Jacob (2011)

Emotionally troubled hulking behemoth Jacob (an impressive and expressive mute portrayal by Dylan Horne) struggles to resist his more violent impulses. But after his despicable drunken stepfather Otis (well played to the hateful hilt by writer/director Larry Wade Carrell) beats up on his long suffering mother Edith (a solid and sympathetic performance by Krystn Caldwell) once too often, Jacob snaps and embarks on a murderous spree. Carrell offers a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the rural region, relates the riveting story at a brisk pace, does a bang-up job of crafting an intense brooding atmosphere of impending doom, delivers a handy helping of graphic gore, and maintains a grim dark tone throughout. The startling moments of ferocious violence pack a savage punch. Child actress Grace Powell excels as Jacob's sweet and protective little sister Sissy. Moreover, this movie further benefits from commendable work by Leo D. Wheeler as the hard-nosed Sheriff Andy, Parrish Randall as folksy bar owner Chuck, Michael Biehn as Jacob's deranged father Lawrence, Joe Grisaffi as concerned diner proprietor Max, and James Hampton as the feisty Old Man Jack. In addition, there's a tragic element to the plot which in turn gives this picture a substantial amount of poignancy and resonance. Stacy Davidson's sharp widescreen cinematography provides a striking autumnal look. Iain Kelso's moody score hits the harmonic spot. A real sleeper.

I do not write reviews or rate movies generally, but my family saw this at Texas Frightmare and the director said during the Q&A after the film to rate it here if we liked it, so, this is my first and here goes. I liked the movie overall. It was another slasher film like many before it. Nothing new, but it was entertaining. The kills were effective and I enjoyed most of the movie. The little girl actress Grace Powell did a really fine job. Without saying too much here, she really had a few people in tears. I didn't like that we were expecting to see Michael Biehn, James Hampton, and Parrish Randall more and they were not in the movie enough. We've been big fans of Michael Biehn for years. James Hampton we've loved since forever. He is a solid actor who is also a nice guy that we've met before at the convention. Parrish Randall is the guy to have in a Texas horror film and he is another really solid actor. This is my only issue with the movie. Maybe those actors could not do more time in the film. The scenes they had were really good and just made me wish there was more of those guys. Some of the other acting was kind of just okay and what you will see in this kind of film more times than not. I liked that there was not a lot of profanity and nudity in the film. My son is 12 and likes horror films but sometimes the language and sex in a film make it a tough call for parents, so it was good to see a horror film that he could watch without me or his mom having to have concerns there. The Jacob character was really a good one for this kind of horror movie though. He had that larger than life force and power that a killer in this type of movie should have and he was more than scary enough. Overall, yes it was another slasher film, could have been better, but it was still fun to see. I give Jacob a 5 for what it did bring though and I am glad they showed it at the convention.

I guess I'm not on the local bandwagon in Houston. The movie had its good moments and a lot of bad. First off, the writing for the film was shallow, filled with parts of never ending dialog which slowed the delivery. The elements of the real story never surfaced on screen & I was left to hope that the violence would pick things up, which it did. Some of the actors in the film made me think, 'why was that person even in the film?' Many of the actors brought to the film lacked any real acting talent to give substance to undeveloped characters. There were parts in the film where the lighting was just plane awful. Another thing was the sound, it was not there when it needed to be.If the movie was presented as a rough cut, then why was it released? The heart of this film could make it a local masterpiece? Surely, there are other ways to fund and promote this film project. This film is far from perfect and perhaps far from the solid leadership required to present a completed film to it's local fan base. The producers in charge of marketing and presenting this film failed to bring a real winner to Houston after all of it's hype. I surely hope this film has mild success in it's distribution.

I had the pleasure of seeing this film's screener at the 2011 Splatterfest in Houston. Before the film began, the director apologized for sound effects that hadn't yet been added. To be honest, it was hardly noticeable due to the story and the acting pulling me into the film.The story begins as a classic ghost story- 3 young local boys are gathered for an afternoon of fun, and 2 of the boys dare their squeamish younger friend to join them at the ruins of an infamous local house. The antagonists are run off by Sheriff Billy (played by the film's director), and the timid youngster asks him if the stories about Jacob Kell are true. This leads into our tale. Dylan Horne is creepily effective as Jacob Kell, a young man who reminds one of Steinbeck's Lenny, albeit that Lenny was 3 times larger, stronger, and mute. Grace Powell is his beloved baby sister Sissy. I see a big future in film for this little girl. While Sissy's age is never given in the film, we are led to believe that she is around 7. She is the only voice of reason in a household that finds her mother, Edith, being brutally beaten by her stepfather Otis (also played by the director.) The world-weariness that Powell gives off when witnessing the fighting and tending to her mother afterward, while still finding time for dolly tea parties with her brother, will seriously tug at your heart.While I think that Carell did an amazing job as director, I also consider him an excellent actor. To play both honorable Billy and cretin Otis is an admirable feat, both in performance and the fact that both characters are so different.The character interactions give major drive to the story. While the viewer may wonder just why hapless Edith, Sissy's and Jacob's mother, stays with horrible Otis, we also gain insight from how her neighbors waffle in attention and affection for her. We learn that her first husband, Lawrence (played by the always-brilliant Michael Biehn) met a terrible end due to an unknown evil taking over him and leading him to commit multiple atrocities against the town. Her boss, Max (Joe Grisaffi) is a sympathetic character for whom I was certainly hoping would not get torn to shreds at the end of the film.The bloodbath begins when Sissy is accidentally killed during one of Otis' alcoholic rages. While I do not want to give away details for one of the most original kills put to film, I am not joking in regard to my use of bloodbath. Emphasis on bath. The blood flies, and it flies for a long time.When the town rallies together to stop Jacob, all bets are off. I have seen many gore-fests over the years, and the kills in this movie alone put 20 years of viewed kills to absolute shame.The supernatural element to the story was an interesting angle as well. While motive is never fully given for the evil events that occur, it offers up a nice little twist at the end of the film.While there is no shortage of somber moments in 'Jacob', there are also plenty of hilarious one-liners to liven the mood. Otis' party-buddy Earl (Jeremy James Douglas Norton) has, hands down, one of the best one-liners in the film that is sure to become popular once the film is released, while another particularly hilarious moment pops up during Jacob's reign of terror against his lynch mob.Overall, I consider it a great privilege that I was able to see this film. It's a rare thing to find truly original films, and as Michael Biehn stated earlier in the evening "Big budget and big studio don't necessarily equal great movie." To me, this year's Splatterfest was a celebration of originality. Michael Biehn's "The Victim" certainly fit the bill, and the 'Evil Dead' series, which headlined the weekend, is a classic case of gory originality. "Jacob" is fiercely, intensely original and deserves to be recognized everywhere as a new horror classic.