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There's something inherently terrifying about losing control, and The Rule of Jenny Pen plays into that fear beautifully. Geoffrey Rush is compelling as Stefan Mortensen, a once-powerful judge who suffers a stroke and finds himself in a care home. The isolation and vulnerability he experiences are horrifying, even before the supernatural elements creep in. The fear of being forgotten or dismissed feels almost tangible. However, the film faltered in its execution. While it starts strong, introducing a tense and eerie atmosphere, the plot gets tangled in its own complexity. Some character choices felt exaggerated, and a few plot holes made me question the narrative. Despite that, the sense of dread stayed with me. It's a flawed film, but one that still offers a lot to think about.

6/10 STARS - John Lithgow has the most pinchable face when he's playing a baddie and this movie was no exception. The Rule of Jenny Pen is a new movie based on a short story written by Owen Marshall, and it tells the story of a judge who suffers a stroke and ends up in an elder-care facility. While there, he becomes aware of another resident in the home who routinely bullies and abuses the other patients. This sets up the conflict between the judge and the bully, which is the framework of the story. This movie didn't hold back from depicting the sad reality many elderly people face when they near the end of their life and are no longer able to live safely on their own. In this case, it is made even worse because of the vicious bully in their midst. It was interesting to see these two magnificent actors "facing off" against each other through their characters. Both men are masters in their profession, and it shows in this film. I do have a couple of issues with it though. One is the runtime. While it's not terribly long (the film clocks in at an hour and 43 minutes), the repetitive nature of some situations feels like it drags the movie down a touch. Second issue is that with all of the problems this bully causes, I find it hard to suspend my disbelief that his actions could go completely unnoticed by the staff, especially given how long he has been in the facility and how routinely he terrorizes the occupants. Those are rather minor complaints and not enough to detract significantly from my appreciation for this film. Video review on my YouTube channel.

This was a truly interesting film but also a fairly unsatisfying one. The premise of having psychological torment in a nursing home is a pretty original idea that was surprisingly well executed given how ridiculous the trailer made the movie look. Lithgow gives a nasty performance as one of the most hatable villains I've seen in a while, while Rush plays his part as protagonist with carefully calculated defiance and cynicism against Lithgow's sadism. The camera angles and editing choices were unique, disquieting, and overall effective in their mission of creating unease. I was a little frustrated with a few key plot points that seemed like they'd be discussed later on but instead were left on the back burner. As far as the psychological horror/abuse went in the film, it was effective. A little too much. The vile representations of sexual torment paired with the overall sadism got on my nerves a bit, even if it may have worked to psych me out. That being said, not a bad movie.

Just not my cup of tea.

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.

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.

Not sure why people are giving this such low star ratings, very disturbing movie and Lithgow genuinely makes your skin crawl with the creep factor. This isn't a jump scare or gore scare movie, but even scarier in the idea that for many of us this is what we will face when we get old. Older people get taken advantage of and are very mistreated and this just showed the even darker side to that truth. I am not a fan of horror movies WHAT SO EVER and I am glad I saw this. I will say confused on why this movie is classified as a mystery though that part confused me ? Rush's acting is very believable as well, but Lithgow is the one that takes the movie to a new level. I felt sick to my stomach and had a feeling of dread come over me about getting older, so the movie did what it set out to do. Never have I hated a character than Lithgow ( well maybe the main guy in "nightingale" ) so he makes the movie a 9/10.

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.

I think if I had attended Fantastic Fest last year and this had been the opening the film, I would've been a little disappointed. And not even simply because I didn't enjoy it, but because I think of the festival's opening movie being something over the top and extravagant and I just found this movie - unremarkable, I'm sad to say.

I really enjoyed James Ashcroft's debut film 'Coming Home in the Dark'. Everything I liked about that film was lacking here. The conflict of this movie felt forced, but also it was just unpleasant. Elder abuse is not a fun film subject to watch for over 100 minutes.

