Jack Be Nimble

Part fairy tale part violent retribution cruelty rears its ugly head here from the start and doesn't let up it's unrelenting death grip until the final frame. Jack and Nora are two siblings who become separated due to the negligence of their parents and discover they both possess psychic skills which they proceed to apply to their situations. How they put their abilities to the test is connected to their home environments and each other in complete contrast. Poetically filmed in new Zealand this is a very interesting and dark little tale where everything goes desperately wrong. It's gruesome but beautiful all at once, highly recommended!.

"Jack Be Nimble" is a strange and unpleasant movie, the result of an unsuccessful attempt to mix a whimsical gothic horror story with down-and-dirty social realism. The movie doesn't manage any atmosphere or scares and thus fails as horror, gothic or otherwise. Its attempts at realism also fail, with one-note performances and the constant incursion of the story's supernatural elements, which don't mesh with the real locations and lack of style on offer.

The plot: a brother and sister are orphaned and split up when the sister is adopted first. She is adopted into a loving family, but the boy ends up being abused by sadistic foster parents, and spooked by their four daughters, who materialise over him and watch him sleep. He eventually escapes when he uses his mind control abilities with a machine he made in metal work to get his revenge, and then goes off to find his sister. She shacks up with the legendary character actor Bruno Lawrence, in what I believe may have been his last film appearance. Their relationship - a young girl with a much older man - is too "real" for this material, like the theme of abusive foster parents. There are ways for the supernatural fiction genre to deal with distressing, real-world issues, but this movie doesn't find them.

The main character is played by pre-surgery Alexis Arquette. I didn't realise he wasn't Kiwi, so he must have nailed the accent. He's kind of weird looking, though, like a Calvin Klein model with acromegaly. He reminds me of Rondo Hatton.

The movie was just such an awkward mix - and quite unpleasant in places - that I wasn't able to focus on it for long. It didn't make much sense and I don't think I wanted it to. I probably should have bailed out early.

This low-budget horror film from New Zealand is, for me, a textbook example of why I love the genre.

It has everything a quality horror movie needs, including the elements which big-budget and "typical American" horror all too often lack.

The film looks great, using the natural beauty of NZ alongside impressive cityscapes, but also showing us the very ordinary and (of course) the dark and ugly side of both the rural and urban environments.

The plot is straightforward but intelligently thought through and far from simple, resting on the characters and the tragic events in which they're embroiled.

There is violence and death, disturbing rather than gory, and an insidious tension which builds slowly and isn't allowed to dissipate until the very end.

The characters are sharply defined and individual, yet at the same time convincingly complex.

The dialogue is unpretty (sometimes even crude), but direct and often powerful - in many ways watching this was like discovering an unknown early Cronenberg flick, but in place of Cronenberg's cool intellectualism Garth Maxwell has crafted a highly emotional film which isn't afraid to take its viewers into uncomfortable territory.

Some of the performances might perhaps have been a little more fluid but Alexis Arquette (as the titular Jack) and especially Sarah Smuts-Kennedy as Dora are exceptionally honest in their portrayals of a damaged brother and sister. Mention must also be made of the blunt, persuasive presence of Bruno Lawrence, bringing to life a character who could easily have been badly mishandled.

Mainly, though, it's the ideas which make this shine. There are more surprises in this film than in the last dozen Hollywood horrors I watched... and thankfully they're the kind of surprised which make you think, not the kind which make you jump! There are very few FX beyond straight-up film techniques and a little fake blood, and that too is to the film's credit. This is a film about people whose lives have spiralled out of control and into the dark side, and while the paranormal elements are ever-present they're never the meat of the meal.

There are a few rough edges. As I mentioned in passing, the script has its clunky moments and not all the acting matches the quality of the standout roles. There were also some heavy-handed edits, and the sound design wasn't as accomplished as the visual aspects of the movie.

These are, however, minor quibbles, which didn't detract in the slightest from my enjoyment.

If you have an interest in the more sombre, conceptual side of the horror genre, this is an underrated modern classic, and comes highly recommended.

I recently watched the New Zealand film 🇳🇿 Jack Be Nimble (1993) on Shudder. The story follows a brother and sister abandoned by their parents, forced to rely on each other to survive. Eventually, they are adopted into separate families and endure various forms of neglect and abuse. Desperate to reunite, they finally find each other-but when they do, all hell breaks loose for everyone in their path... including their biological parents.

Directed by Garth Maxwell (When Love Comes Along), the film stars Alexis Arquette (Pulp Fiction), Sarah Smuts-Kennedy (This Is Not a Love Story), Elizabeth Hawthorne (30 Days of Night), and Tony Barry (Goodbye Pork Pie).

This movie exceeded my expectations. The writing and acting are top-notch, and the depth of the characters, along with their internal struggles, feels raw and authentic. The film effectively sets up its circumstances, making the emotional turmoil palpable in every scene. Alexis Arquette is phenomenal as Jack, delivering a haunting and intense performance, while Sarah Smuts-Kennedy also shines in a strong supporting role. The sibling bond is deeply felt, as is the weight of their trauma-making it clear this rollercoaster ride won't end well.

In conclusion, Jack Be Nimble is a unique blend of serial killer thriller and Bonnie and Clyde-style chaos, packed with authenticity and intensity from start to finish. I really liked it and would rate it an 8/10.

(1993) Jack Be Nimble PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPERNATURAL HORROR

Co-written and directed by Garth Maxwell making what could've been a fascinating horror movie from New Zealand which starts out with two very connected children ending up into the orphanage as a result of some dysfunctional family circumstance with good parents adopting the sister, Dora while bad parents adopting the brother, Jack. They're then become interconnected once the sister inhabits some telepathic powers as a result of knocking herself unconscious to the ground who then possess the ability to not only converse with other people by using her mind and without speaking to them, but also has the ability to listen to the undead similar to the kid in "The Sixth Sense". While she's living in a normal environment, the same thing can't be said for Jack for he gets abused repeatedly by the all the women in the household which includes four bushy haired sisters and an abnormal mother and father who consistently beat him. The brother and sister are eventually going to reunite but as a result of people getting killed in the process whereas Jack always uses a contraption that can hypnotize people. And there's not a single law enforcement officer throughout the entire movie where adults can pretty much assault people without any consequences. The movie is very spontaneously made with the 'rules' don't even apply to the people in the area, for it must have taken place on some deserted remote town that's somehow isolated from the others.