Parents' Guide to The Rule of Jenny Pen

It feels slightly underdeveloped and can border on cruel, but this fiendishly directed horror movie is also a masterclass in acting by its two leads, both seasoned pros who are ready for anything. Based on a short story by Owen Marshall and directed and co-written by James Ashcroft—both New Zealanders—The Rule of Jenny Pen is awash with unsettling angles, compositions, and nerve-jangling noises, all designed to make viewers feel off-kilter and unsafe. The judge recites Hemingway and Dylan Thomas but also suffers twitchy, nightmarish blackouts from time to time. Crealy laughs like a hyena at nature programs, dances wildly to novelty records, steals the pureed orange-colored soup at lunchtime, and generally acts in an intimidating manner.

Both actors give their all, but the downside is that there aren't many layers to their characters. We're not really sure why we should be rooting for one over the other. And the movie occasionally veers into unsettlingly dark territory, which clashes somewhat with its otherwise gleefully sinister tone. A character randomly catches on fire (after spilling liquor and trying to light a cigarette), Crealy forcibly tries to undress a woman while her husband screams, and there are other scenes of abuse and neglect. Yet there's little question that The Rule of Jenny Pen is a well-made movie—and it is, for the most part, wickedly entertaining.