Filming of Let's Scare Jessica to Death took place in various towns and villages in Connecticut, largely in Middlesex County. The film is no less schizophrenic than Jessica, almost wilfully denying the viewer any explanation for what is happening, an approach that naturally leans one towards a psychological interpretation. [8], In writing the role of Jessica, Hancock sought to create a filmic equivalent to the unreliable narrator in literary fiction. "[43], In a 2013 article published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Erik Luers wrote of the film: "The technical qualities of Let's Scare Jessica to Death are superb. She jumps into a nearby rowboat and paddles out into the lake. [11] While shooting, the cast and crew used multiple rooms in the expansive mansion for dressing rooms and a headquarters for the film company. By the time Jessica finds Duncan, however, the body is gone. Later, Jessica is grabbed by someone under the water in the cove while she is swimming. To best appreciate `Let's Scare Jessica Death', you probably need to disconnect the rational mind and simply wallow in the depiction of Jessica's clearly unstable take on events. [27] Frank Yablans, then an executive at Paramount, devised the film's title as they felt Hancock's working title, which was simply Jessica, was not commercially viable. "[31] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times remarked the "strong sense of atmosphere" in the film in addition to the four lead performances, who are "likable, believable people," but conceded: "There's no getting around the movie's poorly resolved script. "[7] Critic and biographer Michael Doyle describes the film as a "haunting elegy" for the failures of the hippie movement. The dread and paranoia re-surface as forces of jessica encircle her, is she's slipping back into madness or which makes her wonder: Are the fantasies actual? Something very cold, very wet... and very dead... A FAN page dedicated to Let's Scare Jessica to Death. ... Let's Scare Jessica to Death. The Best TV Shows and Movies to Watch in February on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Prime. Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a 1971 American horror film co-written and directed by John Hancock in his directorial debut, and starring Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Gretchen Corbett, and Mariclare Costello. Hours pass and Jessica leaves to hitch a ride into town. No one has ever expressly told … "[7], According to Lee Kalcheim, the original script for the film was far different from the completed film. John actually used to take his own pulse while he was shooting and I was completely intrigued by this. [15] Actress Zohra Lampert was cast in the lead role of Jessica, the titular character who finds herself questioning her sanity. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Let's Scare Jessica To Death [Blu-ray] at Amazon.com. [11] Jessica was partly influenced by the governess in Henry James's novella The Turn of the Screw,[11] as well as the character of Eleanor Lance in Robert Wise's film The Haunting (1963). ", "Connecticut Farm House Used as Horror Film Set", "Movies have given towns more than cameo roles", "Hunting and Haunting: The Locations in Let's Scare Jessica to Death – 45 Years Later", "Remembering Jessica: An Interview with Mariclare Costello", "Screen: Hippie Vampire:' Let's Scare Jessica to Death' Arrives", "The Doubting of Reality in "Let's Scare Jessica to Death, "[31 Days Of Horror '20] Review: Let's Scare Jessica To Death (1971)", "Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) Releases", "New Title Announcements From San Diego Comic-Con 2019", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Scare_Jessica_to_Death&oldid=1002085270, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 22 January 2021, at 19:51. [16] Hancock recalled of her casting: "I knew she would be perfect for the lead role. The film may not take the curl out of your hair, but it will hold your interest even if the title will throw you off—there actually is no plot to scare Jessica. Woody, who has been working in the orchard, returns to the house, where Emily bites his neck. Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a 1971 American horror film co-written and directed by John Hancock in his directorial debut, and starring Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Gretchen Corbett, and Mariclare Costello. Watch. Jessica forces him to sleep on the couch, where he is seduced by Emily. Some literature and film scholars have drawn comparisons between Let's Scare Jessica to Death and Irish novelist Sheridan Le Fanu's novel Carmilla (1871), which tells the story of a vampiress. "[32] The San Francisco Examiner's Stanley Eichelbaum also noted deficiencies in the screenplay, noting that the film "seems improvised and nothing could be worse for this kind of structured suspense thriller. "[18], Mariclare Costello, an actress who had worked as a casting director on Hancock's stage production of The Freaking Out of Stephanie Blake (1967),[18] was cast opposite Lampert as the mysterious hippie, Emily. Jessica is afraid to talk about these things with Duncan or Woody, for fear that they will think she is relapsing. "[45], 2020 review from The Super Network's film critic Marcella Papandrea gave the film a very positive review saying "The atmosphere and the soundtrack are haunting pieces, the film is very unnerving from start to finish, as the view is with an unreliable narrator and thr audience feels what Jessica feels throughout." What's on TV & Streaming What's on TV & Streaming Top Rated Shows Most Popular Shows Browse TV Shows by Genre TV News India TV Spotlight. Enjoy! "[35] Writing for the Edmonton Journal, Barry Westgate was critical of the film, noting: "Even contrived cinema has to have its share of rhyme or reason, and this effort by John Hancock doesn't have so much as a touch of either. What's on TV & Streaming What's on TV & Streaming Top Rated Shows Most Popular Shows Browse TV Shows by Genre TV News India TV Spotlight. [15], In