# The Rule of Jenny Pen
*The Rule of Jenny Pen* is a New Zealand psychological horror film directed by [James Ashcroft](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-ashcroft), in which a retired judge, partially paralyzed by a stroke, is placed in a care home where a fellow resident terrorizes the occupants through his hand puppet, Jenny Pen. It stars [Geoffrey Rush](https://www.edgepedia.org/geoffrey-rush) as Judge Stefan Mortensen and [John Lithgow](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-lithgow) as Dave Crealy, with George Henare as Tony Garfield.[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen) The film premiered as the opening night film in competition at Fantastic Fest in 2024 and reached theaters and streaming in 2025.[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | James Ashcroft; screenplay by Eli Kent and James Ashcroft, adapted from a short story by Owen Marshall[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen) |
| Lead cast | Geoffrey Rush as Stefan Mortensen, John Lithgow as Dave Crealy, George Henare as Tony Garfield[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen) |
| Production | New Zealand feature, 2024/2025; produced by Catherine Fitzgerald and Orlando Stewart[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen) |
| Runtime | 104 minutes (Sitges listing); 103 minutes per Philadelphia Film Society and BBFC[2](https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/film/2024/rule-jenny-pen) • [3](https://filmadelphia.org/movies/the-rule-of-jenny-pen/) |
| Festival record | Fantastic Fest 2024 opening night, in competition; Sitges 2024 European premiere, Best Actor win shared by Lithgow and Rush[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen) |
| US release | March 7, 2025, IFC Films and Shudder[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rule-of-jenny-pen/) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 66 (generally favorable, 20 critic reviews); Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 72% from 110 reviews[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rule-of-jenny-pen/) • [5](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rule_of_jenny_pen) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
While presiding over a court session, Judge Stefan Mortensen, a reclusive jurist approaching retirement, has a stroke that lands him in a care facility. In the home he meets Dave Crealy, a resident of many years who abuses the other inhabitants, wielding his doll Jenny Pen both to enforce his cruel rule and as an instrument of torment. A showdown between the two men escalates into violence and horror.[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen)
Crealy presents himself to the staff as a gentle, harmless soul by exaggerating his mental and physical decay, while tyrannizing patients behind officialdom's back and making the bewildered residents submit to the puppet's "rule".[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-pulls-the-strings-in-care-home-horror-geoffrey-rush) Mortensen, wheelchair-bound and partially paralyzed, is mentally aware of his surroundings but physically helpless, which makes him a target; when his pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to end Crealy's reign.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-pulls-the-strings-in-care-home-horror-geoffrey-rush) • [5](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rule_of_jenny_pen) Mortensen shares a room with Tony Garfield, a retired rugby star.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-pulls-the-strings-in-care-home-horror-geoffrey-rush)
Ashcroft has described the film as being about tyranny, calling the story "the rise of a dictator in the least likely of places".[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6874690) Reviewers have read it as a story of bullying and elder-on-elder abuse, most chilling when it stays within realist constraints of what could actually happen.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-pulls-the-strings-in-care-home-horror-geoffrey-rush)
## Origins and production
The film adapts a short story of the same name by New Zealand author Owen Marshall.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-pulls-the-strings-in-care-home-horror-geoffrey-rush) It is Ashcroft's second feature and his second adaptation of an Owen Marshall story, following *Coming Home in the Dark* (2021).[8](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-listener/entertainment/aged-scare-facility-behind-the-curtains-of-kiwi-rest-home-horror/KATMLZFPOZFSND2FC43ZVYRSF4/) The crew includes Matt Henley as cinematographer, Gretchen Peterson as editor, and John Gibson as composer.[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen)
Unlike possessed-doll horror such as *Annabelle* or *Chucky*, the film contains no supernatural element; the puppet is simply a hand puppet wielded by a human abuser, and the horror comes from the vulnerability of elderly residents and the disbelief of staff.[9](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/rule-jenny-pen-john-lithgow-terrorises-elderly-with-glove-puppet-this-one-note-nursing-home-nasty) • [10](https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/20-03-2025/review-the-rule-of-jenny-pen-is-the-most-brutal-and-bold-local-film-in-years) [Sound design](https://www.edgepedia.org/sound-design) carries much of the atmosphere, turning the supposedly benign quiet of a rest home into something unsettling.[8](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-listener/entertainment/aged-scare-facility-behind-the-curtains-of-kiwi-rest-home-horror/KATMLZFPOZFSND2FC43ZVYRSF4/)
