One of the scariest things to me in horror films is when some demon, ghost, or anyone’s body distorts in a way it shouldn’t and they start walking on all fours with their head turned the wrong way, a la the scene on the stairs in The Exorcist. There’s a lot of that going on in the second half of Anything For Jackson. There’s even more than that happening, but if I told you anything else, it would ruin the fun.
“…turns up the tension as well as the best of them.”
As far as horror goes, Anything For Jackson turns up the tension as well as the best of them. I have seen so many horror movies at this point, it could possibly be considered a mental disorder, so most of them don’t get under my skin too much. This film made me genuinely anxious. I know that different people have different “scare” buttons when it comes to horror, but this flick definitely pushed mine. Director Justin G. Dyck certainly knows how to ramp up the creep factor at just the right times. Writer Keith Cooper crafts a believable story about something that, hopefully, fingers-crossed-forever, could never happen in real life. The characters feel real and not just living manifestations of tropes.
So, if you like a good Satanic ritual or two or love movies about hauntings, then you should absolutely watch Anything For Jackson. It surprised me in many ways, chiefly because it was able to scare me a little when that almost never happens. If you are desensitized to horror at this point in your jaded film-watching journey, try this one on for size. It might make you want to leave a light on when you go to sleep the night you watch it.
Anything For Jackson screened at the 2020 NightStream Film Festival.
"…might make you want to leave a light on when you go to sleep..."
