Anything for Jackson

A fresh spin on a classic concept, Anything for Jackson follows an elderly couple who kidnap a pregnant woman with the sole intention of putting their deceased grandson's spirit into her unborn child. A wicked yet amusing premise, the film manages to get some mileage out of its reverse exorcism idea only to drop the ball in the final act to finish on an underwhelming note.

Directed by Justin G. Dyck, the film is a major step-up & a massive departure for its director when compared to his family-friendly filmography. Crafted with care & handled with finesse, the story is gripping from the get-go, brims with a disquieting chill, and packs some effective scares, thanks to the foreboding ambience & ghostly interventions that occur throughout its runtime.

What inherits the picture its uncanny strength however is the excellent performances from its leading duo. Sheila McCarthy & Julian Richings are fantastic in their Satan-worshipping roles and even add a parental touch to their otherwise despicable characters. The supporting cast fail to match the brilliance of the leads and are serviceable at best. As for the finale, it fails to deliver the desired goods.

Overall, Anything for Jackson is a fun & fiendish delight that manages to be both hilarious & thrilling and makes for a polished piece of work for a film shot on a low-budget. Certainly an impressive entry in a directorial career that's jam-packed with feel-good Christmas specials, this supernatural horror about loss, grief, remorse & satanism has its merits and will surprise many with its refreshing take on the subgenre.

"Anything for Jackson" turned out to be a rather pleasantly surprisingly good horror movie. I was genuinely entertained by what writer Keith Cooper and director Justin G. Dyck delivered with this 2020 movie.

The storyline in "Anything for Jackson" actually proved to be one that blended elements of a handful of older classic horror movies together, while actually maintaining its own plot. And I will say that I definitely liked the story told here, and it made for a wholesome horror experience.

Now, it should be said that "Anything for Jackson" is not a horror movie in the sense of jump scares and attempts to thrill the audience with gory effects and brutality. No, "Anything for Jackson" is more of a subtle horror movie that slowly creeps in under your skin and sticks with you, as it is a story that resonates with many different elements; such as the bonds of a family, the love between two people, the willingness to make sacrifices, supernatural elements, religious elements, etc. There was an abundance of things here that made for an enjoyable plot.

While the story told in "Anything for Jackson" is somewhat disturbing and creepy, there is also something profoundly beautiful about it at the same time. It is truly something rather unique that writer Keith Cooper managed to conjured up here. And there is just the right amount of absurdity to the storyline as well, to spruce it up with just a hint of dark, twisted humor.

The acting in "Anything for Jackson" was just spot on, and I will say that lead actor Julian Richings (playing Henry Walsh) and lead actress Sheila McCarthy (playing Audrey Walsh) were phenomenal in the roles, and they were so well-cast for this particular movie. I was struggling a bit with the character portrayed by actor Josh Cruddas, as he was just a spoof and so hard to take serious.

"Anything for Jackson" is a horror movie that is well-worth the time and effort to sit down and watch. And I can warmly recommend that you do so, if you find yourself given the opportunity, especially if you enjoy horror movies that transcends the usual gore and in-your-face-scares.

My rating of "Anything for Jackson" is a well-deserved six out of ten stars.

The horror gendre has been one of my favorites for my entire life, yet the production of good movies in said gendre has been lacking, to put it mildly, in recent memory.

The horror movies that are effective, for myself at least, are those which don't rely on jump scares and actually endeavour to creep you out, thereby instilling a lasting emotion when thinking about the film.

Anything for Jackson, although not outstanding per se, does a fairly decent job of being creepy.

The acting is fairly good, and though I admit I do have a soft spot for Julian Richings who plays Dr. Henry Walsh, the entire cast does a competent job. The writing was up to snuff as well, taking a very basic premise and fleshing it out, and the make up and effects department did a great job.

I would recommend Anything for Jackson for a decent 90 minute watch.

This is a nifty original horror flick that will keep your interest. It's really good.

Not complicated. Just really good performances and direction. SCript too.

Don't miss it.

With all the derivitive garbage out there, this was one refreshing movie.

Considering the low quality of a lot of horror output recently I wasn't expecting much from this movie. But what a surprise.

The story is well written and tight, nicely paced, and with plenty of intrigue so you never really know where it is going.

The characters are superbly portrayed by the entire cast.

If you want to see a good horror movie that doesn't involve teens screaming in some remote location - this is a movie to watch.