From the coffin. Jennifer’s Shadow is also known by another name. And after watching it, it is clear that it suits him better, because it is more closely connected with the semantic foundations - The Crow Chronicle. The film is little-known, low-budget, and not in all aspects of its structure it is successful. It is difficult to call it mandatory to view, since the creators clearly did not accelerate “to the full”, but fans of such a movie, where mood, atmosphere and flair dominate the visual horrors with blood, it is worth seeing.
Jennifer visits her rich grandmother for her sister Joanna's funeral. She died of the same strange illness that killed her mother and father, and is now tormenting her bedridden aunt. Here the film introduces the environment in which the plot will develop. Jennifer is not heartbroken and is most interested in selling the house her deceased sister signed in her name. Very soon, the unfriendly relationship between grandmother and granddaughter becomes clear. It turns out that the old woman is also not very kind, and the word “granddaughter” for her is only a fact from the documents. While the family situation clears up, the mysticism is clearly lacking, and it even seems that the film is completely useless. Especially stresses the sweet soundtrack: at first, the pretentious-sad music clearly does not get along well with the selfish-neutral feelings of the main characters. But a little time passes and the shortcomings are compensated. Here it is very important to have patience, and do not rush to conclusions.
The conflict of the main characters is kept at a quite realistic level of performance, and it is not stretched to a dimensionless scale, so do not worry – the film will not be fixated on the “baby showdown”. Soon, a frightening force intervenes that plagues Jennifer at night. Nightmares go through the film, and the 18+ rating is not for the tick. There are some pretty creepy scenes for the eyes. But at the same time, the film does not become too nasty and fake. Usually in low-budget pictures, and even such unfamous ones, "booty" and all sorts of "stuffed" catch the eye. But there is no such thing, and this is a big plus for the creators who managed to competently use limited budget resources, and make scary scenes realistic. But blood is only a tool, but the atmosphere really rules the ball. When events take place in large mansions, horror movies often turn out to be beautiful and engaging, and that’s the case. Gloomy, graceful, interesting. However, there is still a strong effect of surprise, and several times you can get scared to a cold sweat. And again, without any visual wonders or special effects. The point here is in the good work of the operator, in the musical accompaniment, enveloping the terrible cold, and in the sense of proportion. Scary scenes form a chain, go evenly one after another, albeit at decent intervals, and do not exhale until the very end. Finally, a special praise for acting.
At first, Gina Phillips is a cool-minded girl, and therefore does not cause sympathy. But when the whole mess begins, and when family issues have already become clear, then there is nothing to blame for it, and even later there is genuine sympathy. And when you empathize with someone without unnecessary pleas for mercy, and from understanding what trouble a person is in, this is only a plus. The actress famously got used to this role, and it concerns both life, human issues and horror. There are scenes where the heroine is in such danger, and is so closely aware of the horror of the situation that it is impossible to watch without attention. It’s great that mysticism and mundaneity coexist without absurdity, and the creators clearly have a clear understanding of their idea, even if they don’t always demonstrate it. There is also medical intervention, where I want to note one important point. Jennifer twice goes to the same hospital, the same doctor, although the trouble happened to her in completely different places. You might think that there was simply no money for extra actors and other sets, but even if it was, the authors managed to use it and create a sense of growing danger.
The film did not start promisingly, even dull. It seemed empty and far-fetched, and moving on, revealed its not empty essence, and managed to scare well without solid external tricks. An interesting and impressive creation where there is nothing phenomenal and not all solutions work 100%, but where there is a dense foundation and the ability to reveal it. I also want to note that the film does not last much, but after it there is a feeling that you were told something rich. Nice to meet you.
7 out of 10