Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

The Worst Film Ever

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Released in 1971, "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" chronicles events after the title character (Zohra Lampert) gets out of a mental institution and moves into an old house on coastal Connecticut with her husband (Barton Heyman) and a friend (Kevin O'Connor). There they discover a hippie-like squatter named Emily (Mariclare Costello) whom they eventually invite to stay because they all get along. Jessica starts to hear voices as they catch wind of rumors of a drowning victim from 90 years earlier who's now a ghost or maybe even a vampire. Are the increasingly crazy happenings real or all in Jessica's mind? This is a realistic mystery/horror movie in the mold of 1967's "The Shuttered Room" and 1962's "Carnival of Souls." I mean 'realistic' in the sense that the tone is believable. It's a low-key, haunting slow-burner, so if you want over-the-top, cartoony horror, look elsewhere.Zohra Lampert is effective as the mentally unstable protagonist. The way the movie constantly looks into her thought-life and the uncertainties thereof is reminiscent of 1968's "Rachel, Rachel." The theme is the hypnotic power of a woman, in this case a potentially evil woman. Reflect on Jessica's situation at the end. If she dares to speak out, who would believe her story? The drowning victim from the 19th century was named Abigail. I bet this was where King Diamond got the name for his notable 1987 horror-metal concept album.The movie runs 98 minutes and was in Connecticut, USA (Essex, Chester, East Haddam & Old Saybrook).GRADE: B

My GF and I just finished watching LSJTD and we absolutely loved it. I was so surprised when I came on here and saw all the negativity toward the film and it's low rating. I've read through a lot of the comments about why some people don't like it and write such inane statements as "it's the worst movie I've ever seen". I'm not here to argue with anyone but here's what I think about it.First off Zorah Lampert. Wow. What a mesmerizing performance. Such fragility and grace is something you would not expect to see in a movie with this title. Even in between the scenes where she's battling her demons and suppressing her fears she exudes some almost childlike characteristics of happiness and inquisitiveness. So innocent yet such a victim of her mind and circumstance. I really felt for Jessica in this movie. I wanted to protect her. I wanted her to be okay and watching her unravel for me was the scariest part of this movie. Zorah Lampert was made for this role. Stunning. This movie should be seen just for her performance alone. I can't praise it enough.It moves along at a slower pace, yes that true, but it's completely necessary. This movie is not about jump scares. It isn't about throwing scare after scare at you. It's about building tension and creating a creepy atmosphere. So everyone saying they were waiting for something to "happen" were looking at it from the wrong angle. I think plenty happened. I wouldn't even really call it a horror. More so a supernatural/psychological thriller and as someone who loved the movie the pace was just right.I also liked that fact that it's open to interpretation. Was it all in her head? Was she hallucinating? Because it does get far fetched toward the end but I think it still fits perfectly with her spiraling out of control and where her mind must have been at. One reviewer thinks she may have hallucinated the whole thing and may have been sitting on the boat the whole time. So many ways to look at it and I love films like that.That's all I really got to say about. An excellent creepy old classic with a flawless lead performance. A forgotten gem if there ever was one.

Nightmares can be really strange sometimes because for mere moments despite how unreal everything we see is we actually believe it's real and that we are in mortal danger. It's probably the main reason why we're so afraid of them because of the possibility that is embedded in our head, the very looming threat that it could happen even though it hasn't.This is another under the radar horror gem that is another pleasant surprise for me. It's no doubt a weird horror movie because it's one of those psychological horror's which really challenge your perceptions. John Handcock, I feel with this film really shows he a capable horror movie director, it's a shame he didn't do a bit more in the genre but oh well. It's almost kinda funny and almost ironic since long after this film he did the memorable Christmas film "Prancer" (which was a film I really liked) much as horror director Bob Clark did "A Christmas Story".But anyway I do like the story which is simple and that's part of what makes it work, keeping simple and uncomplicated. It almost reminds me of any of the stories in the "Silent Hill" video game series like in that series it's always about strange things happening in a isolated location and one individual is trapped in it. It's true some would say there isn't much cohesion in places of the film, but I think that was intentional to enhance the mystery of the story, where how much you don't know is a lot more scarier that what you do.The film was done on a low budget but I felt it was used well and right, once again showing how it's possible great quality really can bloom from such a small budget. There are no special effects, due to the story it didn't really need them. I really liked the use of the location, from the weather conditions there to the country locale, it really looked and felt like someplace cut away from everyone and everything which made it all the more creepy, but most of all really had a look of a dream like atmosphere. The cinematography I thought was great this film has some really memorable images and scenes that made you feel like you were at time in some sort of nightmare. The music was great and I feel one of the most underrated scores in horror, it really helped create an eerie unsafe atmoshere.I do like the character Jessica (Zobra Lampert), her character is sympathetic because she's just got out of a psychiatric institute and is just trying to get her life back together again, which makes her slightly fragile psychologically. She's got some strange interests like a hobbie of tracing old tombstones which is I'll admit bizarre but hey everyones got their thing. As well as her fascination with the supernatural and old things from times long gone. But also there is that possibility that she may have psychic powers which is hinted at a little from her past brought up, but probably doesn't know it since she doesn't exhibit a sense of control or understanding of them.The character Emily(Mariclare Costello)is also interesting because she's a constant enigma. She seems like just an ordinary person from her interactions with the characters, but then there are moments when she exhibits some unusual behavior, which shows she's not whom she seems. Let alone in one scene we see a picture of a family from the 1800's and there's a woman that looks a lot like her. It's possible she could just be a descendant whom most of the time look like there counterparts, but she claimed she was a complete stranger that just came to the house and had no knowledge; thing is coincidences like that don't exist so something more has to be going on with her.The suspense is very good, it's true that it's kinda a slow burn but you get use to it, as the film gets further the pace does pick up. I really like how we see as Jessica is investigating we see her perception of reality being constantly challenged just as ours is. Things happen but then they don't and then they do. Some parts of the film I can believe are really happening, while others I think are things that are in her mind or she is somehow being psychically attacked I don't know.Some of the things you see are really strange like marks on some of the residents and her husband, some girl that is constantly appearing and warning Jessica that I feel is probably Jessica unknowingly contacting her, and of course that boat scene which is my favorite and I feel the most suspenseful scene where Jess is defending herself against someone that is trying to tip the boat.This film is also one of those rare ones that really makes you draw some of your own conclusions in the end to what you've seen. Which is the main reason I really like the film is it's still a mystery in the end.Sometimes the line between reality and nightmares can be non existent and there's no where to hide.Rating: 3 and a half stars

The lurid title could easily side-track you from what is essentially an extremely frightening exploration of a woman's descent into madness. You can read it, of course, in a material sense as the title suggests; but everything in this film has the potential to signify something else entirely, and its this ambiguity that makes this film so macabre and interesting. Everything, from the killing of the 'mole' to the conclusion where Jessica is trapped in the middle of a lake on a barely floating boat, could be signifying or at least implying something else. Classic metaphors for the human consciousness are bodies of water; being trapped in one or drowning metaphors for madness. The films ambivalent set of monsters, from a strange set of undead elderly villagers to sexually promiscuous vampires, threaten Jessica and her sanity. The fact that there is no ultimate explanation for the strange set of phenomena that take place is also demonstrative of the horrific and inexplicable quality of psychotic behaviour for those suffering from schizophrenia (for those of us that have had the misfortune to experience it) or the side-effects of drugs. This film is really worth seeing