preparation, both Lampert and Costello worked with acting coach Mira Rostova for their respective roles in the film. "[40] Film scholar Gary A. Smith remarked Lampert's performance as Jessica as "laid back to the point of somnambulism. "[41] Author and independent filmmaker John Kenneth Muir gave the film 3 1/2 out of 4 stars, praising the film's cinematography, "unsettling" mood, and its ability to generate a sense of unease, calling it "very disturbing" and noting its "lovely and poetic" visuals. [1] Fake plastic vampire fangs were given to patrons at some cinemas in promotion of the film,[29] while a horse-drawn hearse and coffins were parked in front of Manhattan's Criterion Theatre during the film's opening week. MyFlixer does not store any files on our server, we only linked to the media which is hosted on 3rd party services. LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH is an ultimately tragic horror film about one woman’s struggle to defeat her own depressive demons. [7] Director John Hancock, though ambivalent about whether it was consciously or subconsciously integrated into the screenplay, has conceded this interpretation, commenting: "You could already feel that negativity brewing when we were making Jessica; that things weren't working out the way some of us had hoped and dreamed they would. [55][56], Sara Century, writing for Syfy, noted the significance of the film: "While the response is entirely subjective and it isn’t a film for everyone, Jessica did in many ways serve as a forerunner for what would come later, as filmmakers like David Lynch would delve into dreamscapes that refused to sustain themselves explicitly in cohesive narratives. Later, as Jessica prepares to make a headstone rubbing on Abigail Bishop's grave, she notices the blonde woman beckoning her to follow. [3], Contemporaneous Jessica flees the house, knocking over Duncan's bass case, which contains the corpse of the mute woman. We loved the area and shared our feelings with John [Hancock] and [producer Charles B. Moss Jr.] After a preliminary scout we all agree that this was where Jessica should be filmed. [16] She was approached by Hancock, her former boyfriend, while performing in a Broadway production of Mother Courage and Her Children with Anne Bancroft. [57], "I made it eminently clear to [the producers] that I did not want to do a satire of a horror picture. "[17] Lampert "got lost in her character" as the script resonated with her, and she spent much of her time between takes remaining in character. In places where most movies would emphasize danger and terror, it emphasizes sorrow and sadness, which makes it more effective and actually all the more horrifying. Duncan and Jessica decide to sell antiques found in the house at a local shop, one of which is a silver-framed portrait of the house's former owners, the Bishop family—father, mother, and daughter Abigail. [17] "I accepted, trusting his judgement," Lampert recalled. I thought director John Hancock... was onto something—if not a new genre, then perhaps something as arresting as the Cat People," but felt that it devolved into a "routine vampire romp," though he did praise the cinematography and visuals. Jessica finds the story fascinating, but Duncan, afraid that hearing about such things will upset his wife, cuts Dorker short. Showing all 11 items Jump to: Filming Locations (10) Filming Dates (1) Filming Locations. [25], Let's Scare Jessica to Death was one of the first horror films to prominently feature a synthesizer in its musical score, which was composed by Orville Stoeber. Also known as "The Secret Beneath the Lake" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067341/?ref_=nv_sr_1 In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association pronounced Let's Scare Jessica to Death one of the scariest films ever made. The low budget, cult classic 1971 horror film Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is a prime example of a cinematic title about which experts have just never been able to come to a critical consensus. At daybreak, Jessica makes it to the ferry and tries to board, but the ferryman, also bearing a scar on his neck, refuses to let her on. "[33] This sentiment was echoed by Kevin Kelly of The Boston Globe, who felt the film contained so many idiosyncrasies that "nothing rings true. "[44] Genre scholar Kim Newman has praised the film, specifically Lampert's performance, which he ranks as equal to those of Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Carrie Snodgress in Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970), Shirley Knight in The Rain People (1969), and Susannah York in Images (1972), all "portrait[s] of a woman in distress. When Jessica, Duncan, and their hippie friend Woody (Kevin O'Connor) arrive, they are surprised to find a mysterious drifter, Emily (Mariclare Costello), already living there. also reading into the subtext of Jessica's psychological state and downfall to that of the death of the counter culture movement of the 60s. [27] Paramount gave the film a wide theatrical release in the United States. Let's Scare Jessica to Death. The simplicity of the film worked perfectly to create a scary mood. Discharged in the mental ward, Jessica hopes to return how it was before her nervous breakdown. "[24], Badalato recalled of Hancock's direction: "He was always responsible to our budget and was very confident with the actors. [11], Let's Scare Jessica to Death was filmed over a period of 26 days[2] in the fall of 1970, in various towns in Connecticut;[16] the production budget was $250,000. Initially conceived by writer Lee Kalcheim as a satirical horror film about a group of hippies preyed upon by a monster in a lake, the screenplay was significantly reworked after director Hancock signed on to the project. Jessica agrees to go with Emily to swim in the cove. [53] According to Steve Senski of Trailers from Hell, Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling called the film "one of the most frightening films he'd ever seen in his life.
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