Jessica Forever (Review)

Writers and Directors: Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel
Cast: Aomi Muyock, Sebastian Urzendosky, Augustin Raguenet, Lucas Ionesco, Paul Hamy
Year: 2019
Min: 97

In a not too distant, dystopian future, there are many male orphans that inhabit the Earth. They kill and steal, and, as such, the world, wants them dead, via special forces sent drones. That is with the exception for the titular Jessica (Aomi Muyock), who gathers them and cares for them, as their surrogate mother. As a result, all the boys all love and respect her.

Her most recent addition is a young man named Kevin (Eddy Suiveng), who they take with them at the beginning of our story. He trains with the other boys, to fight, use guns, and wear bullet-proof vests, as they all do. They are a defacto family to each other but hard times soon catch up to them. And, it doesn't take lomg for their attempts at a peaceful existence to begin to be affected by death and tragedy.

Jessica Forever is a French, sci-fi/ drama with a decidedly art-house feel. The result is an uneven, if stunning one. It is not a typical, fucked up future genre movie. This is certainly the flick's strength, but it also feels like it drags, at times. Yet, the film manages to captivate your interest in its best moments.

Writers/ directors Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel give us an absolutely beautiful movie to look at. They love to give us these gorgeous, wide shots throughout the movie that immediately make it standout. It is also filled with a cast of beautiful people that aesthetically complements the beauty of the movie, itself.

The film also has a decidedly slow and languid pace. After an opening that immediately catches your attention, wherein Kevin jumps through a house's glass wall, the movie slows down considerably. In fact, it has a very deliberate pacing. Which some may take as boring, I know I felt that, at times, myself. But, it works in that when something happens, like the movie's first death, it shocks the hell out of you. In fact, anytime something violent happens to one of these kids, it feels like an absolute shock to the movie's system of tranquility or more specifically to us, the viewer.

The flick has a decidedly downer of a climax. That being said, it was at this point that I really got into the movie. Having invested so much of my time with these characters, I really cared what happened to them. Unfortunately, the ending leaves you feeling and thinking, "that's it?!" One gets the idea of what the outcome of our band of misfits is, but it still leaves you feeling empty, rather than fully satisfied. And, perhaps, that was the filmmaker's intention, all along.

The acting is solid from the cast. They all feel believable in their roles and manage to give their characters life. Even though, some of the characters aren't given as much development, others we do get to know. I especially enjpyed seeing their interactions with the other boys in their crew, Jessica, and other people they encounter. Some of these character moments are where the film is at its most interesting.

The movie begins to stream exclusively on Shudder tomorrow, Thursday, February 20, 2020. This obviously isn't a horror movie, but is a genre piece albeit an arty one. And, as one, the exploitative content is non-existent. So, don't expect to find much blood or gore. And, while there is nudity it is tastefully shot and not there for the sole purpose of having ass onscreen. Plus, it shows just how comfortable they are all with each other, as they all shower together.

Jessica Forever is an interesting, yet bumpy watch. On one hand, it is a gorgeous and stunning viewing, and the acting is very strong. But, it is also slow and kind of boring. It sometimes feels like not much of anything is happening. That is until something does happen, and then, our jaws drop. We sometimes don't get character development. And, yet when we do get it, it makes us care for them. Upon finishing it, I wasn't sure that I liked it, but I most definitely knew that I didn't dislike either.. This became even clearer to me, as I thought of the positives and wrote this review. Let's call this one an interesting curiosity item for those who like their genre fare on the more artier side of the fence.

2.5 out of 4

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Shudder: February 2020 U.S. Highlights

Good thing 2020 is a leap year, since you’ll need to find room to stream all the amazing movies, series and podcasts we’re serving up this month: new episodes of supernatural mythic adventure series, THE DEAD LANDS; must-see Shudder original/exclusive movies Rob Zombie’s 3 FROM HELL, Fantastic Fest Best Picture winner DOG’S DON’T WEAR PANTS, and dystopian fantasy JENNIFER FOREVER; our “Love Sick” collection in time for Valentine’s Day; a new podcast, HORROR NOIRE: UNCUT, featuring extended interviews from last year’s acclaimed documentary; and new favorites in the collection from filmmakers including Tom Holland, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Brian Yuzna, Neil Marshall and Larry Fessenden, and so much more. 

  

titles also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK as noted

NEW ORIGINAL SERIES

THE DEAD LANDS — New Episodes Thursdays through March 5

A supernatural adventure set in a mythic Māori past, with an aesthetic that’s part Ash vs Evil Dead and part Xena: Warrior Princess. The Dead Lands features a disgraced warrior, Waka Nuku Rau (Te Kohe Tuhaka), who’s sent back to the world of the living to redeem his sins. But the world Waka returns to is ravaged by a breach between Life and the Afterlife as the spirits of the newly dead now stalk the land and hunt the living. 

