Based on Owen Marshall’s short story, “The Rule of Jenny Pen” (2025) blends the evocative drama of its setting, which is life at an elder-care home, with the standard horror thrills of a dangerous killer on the loose. James Ashcroft, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Eli Kent, explores the pangs of aging without compromising classic horror tropes. And when you have Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow magnificently raising hell, there is no option but to work wonderfully well as a film.
The Rule of Jenny Pen (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush), a formidably strict judge, does not mince words when delivering his judgment. The film starts with Stefan berating a mother who could not protect her daughter from being molested. To Stefan, not standing up is culpable. Things take a sharp turn for Stefan as he suffers a stroke, rendering him paralyzed. The state enrolls him in an elder-care home to recuperate. It hurts Stefan’s pride to rely on nurses for simple tasks like taking a bath.
Stefan is not particularly keen to make friends with his fellow residents. Thoroughly unimpressed by their condition, he tries to veer away from them, figuratively and literally, using his wheelchair. His roommate is Tony Garfield (George Henare), a sporting legend. Stefan dismisses Tony’s earnest attempts to strike a conversation. In his mind, Stefan is sure that he will leave the facility soon, cured and functional once again. However, his physical situation does not improve, and he is soon faced with a challenge that will change his attitude about the home forever.
Enter Dave Crealy (John Lithgow). Another resident of the home, who immediately registers a sinister impression on Stefan. Crealy is loud and is always seen with a creepy baby doll, which he uses as a hand puppet. This doll is lovingly called “Jenny Pen” by Crealy. Stefan soon finds out Crealy has a habit of roaming around the corridors at night, often tormenting residents. Crealy soon visits Stefan and throws a jug of urine at him. Stefan complains and asks Tony to come forward as a witness. But Tony rejects that. Stefan soon understands how every resident fears Crealy and Jenny Pen.
However, Stefan still does not fully grasp the menacing capability of Crealy. Soon, Crealy proves he is not just a simple bully but a reckless killer as well, as he leads one of the residents to her doom. Stefan, however, decides to take on Crealy. The two have often been at loggerheads, where authorities are forced to intervene. Stefan’s fight emboldens Tony, who has been Crealy’s favorite to torture.
The Rule of Jenny Pen (2025) Movie Ending Explained
How Did Stefan Fight Crealy?
Like any hero, Stefan does not let his stacked-up odds deter him in his fight against Crealy. Crealy is fitter and stronger, whereas Stefan cannot move without his wheelchair. Even his motor movements are impaired since the stroke, as he struggles to grip a glass firmly. However, Stefan still has the mind that made him a ruthlessly fair judge. He is not going to be culpable of letting Crealy carry on his deplorable activities unchallenged.
Stefan’s first act of vengeance is to empty Crealy’s Epipen supplies. Crealy’s only physical weakness is that he suffers from asthma. Stefan lures and goads Crealy to give in to his anger. Resultantly, Crealy gets an attack but could not use the pump. He would have died if not for the intervention of a passing nurse. Crealy takes revenge by hijacking Stefan on his wheelchair and then proceeding to torture an old couple. Crealy would have proceeded to molest the woman if not for a hit from Stefan.
Why Did Crealy Torture His Fellow Residents?
After Crealy’s attack, Stefan’s health deteriorates further. Crealy visits him in the night and seemingly breaks him. He demands that Stefan submit to the rule of Jenny Pen by kissing Jenny’s bottom. Which is kissing Crealy’s hand. A devastated Stefan sees no option but to comply. Crealy reveals that he has seen Stefan in his courthouse before. All the other residents, like Stefan and Tony, have been someone in their life before coming to this care home. Crealy has not been. That is why he wants to be one now. Where all these seemingly successful folks are at his mercy, under Jenny Pen’s rule. This is what drives Crealy.
What Does Crealy Signify?
Although Stefan seems to give in to Crealy, his fight has revolutionized Tony. The next morning, Tony shows this by performing an act of challenge against Crealy — a Maori haka performance. Crealy targets Tony and searches for him in the night. He visits the laundry room where Tony used to hide. Crealy is greeted by Tony and Stefan. Tony tackles Crealy from behind and holds his legs with all his might while Stefan proceeds to strangle him. With Crealy dead, Stefan burns the Jenny Pen doll.
In addition to being a classic horror villain, Crealy is also the representation of everything that an old person might fear in their twilight age. Crealy throwing urine at Stefan is a significant move, as an involuntary bowel movement is often the first sign of that fear. The fear of losing dignity. But does the natural process of a deteriorating health invalidate a person’s identity? Does aging truly make one lose dignity? Sure, we become more vulnerable, but not discardable. Stefan’s fight against Crealy proves that all it needs is a little more push. To push through the villainy and to find acceptance.
The Rule of Jenny Pen (2025) Movie Review:
In “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” director James Ashcroft attempts to thread the metaphorical needle to find the right balance between evoking pathos and providing ‘Slasher’ chills. The film is a slow but sinister deep dive into the psychotic mind of a memorable horror villain, thus working like a charm as a purely psychological horror film, like Rob Reiner’s “Misery” based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. But, in addition, it also explores another kind of horror. A much more sure-footed and predictable monster known as ‘Father Time.’
For it is not only Dave Crealy who tortures Stefan Mortensen. Dave Crealy is the personification of a much more deep-seated fear. A fear that is prevalent in all of us. The fear of seemingly relinquishing dignity when we are at the far end of our journey on earth. Stefan’s fight with Dave also reflects his acceptance of his situation. After all, despite the fearsome facade, Father Time is not as invincible as he seems. Quite like Crealy, all it needed was a great punch in the face.
“The Rule of Jenny Pen” is also buoyed by the magnificent leading duo of the veteran actors Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow. Rush brings a formidable aura to his Stefan, the aura of an academic grandpa who catches his grandchild misplacing the books in his library. He brings an intensity that stops Stefan from appearing truly helpless, even when the odds are highly stacked against him. Traits of a classic horror hero. Equally, Lithgow is a classic horror villain with his eerie hand-puppet, ‘Jenny Pen.’ The combination of him and the baby doll is a whole lot of menacing fun. Lithgow switches between hilariously cackling in one moment to terrifyingly ruthless in a blink of an eye. It would be remiss of me not to admit that the film would not have been half as fun if not for these two superb actors throwing the kitchen sink at each other.
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