To Jennifer

Director - James Cullen Bressack (Hate Crime, Theatre of the Deranged II)
Starring - Chuck Pappas (Treasure Chest of Horrors III), James Cullen Bressack (My Pure Joy), and Jody Barton (Theatre of the Deranged II)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Don't tell anyone..."
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     A director may not always be able to satisfy all their fans and this is a harsh truth they have to come to terms with.  A majority of their fans may like all of their work but there will always be the select few that does not like a particular film.  Director James Cullen Bressack sent me numerous films to review not long ago and I have slowly been working through his list.  After watching Hate Crime I started calling myself a Bressack fan.  I couldn't wait to work my way through his other films but I knew his film To Jennifer would be different.  I knew the film was not your typical horror flick and was filmed entirely on an iPhone 5 but I was still very skeptical of it.
     The film follows heartbroken Joey (Pappas) as he enlists his wild cousin Steven (Bressack) to record their journey to expose Joey's girlfriend Jennifer as a cheater.  Along the way they team up with Steven's childhood friend Martin (Barton) who is a complete wildcard.  Martin only gives a shit about getting fucked up and getting laid.  This costs Joey precious time on their road trip.  Things take a dark turn when Joey starts acting weird and Martin goes missing.  Once they reach their destination they find Jennifer with a guy and Joey forces Steven to stay in the car while he confronts her.  Steven waits a few moments and decides he has to document the entire ordeal.  When he exits the car he finds Martin in the drunk and rushes to the house to find a bloodsoaked Joey in his underwear holding a knife.  Joey kills Steven before hunting down Jennifer revealing that they were never a couple and Joey had a dark obsession with her.
     I want to thank Bressack for sending me this screener because I really do appreciate it.  However, I was not a fan of the film.  The film moved at a snails pace for a majority of the film only to unleash hell the last 5 minutes of so.  If the entire movie was as great as the ending then this movie would be a force to be reckoned with.  The acting is great for the film.  The whole recorded on an iPhone found footage vibe was actually pretty damn clever and puts it leagues over the typical found footage films and the actors acted accordingly.  The story was very clever but very predictable.  I was able to almost figure out the story before the film finished.  I just assumed the two broke up and he was now stalking her, however, discovering they were never an item made the film feel even more deranged. Predictable can still be fun if the whole movie is done right.  Finally, the film does skip on the on screen kills and practical effects.  However, with the kind of film this one is does not require it.  The film relies heavily on atmosphere and story instead of blood and gore.  Overall, this is an original film that unfolds too slow to really entertain.  You will need to have a taste for this kind of film to truly enjoy it.