The portrayal of derangement in old age is at its finest as the core of  The Rule of Jenny Pen. Written and directed by James Ashcroft he offers a new blend of terror where the lines of laughter find their angles. The Rule of Jenny Pen finds a tone of quirkiness that keeps its genius track. It is a film where the elderly seek revenge. With the performances of Geoffrey Rush (as Stefan Mortensen) and John Lithgow (as Dave Crealy), they both deliver a sinister mode of acting style where they may be nice at heart, but deep down there is a misdirection that is surreal.

Stefan Mortensen is the main character of the film. He is a judge who finds himself to be in an aging crisis. His health issues cause him to move into a nursing home, where boggled and irritated by having his life transition, he must learn to share with other elderly individuals. One of these folks is Dave Crealy, a demented man of cruelty who is quite terrorizing. He continually pushes to Stefan to play a game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen” which involves a doll with personification to be a tool of rudeness. Once this happens, the film is a gradual ride of laughter and terror (at the minimal level). Repulsive in some fragments, The Rule of Jenny Pen is one of those experiences where tolerance may be a necessity.

The cruelty of the film is where it most captures the attention ofits audience. The Rule of Jenny Pen is a spellbinding and creative journey where a strange form of creativity keeps building a balance between two elderly men in one never-ending boxing match of an anxiety-provoking behavior. It is psychologically crazy, while also killer funny. The Rule of Jenny Pen has a form of writing that blends into humor that is witty—the scenarios may seem disturbing, but they grasp what can also be hysterical. 

With the film’s terror coming from the use of a doll, it delivers the impression that the doll may have powers, which it in fact does in a way. These powers though are discrete. The cleverness though, is how it fuels the persona of the doll as being the source of the blame. Any form of conflict between Stefan and Dave is linked back to the doll. It is a never-ending ride of the blame game, frustrations in the nursing home, and a question of its audience asking who will have a heart attack first.

As the bonkers of agitations go above and beyond (from the performances of Rush and Lithgow), it delivers a classiness of characterization of the quirks of an elderly age. The only add-on is a puppet that becomes the source of the blame and the of the butting heads. The Rule of Jenny Pen does at times lack seriousness and authenticity, but it does right to remain in its lane to be psychologically crazy and fun. Three out of four stars for The Rule of Jenny Pen.