Jakob's Wife is a 2021 American vampire horror film directed and produced by Travis Stevens from a screenplay by Stevens, Kathy Charles, and Mark Steensland. The film stars Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, and Bonnie Aarons.[3]

Jakob's Wife
Promotional poster
Directed byTravis Stevens
Screenplay by
  • Kathy Charles
  • Mark Steensland
  • Travis Stevens
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDavid Matthews
Edited by
  • Aaron Crozier
  • Travis Stevens
Music byTara Busch
Production
companies
  • Alliance Media Partners
  • Eyevox Entertainment
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 17, 2021 (2021-03-17) (SXSW)
  • April 16, 2021 (2021-04-16) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$30,000[1][2]

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 17, 2021;[3] it was released in theaters, on demand, and digitally in the United States by RLJE Films and Shudder on April 16, 2021.[4]

Plot

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Anne, married to a small-town Minister, feels her life has been shrinking over the past 30 years. Encountering "The Master" brings her a new sense of power and an appetite to live bolder. However, the change comes with a heavy body count.[5]

Cast

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  • Barbara Crampton as Anne Fedder
  • Larry Fessenden as Pastor Jakob Fedder
  • Bonnie Aarons as The Master
  • Nyisha Bell as Amelia Humphries
  • Sarah Lind as Carol Fedder
  • Mark Kelly as Bob Fedder
  • Robert Rusler as Tom Low
  • Jay DeVon Johnson as Sheriff Mike Hess
  • CM Punk as Deputy Colton
  • Omar Salazar as Oscar
  • Ned Yousef as Naveed Al Amin
  • Giovannie Cruz as Mariana Al Amin
  • Armani Desirae as Little Girl
  • Monica L. Henry as Dr. Meda
  • Skeeta Jenkins as Butcher
  • Kathe Newcomb as Mattie
  • Morgan Peter Brown
  • Angelie Denizard as Eli

Release

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The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 17, 2021, with RLJE Films and Shudder acquiring the US distribution rights the month before. It was released in theaters, on demand, and digitally in the United States by RLJE Films and Shudder on April 16, 2021.[6][7]

Reception

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Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 86% of 70 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critic consensus reads: "Jakob's Wife gives genre legend Barbara Crampton an opportunity to carry an old-school horror story—and she bloody well delivers."[8] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]

The Guardian gave the film 3/5 stars and said "as a comic, genre-inflected study of middle-aged female rage, it’s a gas."[10] The Los Angeles Times praised the performances of the leads while calling the themes "a bit simplistic."[11] /Film gave the film 6.5 out of 10 and called it "a showcase for its legendary leads."[12] Variety negatively reviewed the film calling it "a fairly bland journey-of-self-fulfillment" and " iron-deficient."[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Jakob's Wife (2021)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "Jakob's Wife (2021)". The Numbers. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Thompson, Rocco T. (March 16, 2021). "Barbara Crampton Discusses Hope, Renewal, and "Jakob's Wife"". Rue Morgue. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  4. ^ Oddo, Mark Vito (July 13, 2021). "Barbara Crampton Is a Housewife-Turned-Vampire In 'Jakob's Wife,' Coming Exclusively to Shudder". Collider. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Jakob's Wife, retrieved May 2, 2023
  6. ^ Collis, Clark (March 16, 2021). "Watch a marriage go to hell in trailer for SXSW horror film Jakob's Wife". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  7. ^ Hipes, Patrick (February 18, 2021). "SXSW-Bound Horror Pic 'Jakob's Wife' Lands At RLJE Films And Shudder Ahead Of Premiere". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "Jakob's Wife (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Jakob's Wife Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  10. ^ Felperin, Leslie (August 18, 2021). "Jakob's Wife review – fun and gore in splatterfest with female-rage subtext". The Guardian. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  11. ^ Murray, Noel (April 14, 2021). "Review: Chemistry between Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden fuels 'Jakob's Wife'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  12. ^ Hall, Jacob (March 18, 2021). "'Jakob's Wife' Review: Barbara Crampton Becomes a Vampire and Has Marital Issues in This Gory Horror Comedy [SXSW 2021]". /Film. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Kiang, Jessica (March 17, 2021). "'Jakob's Wife' Review: A Cheap and Cheerless Vampire Movie Knock-Off". Variety. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
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