The Jester Review | Road Rash Reviews

4 star gleefully gruesome horror film.

From the co-creator of the Blair Witch Project, The Jester is a 2023 American horror film written by Michael Sheffield who also stars and Colin Krawchuk, who makes his directorial feature debut with this innovative and scary horror film.

It is available on Blu-ray, DVD and Download-to-own from 8th January 2024 courtesy of Dazzler Media.

“It was with him that night. I mean, it must mean something, right? When was the last time that you talked to him? Do you remember?”

As the film opens we see John (Matt Servitto – Enchanted, Compliance) walking alone in the dark. He’s followed by a strange figure, dressed in a bright orange suit and wearing a very scary halloween mask. He makes a call to his estranged daughter Emma (Lelia Symington – Bury Me Twice) to try and talk to her, but she doesn’t want to know. Seemingly as punishment for his failure, The Jester (Michael Sheffield) in orange forces John to hang himself.

Cut to his funeral and we see John’s other daughter Jocelyn (Delaney White) as she spots Emma there. The figure in orange is there too, dancing on the grave and causing a grave digger to trip and die. Emma sees this but puts it down to her imagination. She has agreed to meet with Jocelyn, who is hoping to build some sort of relationship, but again she isn’t interested.

Distraught, Jocelyn decides to go to a Halloween festival with her friends and hard nosed Emma heads into town to get drunk. This is when the Jester begins his campaign of terror on this small unsuspecting town. Who is this malevolent being and what is his connection to the two sisters?

“Oh look. It’s the Halloween a**hole.”

The Jester is a very enjoyable film which does exactly what is says on the tin. It revels in the plentiful gore, but is also chillingly macabre in places, with it’s super creepy makeup effects. There’s something terrifying about a face that looks like a cheap Halloween mask, when you know quite well it isn’t. Makes you wonder what’s underneath.

The acting is good from relative newcomers and this is well adapted from the short that gave birth to the idea, although there is a slightly different tone to the full length version. I found the ending to be particularly satisfying.

With plenty of blood, lots of Halloween action and a genuinely scary villain, this one is well worth a watch.

“Oh sweetie. You know Mommy is always here for you. Is my little girl afraid of the Jester? He’s really not so bad. He just wants you to know the truth.”