JETHICA
Directed by: Peter Ohs
Starring: Callie Hernandez, Ashley Denise Robinson, Andy Faulkner, Will Madden
While Elena hangs out on her grandmother's old land, she runs into her highschool friend Jessica, who is out on a road trip. In fact, Jessica is trying to avoid a very tenacious stalker called Kevin, who soon catches up with her. But can it really be Kevin?
JETHICA is a supernatural tale which will resonate with a lot of women who spend time having to fend off men on social media. It takes a lo-fi approach and delivers some interesting character arcs but isn't interested in delivering any scares.
Elena (Hernandez) bumps into her old friend at a gas station, Jessica reluctantly agrees to join her at her place for a coffee and to catch up, which leads to her spending a few days. Jessica opens up and reveals she had left California because of a stalker who had been intruding on her life ever since college. She provides Elena with video messages that her stalker, Kevin, had sent her, as well as a pile of hand-written notes.
The script, which is credited to Hernandez, Faulkner and Madden, really nails the misogynist rhetoric used by incels and Men's Rights Activists the world over. Kevin's rants run the whole spectrum of deluded misogyny through to pathetic whining to outright anger and frustration - often in the same speech. Its very telling that one of the hand-written notes included contains a drawing of Kevin's penis on the back.
When Kevin suddenly turns up outside Elena's home, Jessica is confused and adamant that it can't possibly be Kevin. We soon find out why she is so certain, as Kevin's dead body is wrapped in the trunk of her car. However when Elena matter-of-factly states that they are now dealing with Kevin's ghost, Jessica takes off in disbelief but is soon convinced that something supernatural is afoot.
Director Peter Ohs also edited and shot the film, and he bores into the desolate empty spaces that makes up a lot of New Mexico. This is a film about lonely people and people who are alone. Elena is alone but doesn't let it bother her, although she is keen for Jessica to stay for a while. Jessica on the other hand has been driven into isolation by her stalker. And it is clear that Kevin's loneliness is partly driving him to stalk Jessica. Then there is Benny, a dim-witted drifter that Elena gives a ride to on occasion. All of these people are stuck in this desolate place and Peter Ohs' camera lingers on shots of the big open spaces and farm equipment and fences which look weathered and worn down. The sparce melancholic score by John Bowers adding to the atmosphere of sadness.
Even so, this is not a sad film, and things take an interesting turn when Jessica finally confronts Kevin about his behaviour and his current state of being. It sends him off on an unexpected path and there is something sweet about how two lost souls are able to find each other and bond.
THE VERDICT
JETHICA starts as if it might be a conventional ghost story but is able to pivot on your expectations. The stalky elements are, unfortunately, very true to life and three are lots of people like Kevin out in the world demanding their feelings are reciprocated. There is tragedy at the heart of this but the film ends in a rather uplifting way. Peter Ohs' long, lingering shots of the landscape give the film a more arty feel that is the polar opposite to anything produced by Blumhouse. Make sure you stay for the after-credits scene.