Review by Chris Rennirt
“It’s another demonic possession movie”…again! Yes! So, this review starts the same as the last, for another movie about Satan and biblical ends of the world. But unlike others I’ve seen, this one offers, with all its similarities, something refreshingly different. Anything for Jackson (directed by Justin G. Dyck, and written by Keith Cooper) is a Shudder exclusive now on bluray and DVD. It’s a smart, surprisingly-unpredictable dark comedy with solid performances by all, elevating it well above its prenatally-possessed competitors.
Henry (Julian Richings) and Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) in Anything for Jackson.
Anything for Jackson begins with a scene as ordinary as anything could be, much like a scene from the The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, straight from the 1950s. A sixty-something couple, in a wide-angle kitchen shot, talk about what’s for breakfast.The husband even complains, calmly to his wife, that she hemmed one leg of his pants too short. “I don’t want to look like a rapper,” he says, with reserved but serious concern. A visitor arrives, and suddenly things are anything but ordinary! Suddenly, things are horrific!
Greek-Canadian actress Konstantina Mantelos stars as Shannon Becker in Anything for Jackson.
The Ozzie and Harriet duo, Henry (Julian Richings) and Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) are actually a bereaved Satanist couple (and would-be grandparents) determined to bring back their dead grandson, even if it means dealing with The Devil. Killing anyone who gets in their way is not off limits…if necessary. The chemistry between Richings and McCarthy, along with their deadpan delivery of dialogue in horrific scenarios, is the first way Anything for Jackson becomes, also, a stand-out, dark-comedy gem. Without such actors in the lead roles, I doubt I’d already be singing the movie’s praises.
Shannon (Konstantina Mantelos), Henry (Julian Richings) and Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) make a most contrasing trio of characters in Anything for Jackson.
The other of the film’s roads to black-comedy success is paved with over-the-top scenes of blood, gore, and gratuitous violence. In multiple, repeating scenes, a detective who committed “suicide by Satan” commits the bloody coup de grace to the point that it becomes humorous. When you find yourself laughing at blood and gore and you’re not a psycho killer yourself, you know the comedy is dark! And I won’t even talk about the death by wood chipper!
All hail to Satan, as in all great horror films…or so they think!
What’s more is a Satanic priest, Ian (Josh Cruddas), hilariously creepy with long, combed-over hair covering a bald spot, an unintentional caricature of himself. The serious, self-important demeanor Cruddas adds, gives Ian a humorous irony, especially in the face of his fate. A socially-dysfunctional, Satanist nerd is the unwitting butt of The Devil’s joke; the result is laughable, just, and darkly delicious–just as the most tasty of black comedies should be!
Ian (Josh Cruddas) is the self-appointed Satanic priest, adding richly to the movie’s dark humor.
And does this tale of demonic possession have a centuries-old (or thousands-of-years-old) Satanic text dug up from a Middle-Eastern country’s cursed crypts? Do characters use it to read evil verses to resurrect demons and the dead, without knowing WTF they’re really doing? Of course! And how that reminds us of another pillar of cult-classic horror comedy—The Evil Dead (1981). Whether an intentional homage or the writer’s idea of a necessary trope, it works well again! Yes! Tropes are tropes for a reason, and Anything for Jackson proves it…again!
Konstantina Mantelos (as Shannon Becker), horrified to learn her fate in Anything for Jackson!
And, I could not end this review without mentioning and applauding the performance of the Greek-Canadian actress Konstantina Mantelos (Stalked by a Prince, 2022; Smile, 2021; Reprise, 2019). Mantelos (as Shannon) is oddly, and surely by design, the singular character in the story who is not a source of dark comedy. She plays it straight as the victim of the demented, satanic duo, Henry and Audrey. This effectively keeps the movie, despite its humorous overtures, well within the real world, as well as realistically horrifying. Just as striking, as a contrast to Shannon’s limited character development early on, is her sudden growth beyond the gagged victim, once she begins to talk. From there, Mantelos is able to showcase her talents as an actress, giving Shannon a personality we not only know, but also care about. Horror movies too often give victim fodder no time to develop beyond the cardboard stage, leaving them behind as generic clichés, leaving those who portray them little to work with. Writer Keith Cooper gives Mantelos the opportunity, and with it she shines as an actress…and helps Anything for Jackson bear a most evil, successful genre offspring! And yes, that’s a cryptic, albeit telling double-entendre that avoids a spoiler!
Could this little ghost be as harmless as it appears? What do you think?
This is a movie with an ending that may, on its own, make or break it for you. Googling WTF, I now expect Anything for Jackson to be mentioned. There is absolutely no closure, and no director/writer clues about where it’s all going after the end. Will Satan have the upper hand (or hoof!) on Earth? Will the progeny of such evil be the answer we get, someday in a sequel? We can only wonder…and perhaps feel good about the freedom we have to choose and guess. But, don’t avoid this one for its debatable downsides. If you can laugh enough along the way, appreciating its dark comedy and gross-out gratuities and out-of-nowhere surprises, you may actually love Anything for Jackson anyway, ending be damned! Sometimes, as they say, the ride is worth more than the destination, and this may be one of those rides. At the risk of another WTF, I’ll ask, “If ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, isn’t a monster in the mind worth two in the belly?”
Rocket Rating – 7.5
Chris Rennirt is a movie critic and writer in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as editor in chief at Space Jockey Reviews. He has been a judge at many film festivals, including Macabre Faire Film Festival and Crimson Screen Film Fest, and he attends horror and sci-fi conventions often. Chris’ movie reviews, articles, and interviews appear in Effective Magazine and are published regularly on Space Jockey Reviews.