"The Rule of Jenny Pen" Trailer: John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush Face Off in a Terrifying Retirement Home Nightmare
A creepy baby hand puppet, a sinister mind game, and an unsettling performance from John Lithgow—this psychological horror has been praised by Stephen King.
Have you ever asked yourself—what scares horror maestro Stephen King? What kind of thriller would it take for the legendary horror novelist to offer his stamp of approval, calling it one of the best movies he’s seen in years?
Well, apparently, it’s a film set in a seemingly innocuous retirement home, where a disheveled John Lithgow prances around with a creepy-looking baby hand puppet named Jenny Pen, terrorizing his fellow retirees. Just thinking about it gives us the willies—now imagine watching it unfold in this new trailer for the upcoming psychological horror thriller, where the only thing scarier than the plot is the thought of John Lithgow creeping into our room with that damn puppet. Yikes! Better lock those doors!
At 79, Lithgow still finds ways to surprise us with his acting. In the new horror thriller The Rule of Jenny Pen, where he shares the screen with Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush, Lithgow proves that all he needs is a simple hand puppet to be just as menacing and terrifying as a slasher with a chainsaw. Though, to be fair, a translucent baby head that at times glows red and changes expressions in a blink of an eye? Well, yeah, that’s the stuff of horrifying nightmares.
Based on a short story by New Zealand novelist Owen Marshall, The Rule of Jenny Pen is set in a retirement center for the elderly. Geoffrey Rush stars as Stefan Mortensen, a former judge and stroke victim who has recently moved into the senior care facility. Still adjusting to his new reality and struggling with his limited mobility, Stefan soon finds himself in the crosshairs of the home's resident oddball—Dave Crealy, played by Lithgow.
Now, Crealy is a strange one—both darkly charming and undeniably menacing. He’s appointed himself judge and jury, convinced that Stefan has something to atone for. And now, the former judge is facing a ruling he doesn’t much care for or accept. It seems Crealy won’t stop until Stefan repents—no matter how much torment —and sleepless nights— it takes.
We should note: The Rule of Jenny Pen marks something of a return for Geoffrey Rush, who hasn’t starred in a feature film since 2019’s Australian drama Storm Boy. Rush has spent much of his time the last couple of years embroiled in legal battles following public allegations of inappropriate on-set behavior during a 2015 theater production of King Lear. While denying the accusations—which included additional claims of sexual misconduct—Rush ultimately won a defamation lawsuit against Sydney’s Daily Telegraph for misrepresenting him in their coverage of the allegations. It seems Rush is now returning to film acting with this horror thriller and with a Groucho Marx biopic in the works.
New Zealand filmmaker James Ashcroft, who made his feature debut with the 2021 gritty Kiwi thriller Coming Home in the Dark, directed The Rule of Jenny Pen. Both films were based on stories by novelist Owen Marshall and adapted by Ashcroft with his writing partner, Eli Kent.
For his efforts on Jenny Pen, Ashcroft earned a Best Director Award at Austin's Fantastic Fest last year, while Lithgow and Rush shared the Best Actor Award last year at Spain's Sitges Film Festival.
Acquired by IFC Films, The Rule of Jenny Pen will be opening in U.S. theaters on March 7th, followed by an exclusive streaming release on Shudder later in the year.
Here's the official synopsis:
Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey 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 (John 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.
