Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971/Thriller)
Picture: B- Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: B-
The line
between sanity and madness is tested again in John Hancock’s 1971 thriller Let’s Scare Jessica To Death, featuring
Zohra Lampert as the title character in a very good performance, who has just
come out of a stay from a mental hospital after major personal problems. Going to a secluded country town, her husband
(Barton Heyman) and a good friend (Kevin O’Connor) bring her and all should be
peaceful. However, it is not to be.
Instead,
she starts to have horrific visions. Is
she seeing things via delusions? The
hospital stay should have fixed that. Or
is her husband and company trying to drive her insane? That was the question with Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and this film
too holds out the possibility of supernatural causes. However, instead of Satanism, it just might
be the ghost of the woman whose house they are now staying in. What about the town?
The film
asks for at least half of its 88 minutes if it is an elaborate hoax or
something crazier is going on. As it
moves on, you wonder how they could be doing all this to her. Also, decades before tired digital effects,
exploitive reality TV, uglier public murder cases and other tired gimmicks, it
is easier to keep the suspense going.
The title tries to combine the promise of Rosemary’s Baby with something like Whatever Happened To Baby Jane (reviewed elsewhere on this site) as
both films still had the cycles they inspired going. The conclusion is typical chilling 1970s,
with dark twists that raise as many questions as they answer. See it now before they remake and ruin this
one too.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image looks good for its age, with some good
color and clarity despite minor print problems.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is decent too, though not as good as the
picture. There are no extras, but there
was an interesting promotional campaign and some trailers, so they ought to
surface in a later HD version.
- Nicholas Sheffo
