Anything for Jackson
I could have watched “Anything for Jackson” at Fantasia Fest this year, but I had already taken in so much, some films just couldn’t be included. When it came back around for its actual release, I wanted to take the chance, and boy, was I not disappointed. It was another tense, nasty horror movie from the festival; they seem to have a type, and I can get into it.
The film begins with a loving scene with the Walsh’s, an elderly couple who seem to be living an idyllic life in their twilight years. “Daisy” is playing, and Henry (Julian Richings) goes to the door while Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) works in the kitchen. The next thing we know, Henry has abducted a young woman, Becker (Konstantina Mantelos), who is pregnant. This is quite a way to open a movie, and it sets the tone for the rest of the film. Henry is an doctor- specifically, Becker’s doctor- and chose her because she does not really have family around her. What has she been chosen for? An opportunity for re-birth for Jackson, their grandson, who tragically died in a car accident. The Walshes are Satanists, and they have discovered pages that could allow them to bring Jackson back through a host. As they prepare for the big day, however, some unexpected things start to happen, and you wonder if they are in over their heads.
Director Justin G. Dyck keeps things tense and dark as this unfolds, while also giving us some interesting emotional beats that come out of the script by Keith Cooper. We sense a bit of conflict between Henry and Audrey when it comes to what they will ultimately have to do with Becker; not with her child, but whether she needs to die in the process. One can read some of the supernatural happenings in this film as the guilty conscious of the characters manifesting through some of the things that are going on, as well as the demonic spirits they are meddling with asserting their territory. Either way, this is a smart horror thriller that gives us chilling images, suspense, and out and out terror. If you want to spice up your holidays with some wicked entertainment, “Anything for Jackson” is a good way to go.
