Movies
[SXSW Review] Vampire Comedy ‘Jakob’s Wife’ Struggles to Keep Up With Barbara Crampton’s Standout Performance
Horror stalwart Barbara Crampton‘s appearance in You’re Next marked the start of a prolific genre renaissance that includes producing as well as acting. All of that experience culminates in a monster-as-metaphor feature that attempts to retool the vampire mythos to allow its leading lady to sink her fangs into a meaty lead role. She’s acting opposite indie horror darling Larry Fessenden, which only further fuels the allure of what seems like a sure bet for any horror fan. Despite a solid concept and moments of fun gore and humor, Jakob’s Wife struggles to keep up with Barbara Crampton’s performance.
Crampton plays Anne Fedder, the dutiful wife to the town’s pastor Jakob (Fessenden). Decades together meant that their marriage long ago grew into a familiar, daily routine built almost entirely around Jakob. When Tom (Robert Rusler), an old flame of Anne’s, arrives back in town to revive the old gin mill property, Anne’s curiosity gets piqued. Before flirtations go well past the point of no return, Tom and Anne discover Nosferatu-like crates in the mill’s basement, resulting in a nasty bite on Anne’s neck. As Anne begins her transformation into a vampire, it sparks a new zest for life in her that comes with a body count that doesn’t bode well for her marriage.
Using vampirism as a metaphor for reckoning with a long-stale relationship makes for a solid concept and foundation. It also makes for one meaty role in Anne. She begins as meek and subservient, highlighted by the numerous scenes where she relents to her more assertive husband, even when it’s clear she feels the opposite. She finds confidence in vampirism, shaking up her relationship’s status quo while making her needs clear for once. It’s here that Jakob’s Wife works best. Scenes with Crampton entirely on her own, vamping it up as she rearranges her living room while drinking blood from a wine glass, are a delight. So, too, is any scene opposite Fessenden, as Jakob and Anne are forced to confront their new dynamics.
Outside of the central pair, however, the energy levels sag dramatically, and pacing sometimes suffers. As various peripheral characters drop in and out of the story, many of them seem to struggle with the strange tonal blend director Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor) is attempting to capture. This is a horror-comedy, but the humor is more quirky than conventional. The horror elements are more reliant upon excessive blood-letting, which should please the gorehounds. Still, the balancing act is a tricky line to walk, and most of the supporting characters seem superfluous.
Jakob’s Wife wears its vampire influences on its sleeves, right down to a Barlow/Count Orlok looking Master, played by an unfairly underutilized Bonnie Aarons (The Nun). The budgetary constraints occasionally show, too, notably whenever the CG rats attack. The practical effects fare much stronger but still look rough around the edges in some parts, and garish lighting doesn’t help. It not entirely clear if these choices are intentional, meant to give a riotous B-movie feel. If so, it detracts from the surprisingly tender poignancy of Anne’s arc.
This horror-comedy is Barbara Crampton’s show through and through. It’s up to her to carry this film, and she’s more than up to the task. Fessenden’s against type character allows him to support her performance satisfyingly, and the narrative is at its best when it’s just the two of them on screen. On a technical level, Jakob’s Wife is messy and disjointed. Its silliness often undermines its exploration of themes and clever gender-swapping. Moreover, it lacks a clear identity; there are two warring movies at play. Early commentary gets forgotten in favor of B-movie thrills. Still, the over-the-top gore, great soundtrack, and Crampton fully unleashed will be more than enough to please the midnight crowd looking for a gory time.
Jakob’s Wife releases in theaters and VOD on April 16.
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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