Waka encounters a determined young woman, Mehe (Darneen Christian), who becomes both his protégé and moral compass. Together, they navigate tribal politics, the unsettled ghosts of Ancestors and other forces both natural and supernatural, on a quest to discover who "broke the world" and how to repair it—if it’s not too late. Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK. An AMC Networks’ Shudder and TVNZ production. TRAILER: https://youtu.be/NhkxVN4uQX4 

SHUDDER ORIGINAL/EXCLUSIVE MOVIES

BLISS (premieres Thursday, 1/30)

A brilliant painter facing the worst creative block of her life turns to anything she can to complete her masterpiece, spiraling into a hallucinatory hellscape of drugs, sex, and murder in the sleazy underbelly of Los Angeles. A SHUDDER EXCLUSIVE. Starring Dora Madison, Tru Collins, Jeremy Gardner and Rhys Wakefield, directed by Joe Begos. (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK) Trailer: https://youtu.be/OI8fjr4Va7Q 

DOGS DON’T WEAR PANTS (premieres Thursday, 2/6)

Best Picture Winner – Fantastic Fest and Sitges International Film Festivals

Juha develops an unexpected but powerful connection with a dominatrix named Mona, following a tragic event in his life that has left him emotionally paralyzed. Uncovering his dangerous addiction to suffocation, Mona leads them both down wild, violent path towards emotional enlightenment. Dogs Don’t Wear Pants is a darkly humorous story of loss, love and the sweet pain of being. A SHUDDER ORIGINAL Starring Pekka Strang (Tom of Finland) & Krista Kosonen (Blade Runner 2049), directed by J-P Valkeapää. A SHUDDER ORIGINAL (Also available on Shudder Canada)  Trailer: https://youtu.be/2K5sRggO8Qo 

3 FROM HELL (premieres Thursday, 2/13)

After barely surviving a furious shootout with the police, Baby Firefly, Otis Driftwood and Captain Spaulding are behind bars. But pure evil cannot be contained. Teaming up with Otis’ half-brother Wilson, the demented Firefly clan are back to unleash a whole new wave of death and depravity in this long-awaited sequel to Zombie’s cult hits House of 1000 Corpses (2003) and The Devil’s Rejects (2005).  A SHUDDER EXCLUSIVE. Starring Sheri Moon Zombie (Lords of Salem), Bill Moseley (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Sid Haig (Bone Tomahawk), Richard Brake (Mandy), Dee Wallace (The Howling) and Danny Trejo (From Dusk Till Dawn), directed by Rob Zombie. (Also available on Shudder Canada) Trailer: https://youtu.be/ojBYXLSpiS0 

JESSICA FOREVER (premieres Thursday, 2/20)

In a visually arresting and inventive dystopian future where violent misfits reign supreme, one woman and her makeshift family of rehabilitated marauders fight for peace.  A SHUDDER ORIGINAL. Starring Aomi Muyock, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Augustin Raguenet and Lukas Ionesco, directed by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel. (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)  Trailer: https://youtu.be/xBF6CZGIgeo 

SHUDDER ORIGINAL PODCAST

HORROR NOIRE: UNCUT — premieres Friday, February 7

Following last year’s popular Eli Roth’s History of Horror: Uncut podcast, Shudder will once again be offering full conversations from genre icons in podcast form, this time featuring interviews from last year’s acclaimed original documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. The six episode series will feature original Candyman Tony Todd; a conversation between Blacula director William Crain and Tales from the Hood actor Paula Jai Parker; a conversation between the duo of actors Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) and Keith David (The Thing); author and educator Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep); Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present author and educator Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman; and The Craft’s Rachel True. The podcast is hosted by Horror Noire producer/co-writer Ashlee Blackwell

All episodes of Horror Noire: Uncut will be made available on Shudder on Friday, February 7, exclusively for its members. Episode 1, featuring Horror Noire producer/co-writer Ashlee Blackwell’s conversation with Tony Todd, will be made available on the same day to non-members on Apple Podcasts and other platforms, where subsequent episodes will be released twice-weekly on Mondays and Fridays. (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

FEATURED COLLECTION

LOVE SICK — available 2/1

There's a thin line between love and terror. Cross it on Valentine’s Day (or any day) with this lovingly curated selection of movies and series that delight in the darker side of desire. 

