Review #6: 'Let's Scare Jessica to Death' (1971)

This film tells the story of Jessica (Zohra Lampert), her husband Duncan (Barton Heyman), and their friend Woody (Kevin O'Connor). After spending six months in a hospital for undisclosed mental issues, Jessica and her pseudo-hippy companions are driving to a rural house that Duncan and herself have purchased to renovate and eventually live in. Jessica's mental stability is alluded to simply as fear; we are never told what ever triggered this psychological collapse in the first place. Throughout, Jessica is haunted by hallucinations, visions and sounds only seen and heard by herself. She sees a girl in a white gown, first in a grave yard on the journey to the house. Her thoughts question her actions, and other voices question the actions of others. On arrival at the house, the group is startled to find a girl (Emily, played by Mariclare Costello), who has been squatting there for some time (so as she states). This seemingly stabilises the dynamic to the traditional girl/boy, girl/boy ratio, but only unbalances the fragility of Jessica's psychology.

This low budget horror/psychological drama was directed by John Hancock (only subsequently making notable directing turns in TV, on such shows as the 1980's incarnation of The Twilight Zone, and Hill Street Blues). Filmed on an incredibly limited budget of $200,000, the film still manages to hold up, with almost ethereal, soft focus camerawork. The film's title is slightly misleading (probably due to the distributors wanting a catchier title - the original of which was simply 'Jessica'), as it first appears the there are no inherent exterior entities to antagonise the character, and her own delicate psyche. But this is relatively ambiguous. As Jessica states in narration in the closing shot, as she sits still in a rowing boat, "Like Mirrors or dreams, madness or sanity, I don't know which is which".

The break down in mental stability of Jessica plays much like Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965), or Rosemary's Baby (1968) (and as the film progresses Zohra Lamperts performance comes close in subtle intensity to Catherine Deneuves delicate, fragile take on mental breakdown in Repulsion). Whilst the history of the house is only mentioned in passing (a girl in the Bishop family - previous owners of the lot - drowned in the lake behind the house before she was to marry), it is never elaborated on, and there is a strain throughout the film suggesting that Emily could indeed be that Bishop girl. These ambiguities work well in the character of Jessica who seems to be trapped in psychological limbo, unsure if all these events are an illusion of her mental state. As things seem to fall apart, a mighty sense of paranoia hits Jessica culminating in a crescendo into a zombiesque finale in the closing moments.

Whilst much of the acting in this movie is lacklustre, the film works well, and is one of the better 'exploitation' movies of the period. A break away from the usual schlock fare you tend to expect in this genre, particularly in the low budget market. Certainly worth a view.


Directed by: John D. Hancock
Starring: Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Marc Ivamy