Let's Scare Jessica to Death - Vinegar Syndrome (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1971
Director: John D. Hancock
Writers: John D. Hancock, Lee Kalcheim
Cast: Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor, Gretchen Corbett, Alan Manson, Mariclare Costello

Release Date: May 27th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 6 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $49.98

"Recently released from a mental institution, Jessica, along with her husband Duncan and friend Woody, have decided to move into an isolated farmhouse in search of a fresh start. When they arrive there, however, they discover a young woman squatting on the property. With the group deciding to let their unexpected guest, Emily, stay with them, Jessica soon discovers that their new companion bears a striking resemblance to a girl who drowned in the nearby lake many years ago and who, as local rumor has it, now haunts the area as a vampire. At the same time, Jessica begins to experience strange and frightening visions - is she once again losing her grip on reality, or is something even more strange and sinister afoot?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

Let's Scare Jessica to Death comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.2 GB

Feature: 60.5 GB

The source is in excellent shape; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.1 GB

Feature: 24.5 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio is in excellent shape, free of any distortion or background hiss. Dialogue always comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced, and the score and ambient sounds are well represented.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with director John D. Hancock, moderated by Justin LaLiberty, and an audio commentary with authors Kim Newman and Sean Hogan.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an image gallery with music from the film, a radio spot (1 minute 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a TV spot (56 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Orville Stoeber titled The Sound of Terror (12 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer Bill Badalato titled The Stars Align (11 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with John Hancock titled A New Medium (15 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower titled A Haunted Quality (21 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with John D. Hancock and Justin LaLiberty, and an audio commenatry with Kim Newman and Sean Hogan.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (limited to 8,000 units), and a 40-page perfect-bound book with an essay titled Malefiori: Madness and Seduction in “Let's Scare Jessica to Death” written by Molly Henery, an essay titled At Least I’m Safe Inside My Mind written by Quatoyiah Murray, and an essay titled Act Normal: The Unreliable Narrators of “Let's Scare Jessica to Death” written by Jason Bailey.

Summary:

John D. Hancock directed Let's Scare Jessica to Death. He’s known for Bang the Drum Slowly and Baby Blue Marine.

A woman, recently discharged from an asylum, begins to experience visions that lead her to doubt her sanity.

Though Let's Scare Jessica to Death uses Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella Carmilla as its starting point, the result is far removed from the original source. Where Let's Scare Jessica to Death remains true to Carmilla, it is Gothic horror elements that lean heavily into the realm of the supernatural.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a film that’s overflowing with atmosphere; it wastes no time establishing an eerie, foreboding tone that perfectly puts the viewer in the protagonist's state of mind. Zohra Lampert (Alphabet City) is cast in the role of Jessica, and she delivers an exemplary performance that reinforces the blurring of reality and madness. Although all the performances are strong, Zohra Lampert’s performance stands out and deserves recognition. Another cast member of note is Gretchen Corbett (The Rockford Files), who portrays a girl who only Jessica sees because she quickly vanishes.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death focuses primarily on creating a mood and uses traditional jump scares sparingly. The score by composer Orville Stoeber effectively enhances the film's atmosphere. Visually, Let's Scare Jessica to Death is overflowing with atmosphere and arresting moments, notably the scenes where Jessica sees and hears things that she is afraid to tell her husband about, fearing he might think that she’s relapsed.

In addition to Zohra Lampert’s previously mentioned performance, another element that enhances the unfolding story is the tension generated by the characters surrounding Jessica. Upon their arrival, Jessica and her husband encounter hostility from the locals in the town near the farm they have just moved into. Although the locals are never fully developed as characters, their bizarre behavior adds to the unsettling atmosphere.

Despite having many elements firmly rooted in Gothic horror, for most of its duration, Let's Scare Jessica to Death feels more like a melodrama. Though supernatural elements occur throughout the narrative, it is in the last 30 minutes where things pick up considerably. That said, the well-constructed narrative does a superb job holding your attention and building momentum to an exceptional finale. Ultimately, Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a well-crafted psychological horror film that is anchored by Zohra Lampert’s pitch-perfect performance.

Vinegar Syndrome gives Let's Scare Jessica to Death a definitive release, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer