IFC Films and Shudder are behind the upcoming pic “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” a psychological thriller that pits Academy Award Winner Geoffrey Rush (“The King’s Speech“) and Academy Award Nominee John Lithgow (“Conclave“) in a seniors’ retirement home setting with that feature film hitting theaters on March 7.
A trailer for the new release directed by James Ashcroft (“Coming Home In The Dark“) has dropped thanks to IFC and gives audiences insight into what to expect from this unique take on the thriller genre by focusing on older characters than we’d normally see inhabiting this kind of movie.
Most folks should be aware that good-guy actor Lithgow has made a name for himself in the thriller genre after career landmark performances in Brian De Palma‘s “Blow Out” and “Raising Cain” alongside the small screen playing a tricky serial killer in the original run of “Dexter.” More recently His latest feature film allows him to strike a darker tone as “The Rule of Jenny Pen” follows an arrogant judge (Rush), confined to a retirement home after a near-fatal stroke, who clashes with a sinister fellow resident (Lithgow) secretly terrorizing the home. When pleas to the staff go unanswered, Mortensen is forced to take it upon himself to stop the increasingly disturbing reign of terror unleashed by his deranged roommate, Crealy.
Ashcroft, the film’s director, also co-wrote the screenplay with Eli Kent. The filmmaker from New Zealand is currently busy with a bunch of upcoming projects such as Max Brooks’ “Devolution,” Grady Hendrix’s “How To Sell A Haunted House” at Legendary and Ghost House Pictures, “The Whisper Man” for The Russo Brothers’ AGBO Productions and Netflix. Lastly, Ashcroft is said to be working on an adaptation of the graphic novel “Old Haunts” for AWA Studio.
Below is the official synopsis for “The Rule of Jenny Pen”:
Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen (Rush) suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. Resistant to the staff and distant from his friendly roommate, Mortensen soon clashes with seemingly gentle resident Dave Crealy (Lithgow) who secretly terrorizes the home with a sadistic game called ‘The Rule of Jenny Pen’ while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. What begins as childish torment quickly escalates into far more sinister and disturbing incidents. When Mortensen’s pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy’s reign of terror.
Catherine Fitzgerald and Orlando Stewart are part of the producing team on “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” which also includes Ashcroft, Kent, Rush, Emily Gotto, Nicholas Lazo, and Samuel Zimmerman. To reiterate the film’s theatrical release kicks off on March 7.
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