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Post by naterdawg on Feb 7, 2017 2:04:55 GMT
Saw this amazing film in the fall of 1971 and have never forgotten it. Done on a shoestring, it tells the story of Jessica--who's moving with her husband and their friend to a rural farm in Connecticut. There, they find a squatter, a hippie chick who knows more than she lets on.
Great performances, great atmosphere, some shock sequences, and an eerie ambiance, all of these serve to make Jessica a great little horror film.
Any love for Lets Scare Jessica to Death?
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Reynard
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Post by Reynard on Feb 7, 2017 2:37:49 GMT
Haven't seen "Jessica" in a decade or so but I remember the film quite well. 70s ghost stories are probably my favorite sub-genre of horror films because of that eerie ambiance they often have.
One scene that has really stayed with me is the one where the papers on a wall sort of start talking in whispers to Jessica. Probably inspired by the famous wallpaper scene in 1963's The Haunting but it works great here too.
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Post by naterdawg on Feb 7, 2017 2:47:26 GMT
Haven't seen "Jessica" in a decade or so but I remember the film quite well. 70s ghost stories are probably my favorite sub-genre of horror films because of that eerie ambiance they often have. One scene that has really stayed with me is the one where the papers on a wall sort of start talking in whispers to Jessica. Probably inspired by the famous wallpaper scene in 1963's The Haunting but it works great here too. That's a great scene. She did a tracing of a gravestone and pinned it to the bedroom wall. Later, that night, she heard whispering and looked over, and the paper was slightly blowing in the wind...except there was no wind. When you said "70s ambiance," I know exactly what you mean. The lighting was different in a lot of these films. Sometimes, it didn't show the actors and actresses to their best advantage, but the stark quality really helped the overall "feel." Incidentally, and I didn't know this until last fall when I watch the movie, the actor who plays Jessica's balding husband was Regan's doctor in The Exorcist! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2017 3:11:01 GMT
That film scared the crap out of me. It's been years since I've seen it. I'm hoping for a blu-ray release.
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schizkebab
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Post by schizkebab on Feb 10, 2017 18:53:38 GMT
That film scared the crap out of me. It's been years since I've seen it. I'm hoping for a blu-ray release. Yeah, it definitely deserves to be released on blu-ray. Unfortunately, I think Paramount still owns the rights to it and they don't seem to be in too much of a hurry to release several of their titles on blu. When and if they do, it will more than likely have hideous cover art as well. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2017 19:11:06 GMT
I haven't seen it in some time, but I do remember it being pretty good, an unusual and atmospheric film with good performances.
Incidentally, since Paramount made that deal with Warner Bros. to help distribute their back catalog, this one has been with Warner Archive. More than likely they'll put it on Blu at some point, but without anything in the way of "Bells and whistles". |
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theshape25
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Post by theshape25 on Feb 11, 2017 1:57:14 GMT
I'm going to have to watch this movie. I remember when I was a kid my mom said her and my dad went and saw it at the drive in. She said it scared her pretty bad.
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Post by cryptoflovecraft on Feb 11, 2017 16:16:59 GMT
Hell yeah. Let's Scare Jessica To Death is creepy atmospheric horror at its best.
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corpusvile
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@corpusvile
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Post by corpusvile on Feb 12, 2017 12:49:20 GMT
I really liked it, creeped me out for reasons I couldn't quite put my finger on but effective little horror and deserves more love imho. Check out Messiah of Evil or Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Suprenatural (both 1973) if you haven't seen them yet, both are really good and if you liked Jessica, you may dig these.  |
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Post by naterdawg on Feb 12, 2017 15:37:22 GMT
For me, part of Jessica's appeal lies in the "realness" of the photography. They're obviously in a real house, in real surroundings. Night of the Living Dead, the original, had this quality, too. Nothing fake about it. No stuff done on obviously-designed sets, for example.
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Post by forca84 on Feb 20, 2017 23:39:19 GMT
Underrated and spooky. Zohra Lambert shines. Love the gothic atmosphere.
*spoilers* Only scene I hate is when the poor Mole is killed. Not sure if they legit killed it for real. The actress who played the girl (Gretchen Corbett) refused to do it and hid out. They had a crew member film it. *spoilers*
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Post by alexhurricanehiggins on Feb 21, 2017 0:21:18 GMT
It's pretty good 7/10.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Feb 21, 2017 2:56:45 GMT
Cant say I liked that film.
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Post by movielover on Feb 21, 2017 6:39:53 GMT
That movie scared the crap out of me as a kid.
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johanwow
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Post by johanwow on Feb 21, 2017 9:18:49 GMT
It rather bored me to death. Don't really understand the appeal of this, I thought it was rather silly.
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Post by TheOriginalPinky on Feb 22, 2017 0:07:33 GMT
Saw this amazing film in the fall of 1971 and have never forgotten it. Done on a shoestring, it tells the story of Jessica--who's moving with her husband and their friend to a rural farm in Connecticut. There, they find a squatter, a hippie chick who knows more than she lets on. Great performances, great atmosphere, some shock sequences, and an eerie ambiance, all of these serve to make Jessica a great little horror film. Any love for Lets Scare Jessica to Death? |
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tresix
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Post by tresix on Apr 17, 2024 0:15:41 GMT
I remember being really scared when I saw it back in 1971 (I was 10). I don’t know why, but I felt really ill after seeing it. I finally got around to watching it again in recent years. At home. At night. All alone. Watching it this time, I felt more…confused. Wasn’t sure if there was any actual supernatural activity or not.
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