Featuring the Shudder Exclusives Dogs Don’t Wear Pants (starting 2/6), Lizzie and Beast, plus My Bloody Valentine (1981), Audition, The Love Witch, Spring, Ganja & Hess, Double Lover, November, Are We Not Cats, Honeymoon, Little Deaths, Kiss of the Damned, Return of the Living Dead III, Night of the Living Debs and the series A Discovery of Witches, along with Prom Night and Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II starting 2/10. (Select titles also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK.)

NEW MOVIES FOR FEBRUARY

February 1

Child’s Play (Director: Tom Holland)

When serial killer Charles Lee Ray is mortally wounded in a police shoot-out, he uses a voodoo spell to transfer his soul into Chucky, a "Good Guys" doll. Young Andy receives the doll as a birthday gift, and Chucky soon resumes his killing spree. However, Charles doesn't want to be trapped in the body of a doll forever. His only escape would be to transfer into the first human he revealed his true identity to... which places Andy in mortal danger. Starring: Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Dinah Manoff (Also available on Shudder Canada)

Escape from New York(Director: John Carpenter)

In a bleak, alternate future, Manhattan Island has become the nation’s only maximum security prison. When Air Force One crash lands in the prison, the government sends in a disposable hero—Snake Plissken, outlaw and combat veteran—to get him out. Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes

The Fog (Director: John Carpenter)

The ghosts of shipwrecked sailors return to get revenge on a seaside village on the 100-year anniversary of their deaths at the hands of the town’s founders. John Carpenter’s fearsome follow-up to HALLOWEEN proved the horror master’s success was no mere fluke. Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman

My Bloody Valentine (Director: Patrick Lussier)

Wearing a miner's mask and armed with a pickaxe, an unstoppable killer is on the loose. Ten years ago in the town of Harmony, an inexperienced coal miner caused an accident that trapped and killed five men and sent the only survivor, Harry Warden, into a permanent coma. But Harry Warden wanted revenge. Exactly one year later, on Valentine's Day, he woke up...and brutally murdered twenty-two people with a pickaxe before being killed. Now, after years of peace, something from Harmony's dark past is back. Harry Warden may have returned. Starring: Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Kevin Tighe

Night of the Comet (Director: Thom Eberhardt)

A huge comet passes near the earth, vaporizing nearly the whole planet. Only a few teenagers inside a steel movie projection booth survive as all those outside are turned to dust. But a few partially exposed people are now hideous, blood-thirsty zombies--and they begin a deadly hunt for the last remaining humans. Starring: Catherine Mary Stewart, Geoffrey Lewis, Kelly Maroney, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran (Also available on Shudder Canada)

February 3

Like Me (Director: Robert Mockler)

A masked YouTuber draws fame, followers and a few vocal haters from her increasingly dangerous videos. This trippy, "wonderfully twisted" (per IndieWire) SXSW selection features an alienated Addison Timlin (Little Sister) and a morally dubious Larry Fessenden (The Dead Don’t Die) as unlikely companions on a drug-fueled, neon road trip that goes where you least expect it.  Starring: Addison Timlin, Larry Fessenden, Ian Nelson (Also available on Shudder Canada)

The Whistler (Director: Jennifer Nicole Stang) — short

Lindsey is put in charge of babysitting her younger sister Becky one night while their parents go out to dinner. Becky asks for  a bedtime story and picks out a book called “The Whistler,” the story of a man who leads children to a magical place in the woods where they never have to grow up. Lindsey tells Becky that the real story is about a crazy man who lived in the town some hundred years ago who led children to their death. Unimpressed, Becky goes to bed but when Lindsey awakes, her sister is gone and she must search the woods to find her…

Starring: Karis Cameron, Baya Ipatowicz, Nelson Leis, Alison Wandzura, John Emmet Tracy, Ava Sleeth (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

February 6

Dogs Don’t Wear Pants (see above for details)

February 10

Catcalls (Director: Kate Dolan) — short

A man cruises around late at night looking for something. He pulls in to ask two young girls for directions - only to flash them to get a cheap thrill. Unfortunately, he has picked the wrong girls. They are also out hunting tonight and they will stop at nothing to get their kill. Starring: Martin O’Sullivan, Edel Murphy, Francesca Saunder, Sarah Kinlen (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

The Golden Glove (Director: Fatih Akin)

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, acclaimed filmmaker Fatih Akin (Head-On, The Edge of Heaven, In The Fade) delivers the gruesome tale of notorious German serial killer Fritz Honka as he haunts Hamburg’s red light district in the 1970s, frequenting his favorite bar of boozy castaways, the “Golden Glove,” and chasing after any lonely woman he might just be able to lure into his attic. Starring: Jonas Dassler, Margarethe Tiesel, Hark Bohm (Also available on Shudder Canada)

