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Some people fear ending up stuck in a terrible nursing home—a place with bad food, unpleasant nurses, and annoying neighbors. But the nursing home in the New Zealand thriller The Rule of Jenny Pen is so much more horrifying than any home you’ve ever visited.
The Rule of Jenny Pen moves into the Royal Pine Mews nursing home with former judge Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush) after suffering a stroke. Surrounded by residents who are often either infirm or mentally fading, he works to get the use of his arms and legs back, so he can move back home. In the meantime, though, he finds himself targeted by Dave Crealy (John Lithgow), a psychopath who uses a puppet named Jenny Pen to terrorize his fellow residents at night—and the judge becomes determined to find a way to stop him.
For Stefan, being forced to move into the home was bad enough. Once a strong, intelligent, powerful man, he finds himself unable to do basic tasks like picking up a drinking glass. And, to make matters worse, he’s surrounded by the personification of his greatest fears: people who have lost control of their bodies and their minds. But that’s just the beginning of the horrors for the home’s newest resident.
Each night, Dave and his incredibly creepy companion visit the rooms of the others, wreaking havoc wherever they go. At first, it seems as though Dave is just a little…unhinged—a crazy person who plays pranks on the others. But as he and Jenny pay more and more visits to the residents, the more sinister those visits become—and the tension builds to breathtaking levels.
Since it was based on a short story, the story here does feel a little thin. There are definitely aspects of the story that could have been explored in more depth—especially as it relates to Dave Crealy, this strange, demented resident who was once a part of the home’s staff. But while some of these unanswered questions may be somewhat frustrating, this eerie tale still makes for a thriller that’s dark and twisted and strangely sinister.
There’s something so bizarre about this story about a nursing home resident and his creepy baby-doll puppet—but that’s exactly the point. With its off-putting setting, its remarkable cast, and its taut tension, The Rule of Jenny Penn is a disturbing thriller that will haunt you long after it’s over.
You can join Dave and Jenny in their reign of terror when The Rule of Jenny Pen arrives in theaters on March 7, 2025.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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