Welcome to IndieWire After Dark, where we pick a new theme for our midnight movie programming every month!
Join us on Friday nights (and special occasions!) to explore some of the strangest fringe films available at any hour in the Streaming Age.
The scariest puppet this side of the “Saw” franchise, Jenny Pen is an early frontrunner in the race for 2025’s favorite new horror icon. She’s the reason for the season and the inspiration behind this month’s IndieWire After Dark lineup — Two Midnight Movies (and a Muppet!) That Influenced “The Rule of Jenny Pen.”
A labor of love from filmmaker James Ashcroft, puppeteer/designer Paul Lewis, and star actor John Lithgow, the titular prop drew on a slew of sources. The movie is based on a story by Owen Marshall, which was optioned by Ashcroft and his co-writer Eli Kent more than a decade ago, and it’s set inside a surprisingly treacherous nursing home in New Zealand. The movie adaptation from IFC Films and Shudder — streaming exclusively on the horror platform and AMC+ on March 28 — sees Ashcroft commingle the styling of David Lynch with the technical chops of his puppeteer, fresh off “M3GAN.”
“I liked the idea of not being able to read too much into Jenny,” Ashcroft told IndieWire, reflecting on his villain’s perverse playfulness and the unsettling nature of the duality she achieved with Lithgow. “It would’ve been a real misstep to try and purposely create a scary-looking doll.”
You can read all about the making of Jenny Pen in our interview with James Ashcroft and his puppeteer/designer, Paul Lewis. We were so inspired by our chat with Lewis we’ll be revisiting several of fringe the titles he mentioned, from a 1978 psychologic horror with Anthony Hopkins to the best of the Muppet that made Lewis want to fuss with felt in the first place. These three selections may not have left the most obvious mark on “Jenny Pen,” but the lessons they teach certainly helped her rule.
IndieWire After Dark publishes new midnight movie and cult film recommendations (that’s THE BAIT)… and our spoiler-filled reactions to them (that’s THE BITE)… late on Friday nights. “The Rule of Jenny Pen” is still in theaters, but starts streaming exclusively on Shudder and AMC+ on March 28.
“Magic” (1978)
Directed by: Richard Attenborough
After Dark on Friday, March 14
“Trilogy of Terror” (1975)
Directed by: Dan Curtis
After Dark on Friday, March 21
Uncle Deadly on “The Muppets”
Created by: Jim Henson
After Dark on Friday, March 28
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