Jennifer

1978 "She walks in terror, stilled with fright. A trail of fear, to fill the night!"
5.4| 1h30m| en
Details

Ostracized at a snooty private school because of her rural, poor background, a scholarship student is tormented to the point where her only remaining recourse is revenge, using the only method she knows: her psychic control over snakes!

Director

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American International Pictures

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Reviews

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre
ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Alan Bannacheck Jennifer is a recluse at an all girl's boarding school. Unlike her fellow peers, she is from a poor farming family and because of that and her smarts, she is humiliated over and over again. When her life is threatened, she taps into an old power she once had, the power to conjure up the serpents (a few of them larger then Godzilla) to ensure her survival.A lot of reviews have been calling Jennifer a Carrie clone, however the movie goes in its own direction. Jennifer is a lot more outgoing then Carrie, who practically was a mute. When Sandra, the queen bee, accuses her of providing the answers to a test, she blatantly denies it. The parental figure of both Carrie and Jennifer are both religious zealots in their own way. Carrie's mother is more violent, while Jennifer's father goes on drunken rants.For a 1978 film I think the pacing was good up until the climax which was a mere seven minutes long. With a low budget and technical limitations, we were given hand puppets with missing eyes versus actual demonic looking snakes. The musical score hit the beat, and the cinematography was decent. This story definitely deserves a remake, in my opinion.I give it an eight out of ten, because the acting and plot were in order.The Bannachecker - Horror Encyclopdia
FieCrier Jennifer is a poor young redheaded woman from West Virginia attending a private girl's school on a scholarship. She and her father had left their home in disgrace, when around the age of seven some snakes Jennifer had been handling in church apparently bit and killed the preacher's son. She refused to handle snakes ever since, though her father now runs a pet store and often encourages her to use her power again.Her father is a bit of a simpleton, unable to make meals for himself without burning them, relying on his "Jenny" ever since his wife died. While he does operate the pet store, most of the time he's in a back room listening to Christian radio.Pretty Jennifer is quite smart, though. I'm not sure if her scholarship was based on her low income or her high intelligence. She gets in trouble with a cruel clique at school. They already hated her for being different, but when she snitches on them for cheating on a mid- term exam (only after they accused her of being the ringleader when they were caught), they're literally prepared to kill her.The main culprit is Sandra, the daughter of a Senator. The school's headmistress is quite eager to kick Jennifer out as well, preferring students with rich and powerful parents.The swim team invites Jennifer to join them, but the movie does not make much of that plot element. One of Sandra's crew, an overweight girl, also sticks up for Jennifer occasionally, to her own detriment. Additionally, one of the teachers also wants to be Jennifer's friend.Eventually Jennifer is pushed to the point where she does start using her power.This was an OK movie, nothing exceptional. Some of the giant snakes, briefly glimpsed, are a bit silly. Is it a rip-off of Carrie? Well, probably. The video distributor was selling it along those lines, with a tagline on the back of the video box reading "Compared to this, 'Carrie' was an angel." The overall plot is similar: misfit child of religious fanatic is picked on at school and resorts to using psychic powers.Beyond that, I don't know if they're too similar. Jennifer's father is a bit of a loon, and while he pulls a belt out at one point to threaten Jennifer, it's unclear whether he's ever actually delivered on the threat: he doesn't seem to be as cruel as Carrie's mother. Jennifer doesn't become filled with rage like Carrie, attacking innocent people, but acts in self-defense, only attacking those who are prepared to kill her.
Rrrobert Intriguing film clearly designed to cash in on the success of "Carrie" (the film's main protagonist is somewhat a misfit in her surroundings, is tormented by her cruel schoolmates, has special powers, and lives alone with one parent who is a religious fanatic) however this is also quite effective in its own right.Best thing in the film is the characterisation of the schoolgirls and their relationships with one another. Lisa Pelikan is effective in the title role and particularly well drawn is the chubby girl Jane who puts up with being used by her popular friends lest she be expelled from the group. The scheming schoolgirls are so evil and this is so well portrayed that the audience really wants to see them get it. This creates tension as we await the promised cataclysm and this helps keep the film bubbling along.Unfortunately when this cataclysm is finally reached it seems rushed and comes as somewhat a let-down. Though there are some chilling scenes throughout the film (particularly good are the scenes in the swimming pool at night) the only real mayhem is all saved up for the very end. And oh yes there are a couple of other "Carrie" inspired moments during the concluding scenes too.Most annoying thing is Jennifer's father who is quite dull and whiny and rambles on through most of the film. Unfortunately Jeff Corey is not good enough in the role to make us chilled or unnerved by his character's preaching, just bored.
Submission_Grappler *****POSSIBLE SPOILERS***** I just have a fondness for cheesy horror movies, plain and simple. I saw this movie at a drive-in not long after it was released, and at the time not even being a teenager yet, it scared the heck out of me. Since the advent of vcr's I had been looking for this film to see if it was truly the frightening film I remembered it to be. I never could find it in any video store, but I finally found it on sale on the internet so I bought it. It's kind of typical for that era, a loner being picked on by the rich kids,etc. But it's a fun film and I'm glad I finally found a copy of it. It is very similar to the film Carrie as others have mentioned, but it doesn't quite have the punch of the Stephen King classic. Since I have studied Herpetology(the study of reptiles and amphibians) for many years, the films use of non-poisonous snakes and trying to pass them off as rattlesnakes was quite funny. The big snake at the end was indeed laughable, but if someone didn't have knowledge of these things it would be believable, I guess. Like I said earlier,cheesy but fun, just the way I like it!