JENNIFER

US, 1978, 90 minutes, Colour.
Lisa Pelikan, Burt Convy, Nina Foch, Amy Johnston, John Gavin, Jeff Corey, Ray Underwood.
Directed by Bryce Mack.

Jennifer is an occult thriller. Small-budget, strong on chills, low on probability. However, it is an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek story of a rich student who is rejected by fellow students and gets revenge on them by her psychic power over snakes.

Lisa Pelikan is Jennifer in the central role. The film is very much a derivative of Carrie which was very popular in the mid-70s, a tormented girl wreaking revenge on her enemies.

1. The popularity of occult thrillers in the seventies? The particular interests and background of attitudes in. the seventies?

2. The quality of the film an a small budget thriller, lack of star cast, locations, score? The overall impact and success of the thriller?

3. The plausibility of the plot? American background, American themes, religion, small towns, superstition, snobbery, violence and vengeance? The presentation of Jennifer's character, her father, her religious background, at school? How authentic was the school, the issues of friendship, hostility, jealousy? The overtones of snobbery and politics? Religion? Could the events have happened? The plausibility of the religious background and suggestion and power?

4. The importance of the presentation of the school, wealth, the headmistress and her snobbery, her hold over the teachers? Her favouring of particular students, her dislike of Jennifer as a poor and scholarship student, her attitude towards the Senator and his donations? The film's judgment on this kind of school, on these attitudes? The destruction of Sandra, her friends, the vengeance on the headmistress?

5. The picture of youth in the United States in the seventies, the attitudes towards one another, permissiveness, wealth, kicks, drugs, sexuality? The film's use of this, exploitive, as background? The judgment of the screenplay?

6. How authentic and interesting the background of religion and cults? Jennifer's father and his ravings, his memories, his exploitation? The memory of the power? The memory of Jennifer's mother? His attitude towards her and her memory? Jennifer's attitude? What explained Jennifer's power in the past? Mans hysteria, revivalist religions, atmosphere, healing, money? Jennifer and her power? Audience response to snakes and their place in religious cults? Their appearances in reality, imagination? Jennifer and her imagination, her subconscious, snakes and their symbolic place in her psyche? Destructive? Jennifer as immune? The symbolic and vicious presentation of her innate violence?

7. Themes of jealousy? Sandra and her jealousy, her hold over her friends? Jennifer's reaction? Jealousy creating its own victims and vengeance?

8. How convincing a character was Jennifer? How-attractive? in herself, her relationship with her father and looking after him, her scholarship at the school and her presence there, her earnestness and desire to learn and improve? The clash with Sandra? The clash with Jane and Jane's being victimised as the fat girl? Mrs Calley and her hostility towards Jennifer? Geoff Reed and his classes, his attitude towards Jennifer and helping her? Her study? The atmosphere of the school and the way it suddenly turned into menace when the girls acted jealously and vindictively for example the swimming and the terrorising of Jennifer, the shower, the burning, the cat?

9. Sandra as embodying the precocious and spoilt young girl? her background, the reason for her being spoilt, her hold over her father? The various schools, her lies, her leadership of the other girls? The ugly and dark sides of her character in terms of power. wealth, drugs, sexuality and her fantasy? The fantasies about Geoff Reed? her performance in front of Mrs. Calley after accusations? Her performance for her father? Her attraction towards Dayton and her hold over him and using him? The scenes of her talk and manipulating of people especially Jans? Her growing vengefulness especially towards Jennifer? Her vindictiveness towards Jane and engineering her rape? The ugliness of the murder of the cat and her play-acting to Mrs Calley? The growing evil and taunting?

10. How well did the film show and illustrate the tension and interplay between Jennifer and Sandra? Sandra as villainess, Jennifer as innocent victim? When did the tide turn? When did Sandra become victim? Could the audience understand and sympathize with Jennifer's vindictiveness?

11. The portrait of the various boys and girls in the group – their personalities, anonymity within the group? Jane as a stand-out and the way that she was used for her money, power? Her being stood up? Sandra’s hold and keeping her in the group? The vindictiveness of the rape and the vengeance in Jane? Her siding with Jennifer? Helping her with the final vengeance? How typical a character the changeable Jane?

12. The portrait of Jennifer's father, his work at home, attitude towards the cat, his meals, his memory of the snakes? His madness, sanity? His response to the group coming round for Jennifer and letting her go? How much was he to blame for Jennifer?

13. How interestingly was the past visualized? In her father's memory, in Jennifer's memory, her reaction? Her knowledge of the power, her wanting to put it in the past? Her gradual acceptance of the power and absorbing it into her attitude? The visualizing of the sequences with the snakes? The snakes in the final killings?

14. The portrait of Mrs Calley as the arrogant and snobbish headmistress? The contrast with the sympathetic maid? With Geoff and his teaching, Sandra’s crush, his helping of Jennifer, work in the laboratory, his helping her with the difficulties of the photo in the swimming room etc.? The confrontation with Mrs Calley and her dismissal of him?

15. The attention to detail of the ordinary running of the school and Jennifer's ordinary way of life? How authentic did this make the proceedings?

16. The contrast with the details of the wealthy way of life, the recreations of the group, night clubs, dancing, the sequences with the car especially in the parking lot? The ugly side with Dayton's rape of Jane?

17. The locations used for vengeance? The ugly build-up to the kidnapping of Jennifer? Audience sympathy and sharing her vengeance? Her being in the boot of the car? Her confrontation of the group?

18. The visuals of the exercise of her power, the snakes, the death of the various people in the group, especially Dayton, Sandra? The plausibility of this? Jane an observer and the audience looking with her? The effect on Jennifer? The seeming natural ‘explanation’?

19. The atmosphere of vengeance at the end? Mrs Calley and her trying to cope and then the snake in her desk? What was the audience left with?

20. Themes of natural, preternatural? The basic human emotions and the way these can be used constructively or destructively?