Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971)

Trailer:

*Spoilers Throughout*

What’s It About: A young woman aptly named Jessica has just been released from a mental institution and with her husband and his buddy decide to move to a rural, apple orchard in Connecticut. Testing her sanity, she sees visions of young girls in white nightgowns and hears voices in her head. Is Jessica actually crazy or is someone driving her back to lunacy?

Here are some of my observations as I watched the film:

• Seems to be bad timing to have an odd drifter attempt a seance on their new home especially when Jessica was recently released from a mental institution and hears strange voices. This does not bode well for Jessica.
• I’m all for enjoying the lake in your backyard and all but why are they bathing in it as a group? Surely there’s bathtubs in the house. Just very odd. Especially when they just met this drifter chick.
• There’s a scene where Jessica goes into a chicken coop to buy eggs and gets a little startled by the chickens. I’m still not sure why this scene is in here. She didn’t see any apparitions or hear voices. Just chickens.
• A guy moved to Connecticut from NYC because they opened a pizzeria next to his shop and he “couldn’t stand the smell.” Hard to find people who are turned off by pizzerias.
• Who not only picks up a mole off the ground but wants to keep it as a pet? Wackos. That’s who.
• This movie should be titled: Let’s Bore Brad to Death. Halfway through the film and nothing much has happened.
• Oh! Finally a death. Sort of. Jessica saw a dead body but it was gone by the time her husband got there. Was it really there or was it Jessica hallucinating?!
• Again why a mole?! No one keeps moles as pets, most people avoid them entirely. They could’ve just as easily found and kept a field mouse. But anyway someone killed the talpid and this is supposed to further drive Jessica back to insanity.
• This actor has an awesome porn-stache! I doubt we’ll see Emily get a mustache ride. But we do see her bite his neck like a vampire. I thought she was more ghost than vampire.

Let’s Stare at Jessica to Death

• Oh so everyone in town has been bit by Emily who’s actually a vampire. I really thought this was a ghost haunting movie. Fooled me so far. This still does not make this film any better.
• When Jessica is trying to escape on a little row boat she is surprised by a hand reaching into the boat. She attacks the body with some type of hooked instrument and and somehow it’s her husband dead in the water.  Why was he in the lake?
• Jessica is NOT in fact scared to death. She ends the film alive and talking nonsense about reality and madness.

Is It Actually Scary: Since this was made in the early 70s, in an old sinister farm house with very shady people it is more creepy than scary. There are virtually no jump scares but the voices Jessica hears in her head are echoed and eerie enough to give you pause.

Let’s Lair Jessica to Death

How Much Gore: Not too much. The dead mole is the bloodiest thing shown on screen.

Best Scene: The creepiest and most disturbing scene is when Jessica is being chased by Emily, who at first was swimming with Jessica in the lake. When Jessica denies Emily’s sapphic advances, Emily disappears. When she re-emerges from under the water she is pale as a ghost and wearing a white gothic dress and tries to bite Jessica’s neck. Jessica then runs for her life back to the house and locks herself in her room. All the while the voices in Jessica’s head are heard. Here’s the beginning of that scene:

Worst Scene: As creepy and disturbing this film looks and feels, by today’s standards it is tedious and slow. And I realize that this could just be me and my low tolerance for just having ambiance drive the tone. Most of the movie is talking and trying to establish that Jessica could be crazy or is she really in a nightmare scenario involving vampires in her new town. And the majority of this method is the echoing voices Jessica hears. It isn’t until mid-way through that Jessica sees “ghosts” or dead bodies further driving her mental state breakdown. But if I had to pick a scene it would be the meaningless chicken coop scene. I suppose a boat-load of squawking hens could be unnerving to a common person but its hardly a reason to drive someone batty.

Let’s Share Jessica to Death

Any Nudity: This movie is not called “Let’s Bare Jessica to Death” for a reason.

Overall: The long and short of Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is that its a nice forgotten horror gem from the bygone 60s and 70s. Overshadowed by such classics like Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, Jessica is certainly a movie to see. Sure, I had my complaints but compared to the insipid and silly horror movies of today, its pure thriller gold. It doesn’t rely on camera tricks, special effects, found footage or even over-used soundtrack cues to distract you from the great creepy scenery and sounds of an old house and eerie echoing voices. Despite its flaws I do highly recommend this movie especially to horror movie fans who need a palate-cleansing after seeing too many of today’s horror duds.

Score: 7 Dead Moles (out of 10)