Review of Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) by Mike P — 09 Jun 2007

This minor classic used to pop up on late-night television, but remains mostly unseen by many horror fans who would do well to seek out this weird little picture. Jessica (Zhora Lampert) moves to a rambling lakeside estate with her husband and goofy friend.

Unreconstructed hippies, they seem to have some vague plans for a commune--and, are nonplussed when they discover a beautiful but strange woman already living in the house. With Jessicas' blessing, the men implore the woman to stay--and, weird things begin to happen.

Since Jessica has apparently just been released from a mental hospital--we are not sure whether the subsequent bizzare events are actually happening or simply products of a deranged mind. Some of these events include an angelic, ghostly young girl who only Jessica seems to see, gruff townspeople bearing strange neck wounds and an apparition of a drowned woman who haunts the nearby lake.

Moody cinematography and Lamperts' quiet performance overcome the occasionally disjointed script which never entirely committs to a horror premise--which is not actually a bad thing since the unsettled, mysterious quality is what gives the film a lot of its appeal.

"Let's Scare Jessica To Death" is an eerie grace note, which heralded the"golden decade" of horror movies.