The Jester

Everyday we run into so many people, no matter if we are heading to work, school, if we need to go grocery shopping or perhaps to the local bakery. We meet new faces along the way and even if we might recognize someone we don´t really think much more about it. Our faces does not only express how we may feel or if we are trying to hide anything personal, our faces may actually reveal something about our personalities. What if you meet someone wearing a mask where you can´t tell who that person is, and you can´t read their facial expressions either? Most of us probably wouldn´t care especially if it was a holiday weekend such as Halloween. Unless we recognize the mask and we instantly feel true fear knowing who is behind the mask. In the case of Halloween weekend there is especially one mask that really define the pure meaning of evil, and that is the mask serial killer Michael Myers is wearing in the Halloween franchise. Halloween is not only one of the most beloved slasher classics in the horror community, it also gave us the iconic horror character Michael Myers with his classic kitchen knife attacks. Ever since the first film came out in the 1978 film Halloween this has been a cult film for fans to watch during this holiday weekend. After the first film was released we have had plenty of sequels and i do appreciate some of them. One of my personal favourite sequels in this franchise is without a doubt Halloween 4 - The Return Of Michael Myers from director Dwight L. Little. What made this film a fun return of Michael Myers was the battle between him and Dr. Sam Loomis ( legendary actor Donald Pleasence ) on a different level that we have seen before. If you want to watch all the Halloween sequels please feel welcome to do so but i highly recommend Halloween 4. Speaking of masked killers i have heard about an independent horror film called The Jester released last year that looked interesting. I decided to pick up a blu ray copy from the UK to check it out. Is this a horror film for true fans of the slasher genre or is this a film that turned out to be much worse than i expected?

A man named John ( Matt Servitto ) is walking along a bridge at night time. He is full of regrets and tries to reach out to someone to talk to regarding his depression. At this bridge he meets a figure dressed with an orange suit and what seems to be some kind of clown mask. This figure is known as The Jester ( Michael Sheffield ) and he is no ordinary human. He makes John hang himself from the bridge by using one of his magic tricks. At the funeral service John´s daughter Emma ( Leila Symington ) appear just to say her last goodbye even though she hated her father. This is where she also see´s John´s other daughter Jocelyn ( Delaney White ) who he had with a new wife and created another family. Jocelyn reach out to Emma to try and talk, just to hang out and talk about their same father. The meeting doesn´t go well and Emma walks off. Outside in the street Emma meets The Jester, who shows up wherever she chooses to go. She have no idea what this figure wants or why it is following her, until she learns that there is a connection to her father.

Those who truly know me personally know that i have never been a big fan of the Scream franchise, i never really saw Ghostface as terrifying or the films of this franchise to be that scary. The first one is the best in the Scream franchise but i gave up on the franchise after 2 films. The good thing about finding a more interesting slasher is that you can actually appreciate a different approach of a serial killer and that´s exactly what i did with The Jester. The clown mask definetely looks more creepy than Ghostface does and i do enjoy that this masked killer in The Jester is doing different tricks while he shows himself in public, almost as if he came right out of a circus performance. And if i am being completely honest this so called clown masked demonic figure is the strength of this film. As he does magic tricks while taking out each victims, he also does some unexpected things like dancing next to a grave. The Jester played by actor Michael Sheffield shows that you can make a performance work even though the character doesn´t talk verbally. I also think the orange suit matches the mask very well, it is difficult not to appreciate the costume design of The Jester. So what about the other characters? My personal favoruite performance outside of The Jester is actress Leila Symington playing the depressed character Emma. You can feel the anger in her performance as she wishes her childhood would have been much happier. I also appreciate the performance from actress Delaney White who is also dealing with family issues just as Emma. The plot of The Jester is very simple and it´t not hard to get into this film, and the simplicity helps this film become more enjoyable even though the budget is limited. Some of the horror scenes works pretty good except for a scene where a head is decapitated, that scene could have been made much more effective. Otherwise i can´t really complain on anything, The Jester is a charming small horror film that´s made for an audience who loves the circus or an amusement park visit during the Halloween weekend. Director Colin Krawchuk uses simple methods and manage to put together a tasteful horror treat for us who appreciate independent horror films. The Jester is definetely worth picking up on a physical copy, you never know if The Jester might show up at your house to entertain your family.

Rating: DDD