Verdict
Summary
I had very little expectations going in, but I was surprised by how strong it is, with incredibly unsettling shocks and a creep factor that is rare in movies these days. It gets crazier closer to the ending, but there are definite signs along the way that clue you in to the fact that this movie isn’t messing around.
Plot:
Two grieving Satanist grandparents kidnap a pregnant woman with the intention to perform a ritual that would bring their grandson back in the form of the woman’s baby.
Review:
Henry (Julian Richings) and Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) are a quaint elderly couple who discreetly kidnap a pregnant young woman named Becker (Kostantina Mantelos). The room they have prepared for her is soundproofed, and it is immediately clear that the seemingly inoffensive couple have planned this for quite some time. Henry is an obstetrician, and he has targeted Becker on purpose: She has no immediate kin, and she has expressed dismay at the pregnancy, but is fully willing to go through with the birth, despite having no support from any source. Henry and Audrey see the young woman and her unborn child as a way to bring back their grandson Jackson, who died in a car accident a few years back, an accident that rendered their own daughter an invalid, which led to her suicide. Both Henry and Audrey have completely committed themselves to the worship of Satan and have found an extremely rare tome that might very well be the oldest book in the world, and within the text they find forbidden spells and words that when uttered can unleash a portal to hell, but they mistake the words as a way to bring the dead back to life. When they begin the ritual, they do indeed unleash a masterful demon and a legion of evil spirits, but they fumble about with the readings, resulting in a potentially catastrophic series of events that has their house teeming full of malevolent spirits. A detective comes snooping around (Henry’s story about seeing / knowing Becker gets sketchy), and a fellow Satanist (played by Josh Cruddas in the film’s best performance) recognizes what Henry and Audrey are up to and sees an opportunity, but what the grieving elderly couple have done is dabble in matters way beyond their control.
For such a little movie, Anything For Jackson is like a small bubbling cauldron, fit to explode. I had very little expectations going in, but I was surprised by how strong it is, with incredibly unsettling shocks and a creep factor that is rare in movies these days. It gets crazier closer to the ending, but there are definite signs along the way that clue you in to the fact that this movie isn’t messing around. Director Justin G. Dyck has made a career out of making cheap Christmas movies for Hallmark and Lifetime, and this is his first foray into horror, and it’s a doozy. Nowhere did he ever indicate he was capable of something this strong and potent, and so he’s already established himself as a horror voice to pay attention to with his first effort.
Anything For Jackson has just been released onto Blu-ray and DVD from RLJE Films, and it’s also streaming on Shudder.
