Both films feature female protagonists fighting evil within themselves, and both women ultimately fail to conquer. The first scene in the movie has the trio arriving in town in an old hearse because theyre just like that and stopping at a graveyard. Let s scare jessica to death is a movie you cant look away from. When visuals, sound, pace, and dialogue are working together in unison, as they are in john hancocks 1971 film, lets scare jessica to death. Filming location of the let s scare jessica to death house. Revisiting 1971s cult classic horror film lets scare. The pain in spain a newly filmed interview with special effects and makeup artist colin arthur.
No doubt a real casting coup for the low budget 1971 production let s scare jessica to death, and her character, still recovering from a nervous breakdown, comes off as the sanest one in the whole picture. Though not quite a lost classic, lets scare jessica to death 1971 is an impressively creepy little horror film, quite good for such a modestly budgeted work with no stars. Oct 10, 2009 she had a kind of vulnerability that brought out the protectiveness in men, similar to what marilyn monroe projected. A recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.
Lets scare jessica to death macabre movie mavericks llc. The crux of lets scare jessica to death is finding out the scare. Old bishop house old saybrook, connecticut atlas obscura. Nov 09, 2017 stream these spooky haunted house movies. Lets scare jessica to death scream factory, bluray released from an institution after suffering a nervous breakdown, jessica zohra lampert, the exorcist iii seeks the tranquility of a.
Lets scare jessica to death is a movie you cant look away from. Jul 14, 2015 let s scare jessica to death, ghosts and vampires in connecticut as norman bates reminds us, we all go a little mad sometimes. The entire movie was filmed in east haddam, chester, and old saybrook, neighboring towns near or at the southern edge of connecticut on the long island sound. The lurid title could easily sidetrack you from what is essentially an extremely frightening exploration of a womans descent into madness. Chester, connecticut chester, connecticut the town sce. The street signs can be seen in the film, located at the intersection of main st and maple st. An unstable young woman just released from a mental institution starts seeing things after relocating from new york city to the country, a move that was intended by her husband to help her recovery. Lets scare jessica to death is a 1971 american psychological horror film, directed by john d.
Let s scare jessica to death is one movie that always gets under my skin. I traveled with my family to old saybrook, connecticut to the following filming locations for lets scare jessica to death. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 journeys in classic film. The film depicts the nightmarish experiences of a psychologically fragile woman in an old farmhouse on a connecticut island. Lets scare jessica to death is a 1971 american horror film cowritten and directed by john hancock in his directorial debut, and starring. There they find a young woman by the name of emily living in the house and they invite her to stay. An impressively creepy little horror film stuart galbraith iv.
The house from the movie is still standing, but in a state of disrepair. The lake sequences were filmed during the fall, so the water was very cold for the actors. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 jessica zohra lampert has just been released from a mental hospital. Filming location of the lets scare jessica to death. The locations in lets scare jessica to death 45 years later.
Dickinson mansion in essex, connecticut was the house used for the interior scenes shown in the film. With zohra lampert, barton heyman, kevin oconnor, gretchen corbett. Made just two years after the charles manson murders, lets scare jessica to death has a weird hippy vibe to it, eerie with its elements of communalism and counterculture ostracization. Steve senski on lets scare jessica to death youtube. There are a wide range of organizations and massage organizations that offer an extraordinary male massage administration that. Lets scare jessica to death film location duration. When jessica goes for a swim in the lake, she sees a body just below the waters surface. Lets scare jessica to death filming locations youtube. Connecticut horror on the big screen hartford courant. Let s scare jessica to death is a 1971 american psychological horror film, directed by john d. The thinking mans vampire movie, probably a secret dream for at least half the worlds young filmmakers, tries to rise again in john hancocks lets scare jessica to death, which opened.
Lets scare jessica to death is another undiscovered gem from the 70s thats been on my radar for a while, and im so sorry i didnt check it out sooner. Lets scare jessica to death was filmed over a period of 26 days in the fall of 1970, in various towns in connecticut. L ets scare jessica to death and honeymoon make for a great double feature about the interior lives of two women affected by the supernatural. It has a bit of a film school feel to it, at times lingering a bit too long on a pretty shot or a scene that doesnt really advance the story at all. Shot on an obviously limited budget, it uses little more than an overcast lake house, a small town with creepy locals, an overbearing score recorded on. Scenes featuring jessica in a boat, on a cove, basked in golden sunlight provide a context that make the disturbing elements even more unsettling. The scariest films, to me, are ones where the horror lies within your bodys ability to turn on you, and while thats not developed nearly as well as it should be, it is evident within the. Visited the house where the film lets scare jessica to death was filmed. Allegedly, lets scare jessica to death is highlyregarded by stephen king. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 leave your insanity at the door. Visited the house where the film lets scare jessica to death.
