Anything for Jackson: When pain overtakes common sense, there is no God or Devil to help.

                                                

Directed by: Justin G. Dyck

Screenplay: Keith Cooper

Cast: Sheila McCarthy, Julian Richings, Konstantina Mantelos, Josh Cruddas, Yannick Bisson

There is no worse pain than losing a child. Maybe just losing a grandchild is more torturous. If being a grandmother/grandfather is being a mother/father twice, grief for a grandchild is likely to be doubled as well.

Instead of joining a support group, seeing a bingo, or seeing a therapist, elderly couple Henry and Audrey Walsh (Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings) come to worship Satan, and that wouldn't exactly be a problem in and of itself. But then, they decide to kidnap a pregnant woman, Shannon Becker (Konstantina Mantelos) to use her unborn baby as a host for the soul of their late grandson, Jackson.

                       

A good script is a homogeneous script

No one is more enraged by unnecessary extensions than I am. Good intros in horror movies aren't even that rare, but intros where the development remains consistent, and the threads connect from start to finish, that's right, it's pretty hard. Keith Cooper, a screenwriter whose work I didn't know, but according to IMDB, moved a lot (as did director Justin G. Dyck, also unknown to me, before this film) between family comedy films and romantic Christmas films. This is no demerit, it just demonstrates a bit of his versatility (and the director's).

I believe you may be a little perplexed as I was when you realize that the movie starts without any fuss, and simply thickens the plot, deepening the drama, suspense and terror in an almost flawless way. The pacing of the feature film, which doesn't linger where it shouldn't, however, isn't too rushed either, is another strong positive point, and yes, thanks to the script combined with the direction.

A Satanist couple, but not cruel, what do you mean?

Nothing that features Satanists in horror films is ever more than the cliché: "I love the Devil because I'm evil, and I kill people just because". This, in addition to a huge prejudice (since Satanism is a religion like any other and its adherents are human beings who have the right to feel offended by being misrepresented), is a lazy and stupid way to present characters. The drama of loss and the psychological affected by the pain of the elderly collaborate so that the audience understands that they are not bloodthirsty monsters who just want power. With the course of events, it is almost impossible not to hope for their good, not that the viewer comes to agree with the desperate attitudes of the protagonists, but at least empathy comes naturally and decisively, it does not waver or decrease. Can you manage to understand them? Yes. Defend them? Do not.

                                     

Explanatory but not excessive or overly expository flashbacks

As the initial scenes are already impressive, without an introductory explanation, the resource used to make the spectator understand what happened and the process until they reached the point where they are was the flashback. When properly used, it is a resource that adds to the narrative, even though many filmmakers end up falling into too much expository text and scenes and excessive "turns in time" that end up bloating the work and making the audience impatient. Here, that's not what happens, luckily. When you go back in time, it's usually because a character is thoughtful, remembering such a thing, and leads us to believe that maybe he's not so convinced of the direction he's taking. Nothing is said much with words, they prefer to show than to talk, which was a great decision. More than not speaking, it is in the small omissions and what is not said, that the nuances of the characters become more evident.

Smart photography

The photography is discreet and complements the narrative with sobriety. Without exaggeration, the difference between the palette of warmer colors is clear when a scene takes place in the past and when we are in the present, cold, gloomy and with no prospect of improvement.

Everything has a gray tone, everything is a little faded, explaining the couple's lack of will to live and the fate that awaits their hostage.

The sanity of everyone involved is hanging by a thread, and the games of light and shadow also make this feature more palpable. There are also small changes in the photograph when the first supernatural signs occur, implying that something from another sphere is intruding on the place, as such events become an increasingly present part of the house, these changes cease. That is, they have already passed from there to here.

                                   

Performances that range from dignified to delightful

Konstantina Mantelos who plays Shannon Becker didn't look familiar to me, and I really didn't see anything she did (according to IMDB). However, this was not an obstacle to realize that the girl has a reasonable talent. Her performance was dignified, with some moments standing out and causing even more distress for both her and the baby. It wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't a disaster. James Wan, please give her a role in one of her movies, and preferably a screenplay written by Keith Cooper.

                           

Sheila McCarthy plays Audrey Walsh and is one of those actresses that we see in three hundred different movies in supporting roles, and we always think "I hope they give her a prominent role in the next movie". The highlight arrived and she was amazing. Audrey is, in my opinion, the most complex and most difficult character to decipher and translate. She is fragile but strong, sweet but capable of perverse attitudes, she sympathizes with the hostage, but not enough to give up her plans. Fascinating actress and character.

                           

Julian Richings, who plays Henry Walsh, is best known for his role as Grim Reaper on the Supernatural/Supernatural series, and there he has already demonstrated an absurd talent for morbid roles. Julian passes in micro expressions and soft voice tones different facets of the character and in a sublime way. To the most inattentive viewer, it might not seem like it, but Richings' performance is rich and profound. A treat.

Of course, none of these positive attributes would be far from fruitfully condensed if they weren't under competent direction.

Justin G. Dyck doesn't do anything very different or phenomenal in the work, but he doesn't exaggerate the description, he doesn't seek the gore for the gore, the shock for the shock, the shots are sober and made in a way that the audience can understand everything that is going on. passing on screen. Both what is seen and what is not shown. That level of sensitivity is what makes great directors. I hope he stays that way. I want to see more of his films, especially horror.

In short: do you like horror stories with a good dose of drama, told in a cohesive and sensitive way?

Then watch Anything for Jackson today.

                                                                                                         Grade: 8.5

 

* the film is available on Amazon Prime Video USA