It’s a sad day in the horror genre when, again, I not only find fault with, and an absence of true horror or terror in a Blumhouse Productions film (as I did with “Oculus”; although to Jason Blum’s credit, he came in as producer/distributor after the fact, something I hope is also the case with JESSABELLE), but must also note that ABC television’s “Castle” did a better job with a voodoo themed episode than is done in JESSABELLE. (I feel the pins being stuck into a voodoo doll of me by some of you now.) On the plus side, however, cinematography is slick and effective while Mark Webber delivers one of the strongest performances we’ve seen from him in awhile.
Jessie is sweet as apple pie. On top of the world, she’s pregnant, in love, and she and her boyfriend are embarking on a new life together. But within the first seven minutes of JESSABELLE, that world comes crashing down as joy is replaced with tragedy. An automobile accident kills her boyfriend, costs Jessie her unborn child, and puts her in a wheelchair with two broken legs with months of therapy ahead of her. With no money, unable to work or care for herself due to her injuries, even more devastating is that on release from the hospital two months later, still wheelchair bound Jessie is forced to ask for help from her father from whom she’s been estranged.
From the moment Leon picks Jessie up from the hospital, the tension between them is beyond palpable. On arriving at the family home, it only worsens as Leon uncovers a room that has been locked and obstructed from view for decades, that of his late wife Kate, Jessie’s mother, who died from cancer shortly after Jessie’s birth, and puts Jessie in there to sleep. One look is all it takes to see that this was once a stately home, a crown jewel in the bayou, but since Kate’s death it appears Leon has let the house decay, much like the cancer that ate the life from her, taking her from a loving husband and newborn child. We learn that Leon never raised Jessie. After Kate’s death, Jessie was sent to live with an aunt. One look around the house and it seems obvious why. Littered with plates of old food, cigarette butts and empty liquor bottles, Leon has had a hard life. Is it from grief or something else?
Rage takes hold of Leon when Jessie finds old VHS tapes her mother made for her. Jessie is rapt with attention as she watches the videos. These are the only connection she has to a mother she never knew and for whatever reason, her father doesn’t want her to see them. Why? Clearly into the supernatural spirit world and voodoo, Kate does a number of different tarot card readings for her unborn daughter, all recorded on tape, seeing a horrific death for her and a now malevolent presence in the house which wants Jessie gone.
Uninspired tropes and trappings begin with ghostly visions of a dead girl covered in black swamp water lurking behind a chiffon bed curtain, imagined attempted drowning of Jessie in the bathtub, nightmares, flickering lights, breaking mirrors, all begin to take hold – and only in Jessie’s presence.
As more disaster strikes Jessie’s world, she reconnects with an old high school friend, Preston. Seems that Preston still carries a torch for Jessie and given a somewhat shrewish wife at home, is happy to offer his services as a knight in shining armor to Jessie. Determined to help discover what’s at the root of Jessie’s nightmares and fears, together they dig deeper into the bayou, leading them to violent encounters with the local Creole population while the fringes of stereotypical voodoo portrayals are bandied about with nighttime dance rituals by firelight, chanting, headless chickens, bones hanging from trees and shrines to a baby named “Jessabelle”. But even more disturbing is the discovery of one last VHS tape hidden inside a wall; a tape that will shake the foundation of Jessie’s world to its very core, not to mention answering unanswered questions with twists that shock.
Australian Sarah Snook does an admirable job as Jessie. Although there’s nothing remarkable about the performance, it is nevertheless solid and convincing, with Snook more than proving her mettle as a new voice among the scream queens of today. Where we see a little bit of an extension of emotion is with the underlying storyline between Jessie and Preston and Snook’s chemistry with Mark Webber. As Preston, Webber is strong in conviction, bringing high levels of care and concern within Preston for Jessie that resonate well. Together Webber and Snook take a momentary respite from the uneven genre tropes with engaging dialogue and emotion about fate, the roads taken and not, while skirting their attraction to each other.
Particularly effective is David Andrews as Leon. Bringing a believable gruffness and anger to the role, Andrews walks a tightrope of secrecy that tacitly fuels the storyline in terms of the relationship between Leon and Jessie and Leon and Kate. Character actor Chris Ellis is a welcome site as Sheriff Pruitt and even adds a touch of comic relief as Pruitt gives the raised eyebrows to claims of “friends only” between Preston and Jessie.
Directed by Kevin Greutert from script by Robert Ben Garant, the construct of JESSABELLE flounders with uncertainty of direction as it touches on socio-economic depression, demons, vengeance, race and culture but never fleshes anything out. Everything feels like an after-thought as opposed to being cohesively constructed and interlaced. Although known best for the comic horror he brought to “Hell Baby” or the laugh out antics of “Reno, 911!” as well as the “Night at the Museum” franchise, Garant jumps head first into scripting “straight” horror film, giving us the gothic feel of the bayou, but falling short on the Haitian voodoo aspect with its practices and rituals, failing to expand or expound.
Quite honestly, I expected more from director Greutert as well, given his exemplary work in the “Saw” franchise as both a director and editor. JESSABELLE completely misses the mark for chills and thrills, especially when compared to his prior works. Where Greutert does excel, however, is with his pacing, allowing suspense to incrementally mount. Unfortunately, the “payoffs” fall short in terms of true horror and terrifying visions and experiences and fall prey to genre tropes.
Cinematographer Michael Fimognari creates a beautiful visual tonal bandwidth playing with light and color, balancing sun-drenched exteriors in a Spanish moss covered bayou against inky blackness and midnight blue saturation of interiors punctuated with sickly greenish-yellow. Fimognari truly captures the yin and yang of the story with his lens. Some nice overhead and dutching work also bodes well for Jessie’s wheelchair-bound point of view, adding a layer of intrigue.
Kudos go to Greg Hedgepath for his sound design which does more for anticipatory suspense than any other aspect of the film. Anton Sanko’s scoring also plays well and is used to its fullest effect within Hedgepath’s design.
Although designed with franchise possibilities and an open ended conclusion, JESSABELLE may find herself sinking to the bottom of the box office bayou.
Directed by Kevin Greutert
Written by Robert Ben Garant
Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, David Andrews, Chris Ellis