Of course, the fact that its from the 70s can also be a downfall of the film, as not everybody will be interested in something that seems tame compared to films now. An unstable young woman just released from a mental institution starts seeing things after relocating from new york city to the country, a move that was intended by. Lets scare jessica to death is available from amazon and other streaming services. Scream factory continues to release another film from their paramount studios deal, in this case a superb psychological horror film filmed in connecticut from. Lets scare jessica to death october 20th, 2007 by unkle lancifer 4 comments. Lets scare jessica to death has been listed as one of the media and drama good articles under the good article criteria. Its hard for a film called lets scare jessica to death to live up to its title, and john hancocks 1971 horrorthriller seems to sense this. Let s scare jessica to death dreamlike gets tossed around a lot describing horror movies, but it s rare for the description to fit one as well as it does let s scare jessica to death. Released from an institution after suffering a nervous breakdown. Jessica zohra lampert, in an appropriately gangly performance that. Last nights feature was the 70s cult classic lets scare jessica to death. There, her mind either starts breaking down again or is fine and its all the vampires in town who are the problem. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 movies, tv, celebs, and more. Let s scare jessica to death is criminally underrated, and will grab your interest with its amazing location, haunting atmosphere, enticing characters and everthickening plot.
The town scenes were filmed in chester, connecticut. Filmed without a distributor and produced independently under the jessica company, lets scare jessica to death was sold to paramount pictures in early 1971. Only the exteriors were used, the interiors were filmed about a mile away in the e. Revisiting 1971s cult classic horror film lets scare jessica to death. Best movies like lets scare jessica to death bestsimilar. Jun 08, 2009 steve senski on let s scare jessica to death duration. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 directed by john d. Rod serling has been quoted as stating it was one of the. Poor jessica, she just got released from a four month stay at a mental institution and she aint feeling so great. Hancock, its the story of a woman, recently released from an institution, who moves into an old farmhouse with her husband and a friend. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 the last drive in. Nov 16, 2015 although filmed almost exclusively in the daylight hours lets scare jessica to death creates a decidedly creepy atmosphere with half glimpsed figures and a feeling of isolation as even a visit to a brightly lite attic crates a feeling of unease. There may be no greater magic in cinema than achieving the intangible out of the tangible. Director john hancocks debut feature stars the mercurial zohra lampert as a former mental patient terrified shes losing her mind when she sees apparitions at a connecticut farmhouseor does she.
Lets scare jessica to death 1971 page 3 classic horror. For some reason, although ive seen the title listed on netflix for years, ive never seen this movie. Stephen king has hailed at as quite simply, one of the best ghost stories ever filmed. The independently made homegrown sleeper horror flick from 1971, the one and only lets scare jessica to death, gets a much welcomed and often requested bluray courtesy of scream factory. Find release information for lets scare jessica to death 1971 john d. Orville stoebers unnerving score is one of the main highlights of the film. You can read it, of course, in a material sense as the title suggests.
This atmospheric, eerie horror is commonly regarded as a cerebral hippie vampire film. So in it a group of hippies move to a isolated farm house up in the conneticut countryside, from new york, were jessica lost her mind and was sent to a mental institute. Here is a short list of scary movies that are either set in connecticut, or were filmed here. Lets scare jessica to death 1971, is not only the far better film but probably unintentionally the more iconic 70s trope for what was so extraordinary about the special clutch of horror films that were birthed in the 70s epoch.
Filming locations 10 filming dates 1 filming locations. The store used in the film now houses the maple and main gallery of fine art. A woman and a group of friends go to a remote coastal town to relax after mental problems. House used in the 1971 horror film lets scare jessica to death. Frank yablans, then an executive at paramount, devised the films title as they felt hancocks working title, which was simply jessica, was not commercially viable.
