One of the big features released in the SXSW film festival Midnighter selections was Travis Steven’s sophomore feature effort, Jakob’s Wife, starring Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden. It was a wonderful character study of a middle-aged woman finding the most unusual (and bloody) way to break out of a mid-life crisis. The Scariest Things got a chance to break down this remarkable film with Travis.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
Jakob’s Wife is an essay on a mid-life menopausal crisis, by way of vampirism. Jakob’s Wife delivers great character arcs and engaging acting. Barbara Crampton has been given a meaty role, and she delivers perhaps her best screen performance in memory. Larry Fessenden also is stellar as the well intentioned minister Jakob.
★★★★1/2 Out of ★★★★★
Depraved is a modern retelling of Frankenstein and manages to preserve all the empathy of the source material while making a more sophisticated and nuanced take on the classic tale.
★★ out of ★★★★★
It was bound to be a curiosity. A famous auteur art-house director, gifted with an all-star cast and a classic zombie tale, what could go wrong? Plenty.
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A sad and bleak little independent coming-of-age story of a would-be little urban vampire, whose pushes back against his miserable life in the New York ghetto in a very strange and sociopathic way.
★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
A sly 80’s slasher homage, where tropes collide: Punks on the Run + The Cabin in the Woods.
