With hints of Rosemary’s Baby mixed into this gory tale of grief and obsession, Justin G. Dyck’s Anything For Jackson really does get under your skin and stays there even after the bone chilling end.
Mourning the tragic death of their grandson, Satanic couple Audrey and Henry, kidnap a pregnant woman in order to use her baby to bring their grandson back. Using an ancient book and reciting a ritual they don’t quite understand, they invite more than Jackson’s spirit into their home.
Having made quite an impression at the latter end of last year, Anything for Jackson is something of an oddity as well as any horror film aficionado’s dream. Packing into the film several terrifying moments, twists and turns, the sweetest Satan worshiping couple you’ll ever see and of the most architectural marvels of a house. As the bare bones of the plot is easy to add on to Dyck is able to add more into scenes and the main characters. Beginning with a calm and distressing hoping, which is given context through a flashback later on in the film, the story unfolds in a peculiar way, creating tension and curiosity. This is thanks mostly to our protagonists, Audrey and Henry. They are in a Satanic cult but are also a friendly doctor and devoted grandmother. They are the least suspecting couple to kidnap and perform dangerous and evil filled rituals on, but grief does take us to dark and desperate places. Despite the heinous acts Audrey and Henry commit, they remain themselves, never over dramatic, never cruel. Treating their captive with as much dignity as they can without letting her get away. The bumbling behaviour of people their age is also brilliantly observed and manages to stay authentic amongst the ghosts and Satanic church gatherings.
Strangely enough, director Justin G. Dyck’s background has been in making cheerful, frothy ‘holiday’ films, but they have prepared him for his transition to the dark depths of horror, keeping the family element alive here. With familiar genre tropes used, the injections of dark comedy seep through the crack and a make a clever relief from the gore and blood we’re inflicted with. The best moments and scenes in the film belong to Shelia McCarthy and Julian Richings as the central couple. Their chemistry and charm are what makes this horror an utter delight to watch which you can’t say for any other film in this genre out there. The surprises thrown out throughout the film, including the bloody end, are ones we’ll hopefully see in more ‘traditional’ horror films, just to keep things fresh.