...the film ends up taking Stefan and Dave down a road that sees [John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush] exchanging spit, growls, bizarre dances, and a combination of quotes and anecdotes that begin to bury the story and its heavy-handed message...

| Original Score: C- | Apr 11, 2025

It feels slightly underdeveloped and can border on cruel, but this fiendishly directed horror movie is also a masterclass in acting by its two leads, both seasoned pros who are ready for anything.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 4, 2025

The Rule of Jenny Pen is an ambitious miss, but a miss nonetheless.

| Apr 3, 2025

Lithgow demolishes the role, sporting gnarled fake teeth, eerie blue contacts, and an impressive New Zealand accent (often channeled through a hideous eyeless puppet, the Jenny Pen of the title).

| Apr 3, 2025

Evil Lithgow is one of life’s most underrated joys.

| Mar 31, 2025

Cinematographer Matt Henley had so much fun playing with color—the red light, the red curtains, all the better to make Jenny’s empty sockets seem to glow with evil kindling an inner fire.

| Mar 29, 2025

Lithgow is a brilliant terror in this, though it oft feels the film might be stronger without the conceit of the titular puppet. The psychological (and physical) battle between Rush and Lithgow would've been enough.

| Original Score: 3.4/5 | Mar 29, 2025

John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush's committed performances can't offset James Ashcroft's tedious psychological thriller.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 28, 2025

A fresh horror in an elderly atmosphere bring fun and suspense.

| Original Score: B+ | Mar 28, 2025

With a couple of less-well-known actors, The Rule of Jenny Pen would still have been a bloody good film. But Rush and Lithgow are titans for a reason – and they both leave it all on the field.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 25, 2025

John Lithgow's character is full out bonkers and that is a sight to see.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Mar 23, 2025

Both Rush and Lithgow fully commit as actors to the madness and psychosis of the characters. The film needs their gravitas and sensibilities to make this work.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 21, 2025

Everyone involved has a lot of twisted fun with this handsomely-mounted psychological thriller, none more so than an up-for-anything Lithgow, who stalks the halls of the home at night...like a geriatric Freddy Krueger.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 21, 2025

Eerily unpleasant (complimentary).

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 21, 2025

A rare blast of unadulterated male hagsploitation, James Ashcroft's upsetting slice of nursing home horror crafts a toxic tango between a perverted John Lithgow and a crotchety Geoffey Rush.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 20, 2025

Director James Ashcroft does a nifty job with this tight Stephen King-esque psychological horror jaunt, eliciting high-end turns from his two leads.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 20, 2025

As thrillers go, this certainly has novelty on its side. Instead of guns and knives, the weapons of choice are wheelchairs, asthma puffers and a dementia doll.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 19, 2025

… thematically rich but occasionally lacking in the execution department.

| Original Score: 14/20 | Mar 19, 2025

... We are simply beaten into bored submission — yes, we get it, he's maaaaaaad!

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 19, 2025

John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush...seem to be having great fun playing off one another in “The Rule of Jenny Pen.” But sadly, the movie is a psychological thriller that’s unsettling but doesn’t make much sense.

| Original Score: C+ | Mar 18, 2025