{"id":16305,"date":"2021-04-15T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=16305"},"modified":"2024-03-02T21:14:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T05:14:44","slug":"review-jakobs-wife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/review-jakobs-wife\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Jakob\u2019s Wife<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Travis Stevens should thank his lucky stars for Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden. Stevens\u2019 vampiric domestic drama\/horror film Jakob\u2019s Wife<\/em> suffers from poor storytelling and pacing choices in its first half, to the point where you\u2019d be forgiven for throwing in the towel before the 45-minute mark. The presence of the film\u2019s two genre legend stars, fortunately, does just enough to command your attention and eventually reward it, even if said reward comes far later–and in smaller quantities–than it should. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anne (Crampton) is a preacher\u2019s wife whose decades-long marriage to Jakob (Fessenden) has left her in an unfulfilled rut. She stays at home all day, following the same routine of workout videos, gardening and meal-making. Jakob, for his part, isn\u2019t a bad person, but he\u2019s a fairly oblivious husband. Their lives change when Anne has a meetup with an old flame. After a scary encounter with a shadowy force leaves the guy dead and Anne wounded, she starts exhibiting strange symptoms, to Jakob\u2019s increasing shock. She feels stronger, more vibrant. However, she\u2019s also having issues with sunlight, and exhibiting a strange new taste for blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For half of its runtime, Jakob\u2019s Wife<\/em> appears to be similarly stuck in a rut, which is odd considering the genre tradition it\u2019s part of contains many similar stories that have no trouble with momentum. The script, co-written by Stevens, Kathy Charles, and Mark Steensland withholds the source of Anne\u2019s affliction, a Nosferatu<\/em>-esque bloodsucker called The Master (The Nun\u2019s<\/em> Bonnie Aarons), until late in the film. That decision doesn\u2019t lend an air of mystery as much as it robs the first two acts of valuable information. It could be an opportunity for deeper character study of Anne and Jakob, except the film doesn\u2019t seem interested in that, presenting scene after scene of poor dialogue and bored looks from Crampton in the hopes that will cover it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When things do<\/em> get bloody, and Jakob and Anne have to contend with their new reality, the dynamic between Fessenden and Crampton finally crackles to life. They\u2019re so much fun that the first half of the film feels like even more of a waste. Jakob finds a new purpose in vampire hunting and trying to kill The Master, while at the same time having to help his wife, an actual<\/em> vampire, cover up her own mounting body count. Fessenden\u2019s exasperation plays well off Crampton, who\u2019s wrestling with her affection for her husband and her desire to throw off the shackles of her old life, while also consuming human blood to stay alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a kernel of a good idea at the heart of Jakob\u2019s Wife<\/em>. Combining marital malaise and a woman\u2019s journey to rediscover her purpose with transformational horror presents a considerable gold mine of dark comedy and sociopolitical metaphor. In its best moments, the film scratches the surface of these concepts. Unfortunately, the movie relies on its stars to do almost all the heavy lifting to communicate them. Crampton and Fessenden do their absolute best, but they can only be as good as the material they\u2019re given, and that material isn\u2019t up to the task. \"\"\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C+<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

“Jakob’s Wife” is in theaters and on demand Friday. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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