RULE OF JENNY, PEN, THE

(director/writer: James Ashcroft; screenwriters: Eli Kent, short story by Owen Marshall; cinematographer: Matt Henley; editor: Gretchen Peterson; cast: Geoffrey Rush (Stefan Mortensen), John Lithgow (Dave Crealy), Nathaniel Lees (Sonny Ausage), Thomas Sainsbury (Carer Mike), Anapela Polataivao (Carer Jasmine), George Henare (Tony Garfield); Runtime: 103; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Orlando Stewart, Catherine Fitzgerald; IFC/Shudder; 2024-New Zealand)

“A claustrophobic psychological thriller filled with black humor.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

New Zealand filmmaker James Ashcroft (“Coming Home in the Dark”/”The Whisper Man”) directs a claustrophobic psychological thriller filled with black humor. He co-writes it with Eli Kent, who base it on the short story by Owen Marshall. The film is set in New Zealand.

The bullying arrogant elderly former judge Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush) has suffered a stroke while in court and is placed in the Royal Pine Mews Care Home. He gets around with a wheelchair, sharing a room with the former rugby star Tony Garfield (George Henare).

The two frail elderly patients are tormented by the elderly physically fit long-term racist patient David Crealy (John Lithgow), a former member of the staff. The abusive Crealy uses his eyeless therapy puppet called Jenny Pen to make his fellow patients so frightened they will obey the puppet’s commands. When Stefan complains to the staff about the abuse they don’t believe him.

It’s a slight story that creates an unsettling atmosphere exposing institutional neglect and the abuse of the elderly.

By the film’s end it tries to reveal why Crealy is so deranged and so determined to go after the judge.

Lithgow and Rush are polished actors, but their eerie masterful performances get lost in the unpleasantness of the film. I can appreciate the star performances but not the depressing creepy story.

REVIEWED ON 11/3/2025  GRADE: C+
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