I usually love John Lithgow in villainous roles. What he did in 'Dexter' I will never forget. He seems to thrive on playing mad men. Here though, I just found his character annoying. I didn't want him to come on screen.

This was a film I simply couldn't connect with. 4/10.

The Rule Of Jenny Pen actually creeps me out more than the usual horror movies about possession, zombies, and/or other creeps. This story is about old people in a retiring home or care facility that are getting bullied/terrorised by one of its habitants without anybody doing something about it. I find these kind of stories creepier because it could happen to any of us, unlike other horror movies where the stories are just fantasy or far fetched and thus so far from our bed or just unreal. Nobody wants to end up in a retiring home and certainly not in this one. Geoffrey Rush did a great job playing the resistant. John Litgow showed again he can play anything, from comedy to drama, to horror. I just love that actor. In my opinion this movie from New Zealand deserves a higher rating on here.

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.

I've barely watched a concept like that, it was great but... First of all, the movie included many emotions.

You can feel things like older ages (thinking about it or not), drama, annoyance, anger, and thriller. That movie feels all kinds of emotions at the same time. Actually, I liked the drama side more than the thriller instead. But also, some scenes were pretty annoying. How could no one have seen weird things from anyone else? It was nonsense. I'd have loved it if karma had found him. Yet I didn't feel complete. They couldn't connect the storytelling. It had only one great emphasis: older ages and their emotions - especially loneliness. But the whole story felt mentally exhausting.

This is is a compelling, if uneven, psychological thriller that thrives on the strength of its two lead performances. Both Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow create a storm of uncomfortable friction which leads them to deliver emotionally charged and nuanced portrayals. This elevates scenes that might have otherwise faltered under the weight of a flawed narrative.

While the film offers plenty to keep the viewer engaged-from stylish direction to atmospheric tension-it's let down by a script riddled with plot holes. Still, there's enough intrigue, character depth, and emotional investment to make it a worthwhile watch.

At times, "The Rule of Jenny Pen" reminded me of post-1970s police and hospital procedurals with their focus on the sheer motion of their environments: the noise of the phones, the constant typewriter clacking, papers being shuffled and placed on desks, the conversations of different persons blending together, etc.

TROJP, set in a New Zealand elder care facility ("Royal Pine Mews"), does something similar, often purposefully failing to show us, or provide audio to, "key" events. For example, in one early scene, the head nurse is speaking with "Dave" (John Lithgow) about something sensitive enough that she ushers him outdoors in order to communicate. Given that the conversation takes place right after a fraught encounter between Dave and "Stefan" (Geoffrey Rush), we would assume it's pretty important to the story.

But we cannot hear what Dave and the nurse are saying (or even see the two entirely) because we are soon separated from them by a glass door and there is another conversation taking place in the same frame and closer to the viewer. TROJP takes this path often, framing both the camera position and the audio in a manner that demands that the viewer search for the main event and make an effort to pay attention. Is TROJP less a horror movie than an "art house" movie?

Not really. At work beneath this buzzing, contemporary stylistic exterior is a pretty familiar (and simple) story: An older man of privilege (Stefan) is to lose some of his privilege and enter a new world in which he will be confronted by a seemingly unaccountable enemy (Dave).

TROJP opens with then-judge Stefan meting out a prison sentence to a child molester. Stefan then coldly reprimands the defendant's wife only to begin suffering the stroke that debilitates him and forces him into Royal Pine Mews. Now dependent upon others, Stefan's old character habits prove hard to break. He snubs his roommate, treats the staff like personal secretaries and eats his communal meals from behind an old book that he positions in front of face at all times. Stefan is clearly separating himself from, if not rejecting outright, his fellow patients. And of course, when he finally needs assistance, he finds that those he has snubbed and ignored have far better memories of past events than does Judge Stefan. He indeed is an island of one.

