This article is part ofScreenRant’s Exclusive 2025 Movie Preview. Keep an eye out for the full feature next week!
A newThe Rule of Jenny Penimage offers a closer look at the horror movie’s terrifying puppet character.Jenny Penfollows elderly judge Stefan Mortensen (Pirates of the CaribbeanandFinding NemostarGeoffrey Rush) recovering from a stroke at a retirement home and being tormented by Dave Crealy (DexterandFootloosestar John Lithgow), who uses a puppet called Jenny Pen to torment his fellow retirees. Directed and co-written by James Ashcroft (Coming Home in the Dark), the movie - which will premiere on Shudder in 2025 - marks Geoffrey Rush’s first movie performance since 2019’sStorm Boy.
ScreenRantcan now sharean exclusive first look image fromThe Rule of Jenny Pen. It features Jenny herself, who is a bald baby doll with staring eyes. She is viewed from the side, seemingly from the perspective of a character lying in bed. While it is unclear if this is really happening or if it is from a nightmare or fantasy sequence, the puppet’s eyes are glowing with a fantastical menace. See the full-size image below:
The Rule Of Jenny Pen Is Much More Than Just A Puppet Movie
It Has Many Deeper And Darker Themes
While the titular puppet in the2025 horror movie- which Stephen King called “one of the best movies I’ve seen this year” - is creepy, the trailer forThe Rule of Jenny Penreveals thatthe story around her plays with quite a few deeper themes, generally based around the idea of aging. One of these is the idea of elderly men refusing to let go of their youth. For Lithgow’s character, this exhibits itself in a love of play that turns sour, while for Rush’s character this involves insisting that one day he will get better and return to work.
[The staff write] off both his complaints and Dave Crealy’s behavior as the result of deteriorating minds…
Another one of the movie’s darker themes is the idea thatStefan Mortensen is seemingly unable to communicate his terror to the staffat the retirement home. They do not take his concerns seriously, writing off both his complaints and Dave Crealy’s behavior as the result of deteriorating minds, largely because the truth of the torment that the former judge is going through seems so far-fetched.
The Rule of Jenny Pen Is Fantastical And Eerie
It Seems That Not Everything In The Movie Is Real
One thing that complicates Mortensen’s terror inThe Rule of Jenny Penis the fact that it does seem to draw certain elements fromfantasy horror movies. Images such as Jenny’s glowing eyes and a sequence where her giant face appears behind a grinning John Lithgow seem to be fantasies induced by his long-term torment rather than things that are literally happening.This likely sows seeds of doubt in the character, which makes his time being terrorized by the puppet and its owner that much worse.
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Cast
The Rule of Jenny Pen is a psychological thriller released in 2024. It follows a former judge, incapacitated by a stroke, as he seeks to thwart a psychotic resident who uses a puppet to terrorize the residents of a secluded care home, leading to chilling outcomes.
