At the Oscars last week, host Conan O'Brien warned winners whose acceptance speeches rambled on too long that the disappointed face of "Conclave" actor John Lithgow would flash on screen to freeze their blood and shock them into silence.
That was nothing compared to the behavior Lithgow exhibits as asylum inmate Dave Crealy in "The Rule of Jenny Pen," now in theaters, where the weapon of choice is a bald hand puppet with glowing eyes that Dave calls Jenny Pen. Her smile is even scarier than her frown, and that's saying something.
Had Lithgow sprung Jenny Pen at Adrien Brody, who won the best actor trophy for "The Brutalist" at this year's Oscars, audiences would have been spared 5 minutes and 40 seconds of verbal meandering that now qualifies, according to the Guinness Book of Records, as the longest speech in Oscar's 97-year history. And not in a good way.
So back to Jenny. She's quite the presence at the Royal Pine Mews Care Home from the moment the unhinged Dave gets his hands inside her and they both go bonkers terrifying patients.
Dave's newest target is Judge Stefan Mortensen, a smug dispenser of arrogant entitlement as wickedly played by "Shine" Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush. No sooner does the judge suffer a stroke on the bench than he's transported via wheelchair to Royal Pine, where Dave and Jenny are more than ready for him.
And not just to do a sing-and-dance-along to the classic pub song "Knees Up Mother Brown," though they do make that scene a merry, malevolent treat.
Credit New Zealand director and co-writer James Ashcroft ("Coming Home in the Dark") for bringing a creeping sense of dread to the screenplay based on the short story by Owen Marshall. There is no overt violence here, just don't expect a peaceful sleep after seeing it.
The judge finds an ally in his roommate Tony, played by Māori actor George Henare, a former rugby sensation who finds a devilishly clever way to use his talent for the game. And Lithgow, who won an Emmy for playing Winston Churchill on "The Crown," sure knows how to let his freak flag fly.
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Just let's not forget that everything good about "The Rule of Jenny Pen" traces back to the virtuoso acting skills of Lithgow and Rush, two vibrant old pros who are an evil joy forever, as well as the film's unending source of mirth and menace.
And raise a cheer for Jenny Pen, who joins a list of devil dolls for the ages from Chucky to Annabelle and M3gan and the sinister ventriloquist dummy voiced by Anthony Hopkins in "Magic."
Who's the one devil doll to rule them all? I'm no fool. I pick Jenny Pen, or who knows what blood-curdling fate awaits me. Her self-titled movie earned prizes for best director and actor Rush at the Fantastic Fest, and horror master Stephen King called it one of year's best movies.
I wouldn't go that far, since the film only works in fits and starts. But watching Lithgow and Rush go at each other like male versions of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" is a blast of fun and fright you won't soon forget.