Lithgow, sporting a somewhat clumsy accent and a shock of grey hair, becomes Stefan's foil. Where Stefan wears his disdain on his sleeve, Dave hides from the world from behind a small hand-held doll, "Jenny Pen," that he uses to interface with his surroundings. (Jenny's eyes glow. The camera often lingers on Dave's flint-blue eyes in what must be a deliberate comparison.) By day, Dave acts like someone who suffers from dementia or a developmental disability. By night, however, Dave perks to life, lurking the halls with his devil doll and terrorizing other patients by sneaking into their rooms to assault them, steal from them and demand that they pay homage to Jenny. The patients fear Dave. And they are right to do so. Stefan is a pompous ass, but Dave appears to be a sociopath. And Dave immediately decides that Stefan should be one of his targets.

Now if there is a problem here it is in the use of an obvious conceit that viewers will be quick to note: the patients know what a terror Dave is, but the staff just don't seem to ever notice. Or do they, but simply do not care? This question is never addressed, much less explained. It's a real problem for a film that tries to bridge the gap between realism and psychological thriller. There are some extended scenes involving physical violence where it begs credulity that no staff member would be present to witness the goings-on. Accordingly, we can guess how the story might end, as the good judge begins to take matters into his own hands. He enters Dave's room toward the end of the film to begin meting out his own brand of justice.

But the disjuncture between the realism of what patients experience in elder care facilities and the almost cartoonish excesses of Dave's behavior involves more than just a plot hole. Toward the end I found myself asking what, exactly, the point was to all of this unpleasantness? TROJP clearly aspires to more than just thrills and scares. But to what end? Is TROJP a rumination on how we treat the elderly? How patients in these facilities experience loss, confusion, powerlessness and the futility of appealing to the professionalism of the very institutions that are there to help them?

These are interesting and important questions, and ones we don't usually expect to find in a horror movie. However, I cannot say that TROJP speaks to them in any sustained fashion, which is odd considering all the work the camera does to illuminate the boredom, sadness and confusion of the Royal Pine Mews residents. In the end, Dave (unlike Stefan) seems to function as little more than a horror movie archetype: he is the writhing, twisting monster with no discernible past who simply happens to always be at the right place at the right time to attack his victims before slinking off undetected. He has no "personality" beyond the joy he takes in wreaking havoc - a sort of "Joker" figure (Batman). TROJP is certainly a stylish and interesting film. But it never quite rises above its basic premise of the self-righteous judge meeting the unaccountable bully.

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this movie. That being said, it may have been exactly what I was expecting? It's just what the description says it is. One thing is for sure: it is not a horror movie. It's a drama. I'm not sure when they started calling movies like this horror. In a stretch, maybe you could call it a thriller. Anyway, this movie is a lot. Without any spoilers, I can say that the bullying is pretty extreme. It made me a little uncomfortable, to be honest. And I'm used to watching all sorts of horror and Law & Order-type shows. It is worth watching to the end. It isn't a bad movie. I just think you should go into it with your eyes open.

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.