## Release and festivals
*The Rule of Jenny Pen* screened as the opening night film in competition at [Fantastic Fest](https://www.edgepedia.org/fantastic-fest) in 2024, followed by its European premiere at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, where Lithgow and Rush jointly won Best Actor.[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen) It also played the Chicago International Film Festival's After Dark section, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), the Torino Film Festival, and others, with a closing night slot at the Molins Horror Film Festival.[1](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen)
The film was released in the United States on March 7, 2025, by IFC Films, with streaming on Shudder.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rule-of-jenny-pen/) • [11](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-rule-of-jenny-pen) In the United Kingdom it was classified by the BBFC in early 2025 with the advice "sexual violence, strong threat, very strong language", distributed by Vertigo Releasing.[12](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4mjqz) In October 2024, before release, [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king) publicly recommended the film on X, calling it one of the best films he had seen that year.[13](https://as.com/meristation/cine/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-trata-sobre-un-psicopata-con-una-marioneta-y-stephen-king-dice-que-es-lo-mejor-del-ano-n/)
## Reception
Critical response was generally favorable. The film holds a Metascore of 66 based on 20 critic reviews, with 14 positive and 6 mixed and none negative, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer of 72 percent from 110 reviews; the site's critics consensus centers on "John Lithgow's frighteningly unhinged performance".[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rule-of-jenny-pen/) • [5](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rule_of_jenny_pen) Peter Bradshaw of *The Guardian* praised its claustrophobic mood and bravura performances while noting slight narrative blurring toward the end.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-pulls-the-strings-in-care-home-horror-geoffrey-rush) A second *Guardian* review called it a "bracingly malicious tale of elder abuse" with moments of greatness.[14](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/16/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-geoffrey-rush-new-zealand-nursing-home-chiller-james-ashcroft) *Sight and Sound* was more reserved, judging the central duel largely one-note and finding the narrative credulity stretched, though it acknowledged that Rush and Lithgow are clearly committed.[9](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/rule-jenny-pen-john-lithgow-terrorises-elderly-with-glove-puppet-this-one-note-nursing-home-nasty)
At the New Zealand Screen Awards in 2025, Lithgow won Best Actor in a Feature and George Henare won Best Supporting Actor in a Feature, with further nominations for Rush, Ashcroft, and editor Gretchen Peterson; the film's total record stood at 4 wins and 8 nominations.[15](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6874690/awards/) In New Zealand commentary, *The Spinoff* called it among the most brutal and bold local films in years, noting that, unlike much New Zealand horror, it avoids splatter-comedy.[10](https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/20-03-2025/review-the-rule-of-jenny-pen-is-the-most-brutal-and-bold-local-film-in-years)
## References
1. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, New Zealand Film Commission](https://www.nzfilm.co.nz/films/rule-jenny-pen)
2. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, Sitges Film Festival](https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/film/2024/rule-jenny-pen)
3. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, Philadelphia Film Society](https://filmadelphia.org/movies/the-rule-of-jenny-pen/)
4. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-rule-of-jenny-pen/)
5. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rule_of_jenny_pen)
6. [The Rule of Jenny Pen review, The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw, 12 March 2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-pulls-the-strings-in-care-home-horror-geoffrey-rush)
7. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6874690)
8. [Aged scare facility: Behind the curtains of Kiwi rest home horror, NZ Herald / The Listener](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-listener/entertainment/aged-scare-facility-behind-the-curtains-of-kiwi-rest-home-horror/KATMLZFPOZFSND2FC43ZVYRSF4/)
9. [The Rule of Jenny Pen review, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/rule-jenny-pen-john-lithgow-terrorises-elderly-with-glove-puppet-this-one-note-nursing-home-nasty)
10. [Review: The Rule of Jenny Pen is the most brutal and bold local film in years, The Spinoff](https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/20-03-2025/review-the-rule-of-jenny-pen-is-the-most-brutal-and-bold-local-film-in-years)
11. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-rule-of-jenny-pen)
12. [The Rule of Jenny Pen, BBFC](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi4mjqz)
13. [Stephen King recomienda The Rule of Jenny Pen, MeriStation (AS.com)](https://as.com/meristation/cine/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-trata-sobre-un-psicopata-con-una-marioneta-y-stephen-king-dice-que-es-lo-mejor-del-ano-n/)
14. [The Rule of Jenny Pen review, The Guardian (16 March 2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/16/the-rule-of-jenny-pen-review-john-lithgow-geoffrey-rush-new-zealand-nursing-home-chiller-james-ashcroft)
15. [The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6874690/awards/)
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