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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Travis Stevens’s horror film Jakob’s Wife premiered at the South by Southwest film festival last month. Since then, it’s been a hit success. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see it firsthand. Although, I did get to see it before its theatrical, digital, and on-demand release. Hold onto your wooden stakes as I will take a stab at this film in this review article with some spoilers.
Plot Summary
The synopsis of Stevens’s film is as follows:
Anne is married to a small-town minister and feels like her life and marriage have been shrinking over the past 30 years. After a chance encounter with “The Master,” she discovers a new sense of power and an apetite to live bigger and bolder than before. As Anne is increasingly torn between between her enticing new existence and her life before, the body count grows and Jakob realizes he will have to fight for the wife he took for granted.
Discussion
Jakob’s Wife has a lot to unpack, but I intend to get to the main points. Indeed, Jakob Fedder (Larry Fessenden)’s wife is Anne (Barbara Crampton), as the film confirms. However, some of its themes hold heavy human ties to quaint and old-fashioned Biblical ideals. From the rat foregrounded in front of the town church in the first frame to the Proverbs 31: 30 scripture.
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Marriage
Writers Stevens, Mark Steensland, and Kathy Charles do not waste time and instead jump right into the subject at hand. Jakob puts God in front of him and lectures to the townsfolk, but he doesn’t practice what he preaches. Anne has nothing to do with her life except exercise to workout recordings, garden in the backyard, and cook breakfast in the kitchen. All is missing in their lives until the titular female protagonist is confronted with a test of temptations. When she meets an old male friend for drinks, Anne begins to reminisce about the choices she’s made since marrying Jakob.
We make plans for things, and then life happens.
Life comes at you fast, and it makes you wonder if any of the paths traversed was worth it. Are you really happy with how you got here? Jakob and Anne apparently do not have children in this film, and the lack of any could be another test of their happiness. (Today, it’s been debated as to whether bringing children into the world is a source of happiness.)
Temptations
This isn’t your typical Christian movie. Anne is met with a myriad of temptations pertaining to Lust, from adultery/fornication to her thirst for blood. At one point, she is compelled to masturbate by the upstairs window while staring at a figure in the distance. The writers think of many sins that are frowned upon — such as the smoking of marijuana — and include them in the story. In the end, everything seems to be resolved, or so we — the audience — would think.
“The Master,” played by Bonnie Aarons, does a perfect job at personifying this feeling of temptation. He calls upon characters by speaking their names as if an alluring invitation, and he gives them reason to do what they please. Jakob serves as a great polar opposite to Aarons’s vampire character, with Anne caught oscillating in between. He has several great lines worth quoting, but one of my favorites fits the theme of temptation.
We are left with faith in the promise that God will take every situation and turn it to his purpose.
Feasible Cinematic Elements
In my opinion, Jakob’s Wife doesn’t get too melodramatic in its romantic aspects and balances this well with the horror ends. The kills aren’t so bad, but the ones I was fond of most are those that took place in the gin mill. It only gets creepier with Tara Busch’s musical scoring and Neil Benezra’s sound design. Additionally, the film does a good job at adding in a splash of comedy in scenes where it’s deemed necessary. I very much liked Anne’s scene with her dentist, Dr. Ganja Meda (Monica L. Henry) — passing the Bechdel Test — as well as the Fedders’ dialogue with a child (Armani Desirae Carey).
Crampton and Fessenden perform fantastically whether they share a scene or not. The former stands out the most, especially with the major development that transpires in her character. I would be remiss if I didn’t laud both in the roles they were given.
David Matthews’s cinematography, Yvonne Reddy’s costume design, and Oddtopsy FX (Marcus Koch) and Jessie Seitz’s special makeup effects only make the film all the more hypnotizing. One example of this is Crampton’s Anne Fedder pushing her cart through the grocery aisle between the drinks shelves and the frozen foods. I took this as the line walked between thirst and the coldness of her vampiric heart, and she takes as she pleases. Who knows? There is a lot of appealing imagery and well-framed shots seen in this film!
Final Thoughts
Overall, for a film that is nearly 100-minutes long, I believe this horror flick deserves all the praise it’s gotten. Human blood is thicker than the holy water used on Amelia Humphries (Nyisha Bell), but no doubt they both hold a power of their own.
Are you excited to see this film? If you’ve seen it already, what are your thoughts? Let us know! For more film and horror-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) and Instagram (@thecinemaspot_). Also, you can now find us on Facebook (TheCinemaSpotFB)!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
