Jessabelle Review

Jessabelle is one of the rare cases in which a horror film left me scratching my head in equal amounts of confusion and disappointment as opposed to being remotely creeped out by the end of it. I kept wondering to myself what I was supposed to feel during certain scenes as well as what the story was trying to build up to in the grand scheme of things. Now conceptually speaking, there is indeed something quite interesting beneath the surface here, but the overall poor execution is what ends up dragging this film down for me. Now I won't lie and tell you that Jessabelle was one of the worst horror films that I have ever seen considering I've experienced much worst in the past. However, I can confidently say that it's up there with the most boring and forgettable. So, let's get into what made the movie a less than stellar viewing experience altogether.

You have your typical story of an evil and tormenting spirit that preys on an innocent person resulting in the audience having to witness these terrifying supernatural events occur. Sounds pretty straight forward, right? Well surprisingly enough, the story takes place in a refreshingly different setting than we normally see in mainstream supernatural horror flicks. Added onto that is the fact that our innocent protagonist also so happens to be handicapped in a wheelchair which already adds a heightened sense of anxiety and vulnerability to whenever she's being attacked by something sinister. In regards to the setting, there is a lot of potential shown here through the southern, voodoo themed, and swampy setting which brings its own sense of a mysterious atmosphere. Unfortunately, as alluring as it might be on its own for a supernatural horror story to take place in, it sadly isn't enough to cover over the bland and poorly developed characters living within it. 

Even with a seemingly good layout for a horror story or premise to blossom into something tension racking or frightening, the film sadly goes nowhere of interest and completely butchers what potential it had. Now if I were to slip in a positive here, I would say that the performances are surprisingly decent all things considered with the track record of horror cinema. Although, thinking about it now, I believe this leans heavily on the lack of dialogue presented in the film. There are several scenes where the main characters come across as curious children wandering around quietly searching for something bigger than what's actually there. Ironically, as an audience member watching, I honestly felt that same sense of curiosity wondering if I may have missed something that was significant to enjoying this movie. 

One of my biggest pet peeves in any form of visual storytelling is to see something potentially great sink down to the realm of forgettability and mediocrity which is where Jessabelle falls into. There are absolutely no scenes that were even remotely scary and the mystery element of the story is constantly washed away by unnecessary distractions making this a challenge to watch. Every scene that begins to hint towards something interesting with the protagonist's connection to this evil entity in the story is then met by a lackluster and poorly executed horror cliche. If that doesn't happen, we're instead treated with a scene showcasing her simply struggling around in her wheelchair (an image that perfectly mirrors my viewing experience). Guys, skip this one as there are plenty of better supernatural horror films out there that are actually worth watching. 

Rating: 3/10