For those of us who grew up watching John Lithgow as the face of the small-minded townspeople in Footloose, or as the voice of a cartoon villain in Shrek, his latest turn in The Rule of Jenny Pen is certainly a shocking one. In theaters March 7, IFC Films has just released the first full trailer for the film, about two men who find themselves at dangerous odds with one another when they’re bound to the same nursing home.
Directed by James Ashcroft, who wrote the film with Eli Kent, The Rule of Jenny Pen won both best director and best actor for Rush at last year’s Fantastic Fest, as well as a dual best actor win for both Rush and Lithgow at the 2024 Sitges International Film Festival. The film’s logline is as follows:
Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. Resistant to the staff and distant from his friendly roommate, Mortensen soon clashes with seemingly gentle resident Dave Crealy who secretly terrorizes the home with a sadistic game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen” while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. What begins as childish torment quickly escalates into far more sinister and disturbing incidents. When Mortensen's pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy's reign of terror.
While we’d gotten a decent idea of just how unsettling Lithgow is in the film from prior teasers, the full trailer really lets rip, proving just how much influence he has over the frail souls around him. What’s more, it seems like he’s capable of more than he lets on, and not a single soul is safe from the games he so highly values.
The film is also set to hit Shudder sometime this year, though an exact release date for the platform has not been announced. It joins a number of other 2025 horror releases for Shudder and IFC Films, as well as RLJE Films, whose slate also includes Flying Lotus’ Ash, Clown in a Cornfield, adapted from Adam Cesare’s novel, and the Norwegian language film The Ugly Stepsister, which just premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Their slate also includes a handful of thrillers, including The Dead Thing, Armand, and Inheritance, starring Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor.
The Rule of Jenny Pen hits theaters on March 7. Watch the new trailer below:
