Let’s Scare Jessica to Death: A Review
What if everything you feared turned out to be true? What if your loved ones have secretly been turned against you? Are you right, or are you going insane? Who do you believe? All these questions and more are found within John D. Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death. Originally released in 1971, this indie gem has managed to stick out amongst the swathe of low budget horror films produced during this time for its unique depiction of anxiety, madness and a nightmare-esque atmosphere.
The film hones in on the titular Jessica, returning home after a stint in a mental institution from a nervous breakdown. Her husband Duncan figures that some time in the New England countryside could be the breath of fresh air she needs to nurse herself back to full health. The couple, along with their mutual friend Woody, move out to a lonesome, imposing farmhouse set deep in the wilderness. Once they arrive, they find a fair skinned woman taking refuge inside the assumed-to-be abandoned home.
From Jessica’s perspective, the new life she leads appears to be working quite smoothly. However, as time goes on, she begins to see things. She starts to question the authenticity of their drifter roommate and slowly pieces her evidence together. All hell breaks loose until she is the last left alive in the house, desperately trying to escape with her mind intact.
The film highlights a unique moment in american history; it serves as a lookingglass into the fear and dread experienced during the death throes of the counterculture movement of the ’60s. One of the motifs that is often analyzed as pointing to this theory is Jessica and Duncan’s vehicle of choice — an old hearse with “LOVE” spray painted on it.
Jessica also exceeds in presenting a narrative that truly feels like it was pieced together by someone losing their mind. While fully sympathetic to Jessica throughout the film, you find yourself questioning if what we are being shown actually happened, or if it is her way of rationalizing a different series of events that transpired upon their arrival to the house. This method of storytelling is followed through all the way to the end, leaving you with an ambiguous but bleak ending.
I had originally heard of this film through hearsay online — always hearing about it, but never actually getting to physically watch the thing. It stood out to me as one of the few horror films actually filmed in my home state of Connecticut, along with the likes of Friday the 13th Part 2. Now since seeing it for the first time a few years back, I can definitely say I greatly appreciate what they were trying to accomplish with this — making you question the protagonist’s logic and delivering a creepy tale on top of everything. While the pacing may feel slow to some and every scare may not perfectly land for modern audiences, what it does succeed in is serving as an interesting story first.
The film was originally picked up for distribution by Paramount. Sadly however, after a small handful of home video releases over the years, the film was doomed to the likes of VHS and the rare chance to catch it on cable. Now, in 2020, the film has just been rereleased on Blu Ray by Shout Factory, bringing this hidden gem to an entirely new audience, all in glorious high definition.
If you consider yourself a connoisseur of horror film or just a fan of interesting and weird experiments from the ’70s, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is certainly one you shouldn’t skip out on. I highly recommend it.
A version of this story originally appeared on CreatorCoffeeShop.com
