The Rule of Jenny Pen: John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush star in 'pure choking horror'
Psychological horror set in a care home is 'balls-to-the-wall bonkers'

This "care-home thriller" from the New Zealand director James Ashcroft is an unusual affair, said Tim Robey in The Telegraph.
Ten minutes into the film, a judge, Stefan (Geoffrey Rush), suffers a stroke mid-trial and is confined to a nursing facility, where he almost immediately sees a patient accidentally incinerate himself. It sets the tone for what follows: it turns out that patients at the home are being terrorised behind the staff's back by one of its long-term residents, a "sadistic maniac" called Dave (John Lithgow). Bearing a therapeutic hand puppet he calls "Jenny Pen", its eyes plucked out "for added menace", he creeps into his fellow patients' rooms at night and forces them "to pay obeisance to her in the most demeaning ways". It's a terrific premise – and to an extent a plausible one – but the film falls flat, owing largely to a "leaky script" that drains it of the necessary suspense.
Of course, the upright Stefan and the deranged Dave clash, said Nick Howells in The London Standard. As a result, their final showdown doesn't come as much of a shock. Still, the "sadistic relish with which we get there" is worth the ticket price, as are the two star turns: Lithgow is "balls-to-the-wall bonkers" as Dave, while Rush plays the arrogant retired judge with "erudite gravitas".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The film is reminiscent of the ventriloquist section in the classic 1940s horror "Dead of Night", said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian; it also reminded me of Patrick Hamilton's depictions of toxic pettiness and bullying in grim boarding houses: the intolerable boredom of afternoons in the "featureless blankness" of the facility's association room "is shown to encourage mental decay and catatonia". The film's denouement is flawed, but "pure choking horror fills the screen like poison gas".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How military service works for K-pop idols
Under The Radar All seven members of K-pop sensation BTS have now completed mandatory national service
-
The Week contest: Flight fraud
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Is Trump sidelining Congress' war powers?
Today's Big Question The Iran attack renews a long-running debate
-
6 productivity-ready homes with great offices
Feature Featuring an office with a gas fireplace in Oregon and a shared workspace with wraparound windows in Massachusetts
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more
-
Film review: Materialists
Feature Two suitors seek to win over a jaded matchmaker
-
Music reviews: Haim, Addison Rae, and Annahstasia
Feature "I Quit," "Addison," and "Tether"
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native characters
Feature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'
Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Grilled radicchio with caper and anchovy sauce recipe
The Week Recommends Smoky twist on classic Italian flavours is perfect to grill, drizzle and devour