**James Ashcroft Makes a Comeback With the Gripping *The Rule of Jenny Pen***
Horror fans should pay attention to James Ashcroft. The New Zealand actor-turned-director created a stir in 2021 with *Coming Home in the Dark*, a film so frightening it literally [left critics reeling](https://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/review-coming-home-in-the-dark-is-so-scary-it-literally-knocked-me-off-my-seat.php). Now, Ashcroft is back with *The Rule of Jenny Pen*, a psychological thriller that puts iconic actors John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush in a dark competition of wills.
This film reinvigorates the “psycho-biddy” horror subgenre, which has historically focused on older women whose seclusion propels them toward insanity and violence. Timeless works like *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?* have delved into how society overlooks these women, often leading to perilous outcomes. However, Ashcroft turns the table by placing men in this unsettling context, demonstrating that the fears of aging are not solely the domain of women.
The outcome is a film that is haunting, gripping, and profoundly unsettling. It’s no wonder that *The Rule of Jenny Pen* has received extensive acclaim, with horror legend [Stephen King remarking it as “one of the best movies I’ve seen.”](https://mashable.com/video/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-trailer-john-lithgow-geoffrey-rush)
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### *The Rule of Jenny Pen* Resonates with *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?*
Academy Award-winning Geoffrey Rush plays Judge Stefan Mortensen, a man who once used his courtroom to assert justice and moral judgement. Yet, after enduring a near-fatal stroke, he finds himself in a retirement facility, dependent on caregivers for his everyday needs. Although he claims his stay is only temporary, a growing sense of dread implies otherwise—his declining health and the institution’s nature appear to trap him in a seemingly unescapable prison.
Ashcroft depicts the retirement home as deceptively inviting, boasting soft pink colors, vibrant activities, and seemingly compassionate caregivers. However, true terror emerges with the entry of Dave Crealy, portrayed by two-time Academy Award nominee John Lithgow. Crealy, a long-term resident, is regarded by staff as an innocuous oddball who relishes singing, dancing, and playing with his eyeless hand puppet, Jenny Pen. Nevertheless, behind closed doors, he reveals himself as a savage bully, preying on fellow residents with intimidation, violence, and humiliation. Yet, in Mortensen, he may have finally encountered a worthy adversary.
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### John Lithgow Exhibits a Chilling Performance
Lithgow, recognized for his range in roles from *3rd Rock From the Sun* to *Conclave*, thoroughly embraces the malevolence of Crealy. At 6’4″, he towers over the wheelchair-bound Mortensen, using his size to emphasize his superiority. In a conversation with *Mashable*, Lithgow disclosed that he personally chose silvery contact lenses, grotesque prosthetic teeth, and a scruffy beard to amplify Crealy’s disquieting look. The metamorphosis is unsettling, rendering his familiar visage disturbingly foreign.
Crealy’s harassment tactics span from nighttime invasions into Mortensen’s room to publicly humiliating him. One of his most disconcerting techniques involves his penchant for song and dance. He joyfully performs the Cockney pub song “Knees Up Mother Brown,” flaunting his mobility and power in Mortensen’s face. Despite Mortensen’s efforts to report the mistreatment, the caregivers brush aside his claims, incapable of believing that such a jovial elderly man could exhibit cruelty.
This interplay recalls *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?*, with Crealy personifying a warped rendition of Bette Davis’s Baby Jane Hudson, while Mortensen, akin to Joan Crawford’s Blanche, is immobilized in a wheelchair, striving to defend himself. Yet, unlike Blanche, Mortensen is determined not to yield, paving the way for a gripping confrontation.
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### *The Rule of Jenny Pen* Addresses the Fear of Aging
While Jenny Pen, the puppet, is undoubtedly eerie, the actual horror of *The Rule of Jenny Pen* resides in its depiction of the humiliations associated with aging. The film sharply contrasts Mortensen’s previous life of privilege and authority with his current state of powerlessness. One stroke robs him of his independence, and even more distressingly, society begins to overlook him—not just due to his disability, but also because of his advanced age.
Like the neglected women in psycho-biddy films, Mortensen’s cries for help fall on deaf ears. His caregivers, despite their good intentions, emphasize routine over genuinely listening to him. Desperate to preserve his dignity, he retaliates against Crealy, but Ashcroft ensures that there are no straightforward triumphs. Much like *Coming Home in the Dark*, this tale unfolds without a cheerful resolution—because there