The Hills Have Eyes (Director: Wes Craven)

In Wes Craven's cult horror hit, a family on vacation are attacked by mutant killers in the desert. After the success of Last House on the Left, Craven served up another terrifying tale of family survival with a still-relevant Vietnam-era moral question at its core: which family deserves to live? The normal American family? Or the inbred cannibals damaged by nuclear testing designed to keep "upstanding" families safe? Starring: Suzie Lanier-Bramlett, Robert Houston, John Steadman (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

Prom Night (Director: Paul Lynch)

For six long years, Hamilton High School seniors Kelly, Jude, Wendy and Nick have been hiding the truth of what happened to 10-year-old Robin Hammond the day her broken body was discovered near an old, abandoned convent. They kept secret how they taunted Robin, backed her into a corner until, frightened, she stood on a window ledge and fell to her death. Fearing they’d be held responsible, they vowed never to tell. However, someone else was there that day and now, is ready to exact their revenge – on prom night. Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Casey Stevens (Also available on Shudder Canada)

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (Director: Bruce Pittman)

In this supernatural sequel to the slasher classic PROM NIGHT, sexually voracious bad girl Mary Lou Maloney is burned alive after winning prom queen in 1957. 30 years later, her spirit returns to possess Vicki, a cheerleader who’s been chafing under her parents’ repressive rules. Mom and Dad soon get an eyeful after Vicki starts acting out, but Mary Lou is more focused on revenge on the man who caused her early exit from Earth, who’s now the school principal. A fun and frothy mashup of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Carrie, Prom Night II is an essential entry in the ‘80s slasher-sequel canon. Starring: Lisa Schrage, Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon (Also available on Shudder Canada)

February 13

3 from Hell (see above for details)

February 17

Blanketty (Director: Clara Mamet) — short

A woman attempts to exploit the human experience to use as a dataset for a program that will generate an infinite number of scenarios through machine learning. Unfortunately, as the computer continues to fail, the people contributing to the dataset start running out of ideas.

Starring: Toks Olagundoye, Joshua Burge, Amy Okuda, John Pirruccello, Hermie Castillo (Also available on Shudder Canada and Shudder UK)

Seoul Station (Director: Yeon Sang-ho)

In this chilling animated prequel to the Korean horror smash Train To Busan, a zombie outbreak spreads amongst homeless people in the area surrounding Seoul Station. At the same exact moment the chaos begins, a worried father arrives in the district hoping to track down his runaway daughter. But the odds are not in their favor, because as any fan of zombie cinema knows, the real bad guys are never the undead, but selfish monsters of the flesh-and-blood variety. Borrowing from George Romero’s playbook, director Yeon Sang-ho makes insightful connections between zombies and the castoffs of Korean society. Starring: Joon Lee, Eun-kyung Shim, Seung-ryong Ryu (Also available on Shudder Canada)

Return of the Living Dead III (Director: Brian Yuzna)

The government is still experimenting with the reanimating chemical Trioxin. When a young man loses his girlfriend in an auto accident, he uses the research to bring her back and helps as she consumes the only thing that will nourish her—human brains. Starring: Kent McCord, James T. Callahan, Sarah Douglas, Melinda Clarke, Abigail Lenz 

February 20

Jessica Forever (see above for details)

February 24

Dog Soldiers (Director: Neil Marshall)

A group of soldiers dispatched to the Scottish Highlands on special training maneuvers face their biggest fears after they run into Captain Ryan – the only survivor of a Special Ops team that was literally torn to pieces. Ryan refuses to disclose his mission even though whoever attacked his men might be hungry for seconds. Help arrives in the form of a local girl who shelters them in a deserted farmhouse deep in the forest...but when they realize that they are surrounded by a pack of blood-lusting werewolves, it's apparent their nightmare has just begun. Starring: Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee, Emma Cleasby and Liam Cunningham. (Also available on Shudder Canada)

Empathy, Inc. (Director: Yedidya Gorsetman)

An investor in a VR startup discovers that the reality the company provides isn't virtual. Starring: Zack Robidas, Kathy Searle, Eric Berryman, Jay Klaitz (Also available on Shudder Canada)

Wendigo (Director: Larry Fessenden)

A blue Volvo makes its way through the fading light of a chilly winter evening in Upstate New York. Kim, George and their eight-year old son, Miles, are city dwellers stealing a weekend away at a friend’s country farmhouse. But a fluke accident sets off a chain of events that alters their lives forever and conjures up the ferocious spirit of the Wendigo, a Native American myth made manifest in Miles’ imagination. Starring: Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, John Speredakos and Eric Per Sullivan (Also available on Shudder Canada)

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