The Rule of Jenny Pen

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2:40

The Rule of Jenny Pen

R

Mar 2025

1h 43m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

72%

Tomatometer

109 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

50+ Verified Ratings

Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. Resistant to the staff and distant from his friendly roommate, Mortensen soon clashes with seemingly gentle resident Dave Crealy who secretly terrorizes the home with a sadistic game called "The Rule of Jenny Pen" while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. What begins as childish torment quickly escalates into far more sinister and disturbing incidents. When Mortensen's pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy's reign of terror.

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Critics Consensus

John Lithgow's frighteningly unhinged performance reigns over The Rule of Jenny Pen, a nasty chiller that's by turns monotonous and haunting.

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Leigh Singer

Sight & Sound

Rush and Lithgow are clearly committed, one splenetic with frustration and fear, the other thrumming with beady-eyed malevolence. But their duel is largely one-note, shorn of psychological nuance or clashing worldviews.

Nov 5, 2025

Full Review

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

A mess. From one scene to the next, you think "This doesn't make any sense."

May 9, 2025

Full Review

Claudia Puig

FilmWeek (LAist)

Slow and creeps along. Setting a movie in a senior home with mostly infirm and incapacitated people can be dicey, and it takes a special kind of film to make that anything other than bleak.

May 9, 2025

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

A sublime example of two top-notch actors elevating their material.

Rated: 2.5/4.0

Nov 16, 2025

Full Review

Caitlin Kennedy

Simply Cinema (Substack)

The Rule of Jenny Pen takes the inherent creepiness of nursing homes to its most horrifying conclusion, squeezing every drop of helplessness out of the narrative.

Rated: 6/10

Sep 24, 2025

Full Review

Randy Meeks

Espinof

This psychological game of cat and mouse is as frustrating as it is exciting, full of twists and turns, comings and goings, humiliations and conversations that add, at the very least, depth to the characters. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/5

Sep 13, 2025

Full Review

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MickiW

John Lithgow is so sadistic with these elderly people, I felt bad for them. He got his in the end.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/27/25

Full Review

Trevor

Could of been so terrifying,, but it missed the mark. I would have like a little backstory about the Doll and why the dude from 3rd rock from the sun was so obsessed with it. It could have been a little darker. But great story but not very believable because why didn't this place have any security present? Anyway I paid 20 dollars to see this movie. It was worth 10 or 12

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/20/25

Full Review

kristina l

Very strange movie. Doesn't really have a good story line to follow. The guy is just weird.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/12/25

Full Review

simon

John lithgow did a phenomenal job in this movie. But the plot was pretty lame and the movie just dragged on too long to actually get to the point. if you are looking for a psychological thriller that will put you on the edge of your seat this isn't it, it will just put you to sleep.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/12/25

Full Review

Joel H

Jenny Pen is a comedy. Unfortunately, nobody was laughing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/11/25

Full Review

Andrew D

This movie is not about a possessed hand puppet, but about a crazy bully at a nursing home. John Lithgow plays his part perfectly! Good stuff!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/11/25

Full Review

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James Ashcroft

Director

John Lithgow

Dave Crealy

Geoffrey Rush

Judge Stefan Mortensen

Nathaniel Lees

Sonny Ausage

George Henare

Tony Garfield

Thomas Sainsbury

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The Rule of Jenny Pen: Trailer 1

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The Rule of Jenny Pen: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. Resistant to the staff and distant from his friendly roommate, Mortensen soon clashes with seemingly gentle resident Dave Crealy who secretly terrorizes the home with a sadistic game called "The Rule of Jenny Pen" while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. What begins as childish torment quickly escalates into far more sinister and disturbing incidents. When Mortensen's pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy's reign of terror.

Director: James Ashcroft
Producer: Catherine Fitzgerald, Orlando Stewart
Screenwriter: James Ashcroft, Eli Kent
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Light in the Dark Productions, Blueskin Films
Rating: R (Violent Content|Some Language|Sexual Assault)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 28, 2025
Box Office (Gross USA): $255.0K
Runtime: 1h 43m

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