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I love this movie so much

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death represents that rare film experience that I love most, the time in which I know nothing about a film and can enter with absolutely no expectations. I'd only heard about Let's Scare Jessica to Death, the 1971 film by John D. Hancock, in passing and purposely avoided even looking up the film's synopsis. Starring Zohra Lampert, and Mariclare Costello, the film explores the psyche of a woman recently released from time in a mental institution and her attempt to re-enter society. Psychological horror is my favorite horror sub-genre, and Let's Scare Jessica to Death was not lacking in psychological terror.Jessica (Zohra Lampert), her husband Duncan (Barton Heyman), and their friend Woody (Kevin O'Connor) have bought an isolated home along with several acres of farmland. The trio intends to live there and become largely self-sufficient in order to gently ease Jessica back into society. Jessica has just been released from a psychiatric hospital in New York and her husband believed a slower paced life in the country would suit her better. Upon their arrival to their newly purchased home, Jessica is frightened as she keeps seeing a figure roaming about the house, thinking she is succumbing to her psychosis, she keeps to herself. Her husband relieves her when he announces that he sees the figure, as well. The three friends track down the woman, Emily (Mariclare Costello) a vagabond who has taken refuge in their home while it was abandoned. Enjoying her company, they ask Emily to stay with them. Jessica begins to feel uneasy about the stranger's presence and is still seeing figures in the shadows and even what looks like a body in the lake when she is swimming. Jessica keeps these apparitions to herself in an attempt to avoid being recommitted to a mental institution. When Jessica and her husband venture into the nearby town in an attempt to sell some relics left in the house, they are informed about the folklore of Abigail Bishop. Abigail Bishop was a member of the family that previously owned the home Jessica and Duncan purchased. The townspeople believe that Jessica is now a vampire and haunts the town and her former home. For Jessica, this revelation points to the possibility that she may be seeing an actual apparition but when she leads her husband and Woody to an empty woods where she claimed she was shown a body, the men begin to believe that Jessica is slowly losing her mind.One aspect that Let's Scare Jessica to Death accomplishes quite well is that it succeeds in setting an ominous tone right from the beginning. Horror films absolutely depend upon their scores and use of sound, and this film has a fantastic use of sound and score. Let's Scare Jessica to Death is an incredibly atmospheric film, and it is am an atmosphere that the audience can jump into immediately and remain immersed into throughout the film. The ending was reminiscent of Rosemary's Baby, which was a nice homage, whether it was intended or not. The plot of this film was deeply intriguing. Much attention is paid to Jessica's psychological state. The over-arching theme is that you can escape any external threat, but you cannot escape the power of your mind. Once your subconscious takes hold of your being you are no longer in control; the emphasis placed on the power of the mind's subconscious was a powerful and intriguing aspect of the film. The notion of the "crazy one" being the only one that is sane and seeing a situation for what it is certainly isn't a new plot device, but was used exceptionally well in Let's Scare Jessica to Death, largely because it nods to the plot device without being overt with it. I appreciate a psychological terror film more so than a slasher type of horror film, so Let's Scare Jessica to Death definitely fits that bill. There were some problems throughout the film, however, the most glaring one being the flat characters. Jessica, Woody, Duncan, and even Emily came off emotionless which is a problem with the film because their characters didn't necessitate such a flat portrayal. It prevents some engagement because I just didn't have much of a reason to care about anyone on screen. The film also suffered from some technical aspects, such as a poor sound synchronization that one can blame on the early 70's smaller budget film technology. Overall, Let's Scare Jessica to Death is an engrossing psychological film that captures the essence of the mind's power and translates it to the screen quite well.

This is a film that works best by at first creeping up on you and then grabbing you on the spine. Nothing is what it seems here as the central character has recently been released from a mental institute and is unsure of whether the events she believes are happening are real, or in fact a figment of her imagination. By developing a tense atmosphere and building up a lot of suspense, this film is a rarity that really does manage to provoke chills.While watching, it's hard to ignore the '70s fashions and the whole dated, arty, hippy mentality. However, if you do manage to overcome these obstacles then you're in for a darned good film. The acting is amateurish and yet suited to the piece; who better to portray normal people than, well, people off the street? The female lead is absolutely wonderful, playing a mentally unstable woman who is the heroine of the film, and who everybody else believes is crazy in any case.Towards the end of the film, things really begin to gel together as the chills become more focused. In one spellbinding, transfixing scene a pale figure rises out of a lake, a haunting apparition. The townsfolk are clearly involved in some huge conspiracy, leading to lots of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS-style paranoia. A clear reminder that violence and gore are not necessary for a horror film to scare, this underrated classic is highly unsettling.

Quite a weird horror flick that really has a misleading title, although it could be argued that Jessica at times might get that idea... The story isn't really all that obvious anyway, since there are a few options possible for what's going on. Is there something weird going on in the town? Is it just the house? Why does the hippie girl look like one of the old inhabitants of the house? Questions, questions. In the end, we get our answer, and it's quite scary, indeed. Some people claim it is ultimately a vampire story, but I beg to differ - completely.The original, unnerving soundtrack and the atmospheric surroundings are two major players in the film, but the cast play really well and quite natural also. There are hints of several other scary movies here ('Rosemary's baby' 1968, 'Night of the living dead' 1968), but 'Let's scare Jessica to death' really does its own thing. It does drag on just a little here and there, but why some people find this to be a complete bore and / or failure is beyond me.A small 8 out of 10.

Slow burners can really be good but a formula for success they are not at least not for me. I think Zohra Lampert did a good job playing Jessica, a young woman recently released from a mental hospital trying to pick up her life again with her husband Duncan and friend of the family Woody. they move into a house on the countryside where they meet up with Emily, who had broken into the house. But Jessica feels sorry for this young girl who seemingly has no place else to go, so Emily can stay as long as she desires. So the townspeople are quite weird, Emily gets manipulative over the newbies and Jessica hears voices in her head. She also sees things that others don't but still she tries her best that nothing is wrong. If not for her good screenplay I would have rated this movie even lower. The other characters including Emily are just not interesting nor is the storyline any exciting and pretty predictable at that. The finale is really disappointing. Not a fan of vampires but this must be one of the lamest vampire movies I have seen.