Director: Travis Stevens
Notable Cast: Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Bonnie
Aarons, Nyisha Bell, Sarah Lind, Mark Kelly, CM Punk
In my humble and often questionable opinion, most vampire
films can be placed into two categories: hoity-toity castle artsy vampire
cinema and buried in a dirty grave fun vampire flicks. Not that films can’t be
both to some degree, as is the spectrum of film, but those are the two ends for
me. Judging by the strong casting, the poster artwork, and the title, the
expectations that came with Jakob’s Wife seemed to lean heavily toward
hoity-toity. It would fit with the current state of horror trends and, quite
frankly, I was sold on that idea. However, this film easily leans towards the
latter category, albeit in a smart way. It’s a cinematic mixture of classic
elements and modern twists. Not only are fans loving it, but critics seem to
share the appreciation of the quirks and strengths of the film’s oddities in
its choices. Jakob’s Wife is a stellar example of a team of creatives
taking a tone and embracing both the silliness and the intelligence of its
messages and delivery.
After the release of The Girl on the Third Floor,
Travis Stevens convinced everyone that he could transition from a producer to a
director with relative ease. (Looking back, I guess I did not write a review
for that film, which is a shame - definitely check it out.) His follow up
though showcases a slightly broader sense of commercial sense and it works like
gangbusters here. His ability to balance that combination of old school/modern
and a strangely effective tongue-in-cheek tone to the serious character work
about social roles is damn near pitch perfect. Jakob’s Wife is
shockingly humorous at times and the film keeps its footing as it shifts one
direction to the next.
It helps when the two leads of the film are so impressively cast. At this point, can we just call it a Crampton Renaissance? Since her ‘revival’ started in the wake of You’re Next, she has become a steward of the horror genre - using her presence, status, and talents to embrace the horror culture that has come to embrace her. She serves as both a producer and anchor in Jakob’s Wife and her chemistry with her co-lead, the always reliable Larry Fessenden, is palpable. The entire cast is game to hit the tonal balance that the film requires and it embodies the heartfelt messages about redefining roles in marriage while never losing that ‘oh shit, stupid vampires make life crazy’ plot. It’s smartly written and expertly performed to bring nuance to the surface.
It should also be addressed that as a vampire film, Jakob’s
Wife does something refreshingly old school with its monstrous creatures of
the night. Bringing back a bit of that old school mystery and influences from
Nosferatu, there is a strange mysticism around the “master” and the various
elements. In fact, while trying to not reveal too much, the choice to bring back
the plague inspired indicator of rats and design the vampires to have rat-like
qualities is refreshingly charming in its silliness. For a lower budget film,
the focus on special effects is always a welcome choice, but so much of the
designs and fun that is created in delivering a classic with a slightly
refreshing angle is worth noting.
For horror fans, particularly those who want a purely
entertaining and tonally balanced mixture of old school influences through a
modern lens, Jakob’s Wife cannot be recommended enough. Stevens’ brings
a lot of intelligence to the direction, the cast is in top performance, and the
horror elements are clever in choice. Not only is this a fang-tastic blast to
watch, but it’s also smartly written in a way that has layers to tease.
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