Let's Scare Jessica to Death 4K 1971

John D. Hancock. Do you know who that is? Hancock. That's an interesting name for a director. As far as I remember, John Hancock was a pirate who traded in slaves. He was also the first to sign the US Declaration of Independence. A noble pirate, so to speak. He seems like a bad guy, but he's actually for democracy. Later, Americans decided that Hancock could also be turned into a superhero. A drinking, foul-mouthed one. It would be great if Will Smith, a lively guy, played the role. So they ennobled the pirate. But I don't understand why the director chose that name. Although, maybe in the Hancock family, the father remembered the old name and decided to name his son after it? Here's what I'm getting at. Hancock made a very exciting horror movie. It's atmospheric. The creator didn't resort to dismembered bodies or decide to scare people with all kinds of monsters. In my opinion, without a solid budget, it was difficult to show high-quality carnage on screen in the early seventies. But if you know how, you can perfectly create an atmosphere of horror.

This pirate, John Hancock, knows how to instill fear. Nothing particularly terrifying seems to be happening, but somehow you feel uneasy. And then there are all kinds of visions and auditory hallucinations. She has undergone rehabilitation at a psychiatric hospital, but it has not been effective. This is the situation our heroine Jessica finds herself in. She and her husband, along with a friend named Woody, decide to leave New York, which they have grown to hate, and live on a farm. They bought it with all the trimmings and a garden plot, which Woody, with the zeal of a workaholic, immediately began to treat with chemicals. On top of everything else, a new girlfriend moved into the house. Everything would be fine, except for the strange voices in his head and the visual images that never went away and show no signs of doing so in the future. Although, maybe it's just his imagination running wild or someone trying to make a very bad joke. In such a situation, you would inevitably ask to be sent back to the mental hospital.

So, well done, director. In fact, it's impossible to understand what's going on. Why is this new girlfriend really a copy of the girl in the portrait, which is God knows how old? I should add that I am not familiar with Hancock's other works, so Let's Scare Jessica to Death is my first encounter with him. And it's a frightening introduction. The cinematography is not surprising, and in 1971, the “shaky hands of a drunk cameraman” method was still a long way off. There are static shots of beautiful nature, which is unsettling because something or someone is hiding in this beauty.

The actors in the film are a little strange. That is, their characters behave a little strangely. The filmmakers themselves, whom I know absolutely nothing about, perform well, but I sometimes don't quite understand the logic behind their actions. Although this is a fairly common problem in horror films, thankfully no one stands out from the general context, which brings harmony to the film rather than imbalance. Jessica really does look scared, her husband looks confused, and Emily looks strange.

Overall, it turned out to be an exciting horror film with a mystical flavor. Even now, it makes you nervous, let alone in the 70s. Maybe I'm overrating it a little, but I liked the film.