Bruce's Review - Jessabelle (2014)

So this week Bob and I decided to crack down on Jessabelle, a supernatural thriller about a young woman, fresh off of a tragic event, who returns to her home town in Louisiana, only to be welcomed by a horrifying spirit hell bent on making her life hell.  This is indeed a very summarized plot but hey, that’s what imdb is for, right?  The movie stars Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, and a great part from Joelle Carter as well.  Written by Robert Ben Garant and directed by Kevin Greutert (click here for a great interview we did with Kevin), it’s a solid film with just the right amount of creep factor, drama, and shock.  Overall, I simply have no complaints about this movie.  It’s certainly a horror flick, but the other elements are certainly there: drama, sadness, love.  Yeah, they’re all there, and it certainly works.

I’m taking a new direction here and listing mentionables and observations that I find interesting

·         I loved the setting.  The fact that it took place deep in the bayous of Louisiana and the element of voodoo magic and ritual was fitting to the story quite well.

·         Joelle Carter was a fantastic compliment to both Sarah’s character and the movie itself.

·         I saw elements of Skeleton Key, Candyman, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and a few others. 

·         Most movies that take a supernatural route have done so in order to tell a story or reveal a truth to the main character.  Jessabelle is no exception.

·         The film makes great use of going back in the past in order to foreshadow what was to come.  I definitely enjoyed the way that was done.

·         The truth or reveal in this story was outstanding.  I didn’t see it coming (I am not Mr Movie Ending Guesser Guy), and it was pretty horrific

 

Ok, folks there are my thoughts.  Like I said, I definitely liked it.  If you get the chance, it’s certainly worth the watch.  I’m going to give Jessabelle a solid 6 out of 10 cleavers.  You can catch it now on a variety of VOD platforms and rental kiosks.  I’d suggest you get to gettin’ now and check it out! 

Check out the movie’s imdb details here, and follow along with director Kevin Greutert’s Twitter happenings and goings on @pretzelcuatl

 

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