One of the great unsung films of the 20th century, John Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is a film that is breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly haunting.
The central story is told as a flashback from the titular character (superbly portrayed by Zorha Lampert), who tells us that she’s not sure what parts she believes herself. After she’s released from a stay in an institution, her husband (Barton Heyman) and their friend (Kevin O’Connor) take Jessica away to a remote farmhouse. While there, they discover a girl (Mariclare Costello) who has been squatting there. In the following days, Jessica discovers a legend that the former owner of the house was rumoured to have been a vampire and drowned. A woman in a photograph they find in the attic has an uncanny resemblance to their uninvited guest.
Made in the wake of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Hancock’s film owes more in tone to the films of old Hollywood and is nearer to Carnival of Souls than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s this almost languid pace that works in the movie’s favour. Lampert’s Jessica is pitch-perfect. As unsure of her rationale as we are and this makes the story all the more engaging.
This Blu-ray release, from Australia’s Imprint label, is packed with enough extra features to give you a deep dive into the mechanics of the film, with no fewer than three informative commentaries (including one from the director alongside producer Bill Badalato) and an interview with composer Orville Stoeber, whose ethereal score is sublime. If you’re already a fan of the film, there’s enough here to satiate any appetite you might have for more. If you’ve never seen it, rectify it as soon as you can.
