BFI Screening: Let’s Scare Jessica To Death, 29th April
Posted in BFI - Films,FeaturesApril 30, 2011Comments Off
This was Kim Newman’s choice after an hour talk to introduce his newest edition of is groundbreaking book on the horror genre, “Nightmare Movies”, it really can not be underestimated how influential his book has been. During the hour with Mark Kermode some themes came through that I was not really expecting but what was most prevalent was the fact that ‘horror’ as a genre is not simply defined and that Kim’s love for the b-movie is evident in his choice of film screening last night.

I have to admit that Kim did oversell the film somewhat as on a very simple level the film doesn’t really try that hard to produce much of a ‘horror’ film and though at times it does maintain a credible level suspense the audience laughed and giggled more than they did jump. At my count there was only one moment in the film that makes you jump and even that was a blink and you miss it.
The Film
A trio of New York exiles, a husband and wife team and their bearded friend, move to a unmanned farm in the sticks and “Jessica” encounters from the offset a variety of odd goings on. The very start of the film has creepy shots over the lake that would play an important part in the film, added to this the voiceover of by the actress playing “Jessica”, which at times sound eerily like Jamie Lee Curtis, does give the film a frightening edge to it.

One of the more unrealistic scenes revolved around the ‘new’ housemate Emily, who they find in the house the day they move in and over the course of a few days end up asking her to stay. The scene starts out polite enough with Emily paying her lute but sound problems and a clearly less than convincing attempt at playing the lute made the audience crack up. When Jessica’s husband comes in with his double bass the scene went from slightly odd to just weird.
The movie did have some good scenes with the tension between Jessica and her husband pretty much so thick you could cut it with a knife. But with this tension came a back story that seemed more interesting than the one we get to see unfold. As she tries to convince herself that she’s not mad Jessica’s slow descent back into “madness” is sad at times because she is not actually mad.

Kim’s choice of such an obscure film is difficult to rate. The print had a pink tinge to it which denotes its age as well as a bunch of really bad sound problems but rating the film is less about giving it a 2 or 4 star as Kim himself explains it’s not as easy as that. The film does have a certain quality and ‘realness’ to it and is very firmly placed in the 1970s which does help it, but the films overall appeal is that to real fans of the horror genre and it doesn’t work on passing viewers.

And with that the overall benefit of the evening was that, horror is more than a great movie that scares you or makes you think. It’s the worst that becomes the best, it’s predicability, but most of all it has become a respectable genre within film that has critics like Kermode and Newman dedicating thick volumes to the genre.
For those not really that keen or passionate fans of horror in general then “Let’s Scare Jessica To Death” will not appeal. Kim’s updated book “Nightmare Movies” was released on Bloomsbury 18th April 2011.







