursing staff on duty when all of this chaos and murder was happening? The protagonist Lithgow kept me glued to the screen & Rush also. I wanted more realism but otherwise it was en enjoyable film. A 6 out of a 10 for the acting alone.

Greetings again from the darkness. John Lithgow frequently plays likable characters that take advantage of his innate ability to connect with viewers as an 'every-man' type - often reminding us of people we know. However, over his career that spans approximately fifty years, I've always been more interested and more intrigued when nice guy Lithgow plays the villain (see "Dexter"). It takes a talented actor to be believable as characters we love and characters we loathe. Writer-director James Ashcroft and co-writer Eli Kent have adapted Owen Marshall's oddball short story into an equally oddball feature film.

As the film opens, (Oscar winner) Geoffrey Rush is Judge Mortensen, presiding over a contentious court case. As he is providing his findings, the honorable judge begins sweating and having difficulty conveying his thoughts ... even clumsily handling a glass of water. It's obvious he's showing signs of a stroke, and ultimately collapses on the bench. As painful as this sequence is, it pales in comparison to what awaits Mortensen.

The judge is checked in to a rehab facility and rest home for the elderly. What he discovers is that one of the patients, Dave Crealy (Lithgow), thrives on physical and psychological abuse of the other patients. His reign of terror involves a plastic doll named Jenny Pen, and the two of them make nightly rounds torturing that evening's unlucky victim(s). The bit of fun here exists in the head-to-head battles between the psychotic Crealy and the physically limited Judge. There is also a nice touch with a local cat that compares to the appearance of oranges in THE GODFATHER. If you know, you know.

Lithgow sports an Aussie accent and hillbilly teeth, while Rush spouts crisp and intelligent dialogue with a dose of arrogance that turns into bewilderment. Of course, most of this makes little sense as the facility would likely have security cameras capturing Lithgow's late night wanderings, or at the least enough of an overnight staff that might glimpse his movements. And at some point, enough patients would team up to narc on the resident psycho bully. It's these details that prevent this from being a top notch psychological thriller, although watching two masters like Lithgow and Rush go at each other provides plenty of entertainment.

Opens in theaters on March 7, 2025.