Let's Scare Jessica to Death
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Let's Scare Jessica to Death | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | John D. Hancock |
| Produced by | Charles B. Moss Jr. Bill Badalato |
| Written by | John D. Hancock Lee Kalcheim |
| Starring | Zohra Lampert Barton Heyman Kevin O'Connor Gretchen Corbett Alan Manson Mariclare Costello |
| Music by | Orville Stoeber |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 6, 1971  |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a 1971 low budget American horror film, directed by John D. Hancock, and starring Zohra Lampert in the title role. The film focuses on a recently institutionalized woman who has various nightmarish experiences after moving to an old farmhouse on a Connecticut island. In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association named Let's Scare Jessica to Death the 87th scariest film ever made[1].
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
In the film Jessica, (Zohra Lampert), her husband (Barton Heyman), and a friend (Kevin O'Connor) retreat to a Victorian farmhouse in an isolated part of rural Connecticut, after Jessica's release from a mental institution, following a nervous breakdown. Once there, the trio encounter an enigmatic hippie named Emily (Mariclare Costello) who is living in the house, and almost immediately, Jessica's madness resumes - increasing evidence from Jessica's point of view mounts to the fact that Emily may be a ghost and/or vampire, and that all those inhabiting the island are as well -- though the viewer is never sure whether the subsequent turn of events are all in Jessica's mind, or whether something sinister is truly after her.
[edit] Production and Style
The film was shot in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. The village of Chester was used as was the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry crossing the Connecticut River. The movie was similar in tone to Rosemary's Baby and The Haunting, in that its story is told from the vantage point of a female protagonist, whose sanity and good judgment may be in question, and its emphasis on story and atmosphere rather than excessive gore and violence. Also, like those films, the ending is intentionally vague, leaving viewers to draw their own conclusions. The plot itself seems to be loosely modeled after the 1872 vampire novella, Carmilla.
Making little impact during its theatrical release, the film later became a staple of late night TV, where it became a cult favorite.
[edit] Video and DVD releases
The film was released in VHS in the late 1980s, but was very difficult to get hold of after that. It was finally released on DVD in August 2006 from Paramount Pictures, its original distributor - though fans of the film were disappointed that the budget DVD release contained no special features or "extras".
[edit] References
[edit] External links
www.Let's Scare Jessica to Death.net films website
