Movie Review: 'The Rule of Jenny Pen' Teams Acting Legends

The Rule of Jenny Pen

Directed by James Ashcroft

Written by Eli Kent, James Ashcroft

Starring Geoffrey Rush, John Lithgow

Release Date March 7th, 2025

Published March 6th, 2025

The Rule of Jenny Pen stars Geoffrey Rush as Stefan Mortenson, a judge who suffers a stroke in the midst of the sentencing for a murder trial. Waking up in a nursing home, Judge Mortenson finds his mind and body assaulted on all sides but is what happening real or only in his mind? Leading the assault is Dave Crealy (John Lithgow), a bully who has lived in this nursing home since childhood. Crealy wears a puppet on his arm named Jenny Pen that he uses as part of his torture.

Throughout the run time of this remarkably unique horror movie, the scares come as much from Lithgow’s unhinged performance as from the ravages of age. If you have a deep seated fear of infirmity and the loss of faculties due to age, The Rule of Jenny Pen will be leaning on that particular nerve throughout the entire film. The nursing home setting is not a new one for a horror movie but co-writer and director James Ashcroft uses the setting remarkably well in crafting scenes of creeping terror.

The cinematography is a big part of the scares of The Rule of Jenny Pen. Take for instance a scene where Lithgow menaces Rush and several fellow patients while dancing and prancing to the ol English ditty, Knees Up Mother Brown. As Lithgow bounds between victims of his mockery, the camera moves to a low perspective, panning to follow Lithgow while staying far enough away to give his movement a menacing and surreal feeling. It’s a relatively simple low angle camera move but the effect is chilling.

John Lithgow dancing about like a manic imp is a recurring motif in The Rule of Jenny Pen. There is the Knees Up Mother Brown sequence that I just mentioned and one prior that is set to the late sixties tune If I Only Had Time by John Rowles. This sequence has Lithgow dancing with his Jenny puppet amid couples trying to have some fun. As Lithgow dances he's making certain to step on toes and stumble so that Jenny smacks into nearby revelers. Meanwhile, the lyrics, specifically the title, If I Only Had Time, makes a mockery of Lithgow’s victims, especially Rush’s Judge, pointing out how time has passed them by.

Those audience members who are sensitive to mouth noise might want to avoid The Rule of Jenny Pen. Slurping, chewing, and licking sounds are prominent in the sound design. These noises underline the aging process, reminding us that everything, including something as essential as eating, gets more difficult with age and infirmity. I happen to be among those with a sensitivity for mouth noises, I can’t stand when people chew with their mouths open, and my skin crawled many times while watching The Rule of Jenny Pen. That said, it probably added to the film’s horror appeal, as much as I was grossed out.

The Rule of Jenny Pen is a well directed and exceptionally acted horror thriller. Veterans Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow are formidable foes and their attempts to one up each other in Lithgow tormenting Rush and Rush standing up for himself, despite his growing age and disease related decrepitude, keep the film building tension at a strong boil all the way to the final moments of the movie. Watching old pros in a battle of wits in a modern horror setting is a whole lot of fun and provides the best reason to see The Rule of Jenny Pen.

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