Poet Dylan Thomas once wrote that old age should burn and rave at close of day, a sentiment that Geoffrey Rush takes fiercely to heart in James Ashcroft's The Rule Of Jenny Pen, an absolutely sensational new film that is being billed as horror and most certainly is downright horrifying, but perhaps in a more psychological and less outright way than some may be expecting. Rush plays a judge who suffers a debilitating stroke and ends up in a New Zealand old age care facility where he discovers that one of the the residents (John Lithgow) has been terrorizing and heinously abusing some of the elderly folks at night, with the help of a grotesque baby puppet he wears on his arm and calls 'Jenny Pen.' This is not what you'd call a feel good film, but it has a deep undercurrent of compassion and bursts of catharsis coursing beneath the parade of vile, sickening debasements perpetrated by Lithgow's utterly evil character. He's some piece of work here, prancing around like a geriatric sprite and given little backstory beyond being a misanthropic agent of complete chaos in a setting that is supposed to be safe, tranquil and relaxing. I don't think I've seen Rush in anything since the last Pirates Of The Caribbean movie but this has to be a late career best for him; there's an establishing scene in the prologue where he's in court handing out a well deserved sentence to a criminal, and we get the sense right away that this is a man who cares deeply not about the law, but about what is right and the safety and wellbeing of other human beings. This is consistently apparent during his ordeal at the home and I found myself cheering for this fellow as he fights tooth and nail, with half his body paralyzed mind you, to bring this monster down and protect a new friend he made (George Henare in an emotionally disarming, excellent performance) from the brunt of the nocturnal mistreatment. It's a stunning film, a very difficult watch but an essential one and although some might be let down by its lack of obvious horror elements, the psychological palette and emotional intelligence behind the performances are just mesmerizing, haunting stuff and uses the sometimes hilarious, often sad and still human backdrop of a care home to present us with good versus evil fight that is not to be missed. One of the best films of the year so far, streaming now on Shudder.

Watched> Friday, 2nd May, 2025 @ Edge Water Studios. Rated 3.5 * * * Good to Very Good < Cert. 15 > Was Released on Friday, 28th March, 2025. This was a dark and disturbing watch of living your days out in a rest/care home. Thankfully NOT all homes for the elderly are like this one, which as lack of professional supervision, slackness, care free attitudes, not listening to the concerns of the residents, and worse still missing out on serious offences taking part inside and out of this secluded rest/care home. As for the light horror, it mainly comes from the creepiness of the elderly gentleman and his doll (played by John Lithgow, age 79 who has psychopathic behaviours, terrorising the residents. Doll man does meet his match, when a new resident comes to live their, played by Geoffrey Rush, age 73, and what great acting from these two (10 out of 10). This is a New Zealand made film/movie, which will get you dreading the thought of getting old, and worse still being all alone with no family and friends to support and love you. This is a Required Taste, not for everyone. (ps)

Went into this completely blind, not having seen a trailer, only that very cool poster! And with no expectations, I somehow left disappointed.

Let's start with the good. It's very well shot and edited together. There's a few sequences that are elevated in their suspense because of the way they're composed together. Also, the performances are excellent. I was also really with the movie and engaged the whole time.

But then, all the mystery the movie had created seemed to have little payoff. The ending did not give a good explanation on John Lithgow's character. Doing my best to avoid spoilers, but let's just say there really isn't anything deeper, mysterious, or creepy going on in the nursing home. I definitely expected something more horror-tinged. Partially due to the poster, being awesome and the only promotional material I saw. But also because plenty of scenes in the setup make it seem like there's something horrifying going on, when there really isn't.

At the end I went "that's it?"

Forget the killer puppet. What really twists the knife here is the slow, clinical dismantling of dignity.

Rush's haughty judge arrives at Royal Pine convinced he's above "the rabble", a walking lesson in class privilege, and discovers that stroke softened limbs, a bib and an empty visitor's chair erase every title. Lithgow's night stalking bully is vile, but the true horror is ageing in semi luxury while realising no one is coming for you.

Ashcroft underscores the dread with antiseptic corridors and polite carers, yet skips the mundane logic (no CCTV? Key-cards for everyone? Cell phones?). Those cracks don't kill the film, but they remind you it's still a construct. What lingers is the queasy thought that we're all one bad artery from the same fate - isolated, infantilised, and waiting for the next knock on the door.

It is admirable how the story tries to incorporate psychological elements while preserving the inherent"thriller" characteristic of the narrative.

The way in which psychological innuendos expand and provide meaning to the storyline within its broader context impressed me specifically.

The film is also technically well-made, especially the scenes with well-executed cinematography that had neatly complemented the space and surroundings of the elderly home set-up.

My only criticism is how little the script tends to provide in terms of character backstories; had they delved deeper, elaborated on their distinctive personalities and backgrounds they belong to, I believe the outcome could have been something very special.