No one knows this better than the protagonist in todays film from 1971, lets scare jessica to death. Taking place in the beautiful connecticut countryside, jessica and friends take some free time after jessica has been released from a mental hospital. This is a fantastic 70s thriller, with just the right amount of chills. Visited the house where the film lets scare jessica to. Lets scare jessica to death is a 1971 horror film starring zohra lampert also in splendor in the grass. Sep 01, 2012 i traveled with my family to old saybrook, connecticut to the following filming locations for lets scare jessica to death. For jessica, the filmmakers chose a cluster of towns in southeastern connecticut, partly out of the quality of the locations but also due to films producer bill badalatos familiarity with them. The low budget, cult classic 1971 horror film lets scare jessica to death is a prime example of a cinematic title about which experts have just never been able to come to a critical consensus. Oct 29, 2017 lets scare jessica to death came out in 1971. While writing this i found a fan site entirely dedicated to this movie, so i know im not the only one moved by it. Taking place in the beautiful connecticut countryside, jessica and friends take some free time after jessica has been released from a. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 i watched this on youtube last night, thinking it would be a cheesy slasher movie and instead thought it was a wonderfully creepy indie horror film. When they go into the village to sell some old furniture, they learn that a woman.
Imdb lets scare jessica to death 1971 was filmed in connecticut. Lets scare jessica to death is criminally underrated, and will grab your interest with its amazing location, haunting atmosphere, enticing characters and everthickening plot. On the off chance that you are in the state of mind for a massage, you might need to investigate getting an incredible male massage. Is emily a vampire, or is jessicas own mind corroding and turning against her. The 1971 horror film lets scare jessica to death is the story of a woman recently released from a mental ward, who buys a house out in the country with her husband and friend to start a farm. Lets scare jessica to death scream factory, bluray released from an institution after suffering a nervous breakdown, jessica zohra lampert, the exorcist iii seeks the tranquility of a secluded home in connecticut to help make her recovery complete. Halloween prank goes wrong in lets scare julie images. A halloween prank goes terribly wrong in lets scare julie previously titled lets scare julie to death, an indie thriller written and directed by jud cremata. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 the house of stuff. Though not quite a lost classic, let s scare jessica to death 1971 is an impressively creepy little horror film, quite good for such a modestly budgeted work with no stars.
No one knows this better than the protagonist in today s film from 1971, let s scare jessica to death. The house for the exterior shots, main street where the rotary was with. Brian greene revisits the divisive 1971 cult classic horror film lets scare jessica to death, soon to be released in bluray by shout. The location scout a virtual tour of filming locations. So, if the title doesnt entice you, surely that will. Lets scare jessica to death is a very different sort of horror flick. After a stint in a psychiatric facility jessica, her husband and a friend move to remote farm they have recently purchased. Upon her release she retreats to her newlypurchased county house, with her husband duncan and their close friend woody, to recover in peace and silence. Its small cast of mainly theater types and relative neophyte filmmakers were almost all in their early30s, and. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 was filmed in connecticut. I guess riding around in a hearse and making crafty tombstone rubbings on.
Lets scare jessica to death 1971 zohra lampert in lets scare jessica to. Aug 23, 2016 the story of lets scare jessica to death focuses on a married couple who have moved out of new york city and relocated to a rural town in nearby connecticut. Its scary comfort food for hordes of horror fans who first encountered it on creature features, and enjoys a fan following larger than its soso. Oct 28, 2018 lets scare jessica to deaths eventual status as a cult film grew out of these weesmallhoursofthemorning broadcasts, but as far as i was concerned, if there was ever a film one should not be introduced to via the accompaniment of frequent commercial interruptions. When jessica goes for a swim in the lake, she sees a body just below the water s surface. Let s scare jessica to death is on my list of one of the greatest films of all time. Its origins are unclear, but it looks like an independent production acquired for release through paramount. The 1971 horror film lets scare jessica to death is the story of a woman. Its not bloody or gory and builds to it scary moments at a very slow pace. Lets scare jessica to death is a 1971 american psychological horror film, directed by. The gravestone and summary of venture smith that jessica quotes and does a rubbing of in the film is, in fact, a true grave. Lets scare jessica to death is a story about a woman named jessica zohra lampert who is released from a mental institution after a sixmonth stay following a mental breakdown. Principal photography began in november of that year in old saybrook. Lets scare jessica to death 1971 official trailer youtube.
Log in or sign up to leave a comment log in sign up. Hancock and starring zohra lampert, barton heyman, gretchen corbett, and mariclare costello. Lets scare jessica to death looks, sounds and feels like a made for tv movie but it was actually released to. Lets scare jessica to death, ghosts and vampires in connecticut as norman bates reminds us, we all go a little mad sometimes. I first saw this one tv back in the late 70s, while my mom and dad were out in the living room playing cards with friends. The diary of ellen rimbauer 2003, the haunting of julia 1977, house on haunted hill 1999, jessabelle 2014, the stranger from afar 2004. Oct 21, 20 let s scare jessica to death is a 1971 horror film starring zohra lampert also in splendor in the grass. The titular jessica, played by zohra lampert, is recovering after a stint in a mental health care facility.
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