Jakob's Wife

Director - Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor, Exquisite Shorts)

Starring - Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond), Larry Fessenden (Stakeland, The House of the Devil), and Bonnie Aarons (The Nun, The Conjuring 2)

Release Date - 2021

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Who's your master?"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I first received the first word about Shudder I was not interested.  There has been several streaming services focused on horror so I assumed Shudder would be like all the others and come up short.  The last year or so I've been sent a few Shudder exclusives and originals for review and I enjoyed most of them.  This made me a little curious so I took the dive into Shudder and I'm very impressed with it.  I've had it almost six months and don't see myself cancelling anytime soon.  A few weeks ago I started seeing posts from legendary horror actress Barbara Crampton about her new film Jakob's Wife.  I was really excited to see this and when I saw that it was a Shudder production and starred Larry Fessenden I was hooked.  I reached out to RLJE Films and they were kind enough to send a review copy of the film on blu my way.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows Anne (Crampton) who is married to the small town minister Jakob (Fessenden) who longs for more than her simple life of playing housewife for the town pastor.  However, after a meeting with an old flame she soon finds herself face to face with a creature of the night.  She returns home with a bite on her neck and the life that she knew is soon tossed on it's head when she begins craving fresh blood and a sensitivity to sunlight.  When her husband discovers what had happen he sets out to kill the master so he can get his old life back.  

     Crampton is such a huge part of my love for the genre after appearing in films like Re-Animator, From Beyond, Chopping Mall, Castle Freak, and so many more.  So when I saw that she was starring the extremely talented and underrated Larry Fessenden for a vampire flick I had to see it.  Jakob's Wife was an absolute blast and one of the better vampire films I've seen in recent years.  The acting in this one is great.  Crampton is the center point of the film and does a fantastic job carrying the film.  Her character goes through a change that you would expect from a vampire flick which she does a fantastic job making those changes feel believable.  She's absolutely stunning even when her character is supposed to be changing.  Fessenden is great as the small town pastor who wants to return his life back to the submissive church mouse that he is accustomed to.  He was fantastic and I actually found his performance to be funny at times.  The supporting cast is just as fun but Crampton and Fessenden are the stars.  The story for this one is a typical vampire film but it adds another layer to it with a woman who has bigger dreams than being a housewife for a preacher.  She wants to have something more to live for and sees vampirism as that escape from the mundane.  When you combine that with the classic vampire tales like Nosferatu and Salem's Lot you get something simple but entertaining.  It's just different enough to make it fun.  Finally, this one really surprised me with the effects.  We get some insanely brutal and fun kills that truly needs to be seen.  When a vampire attacks you expect to see some bite marks and a lot of blood but Jakob's Wife dials it up to 11 and we get some memorable deaths with some awesome practical effects and a lot of blood.  Also, I loved the look of the master vampire.  It did a fantastic job paying tribute to the classic vampire look.  Overall, Jakob's Wife is one of the most entertaining vampire films of recent years.  It has that classic vampire tale with a little more modern spin to it.  I highly recommend snagging this one.