In Jethica, two high-school friends, Elena (Callie Hernandez) and Jessica (Ashley Denise Robinson), run into each other at a New Mexico gas station. The pair head back to Elena’s at which point they realise that the literal ghost of Jessica’s former stalker, Kevin (Will Madden), has followed them. Tasked once more with getting rid of her admirer, Jessica and Elena turn to the dead for help.
If the premise for Peter Ohs’ latest film sounds a little peculiar, it’s because it is. Jethica straddles the line between melancholic musing and dark comedy. At the same time it explores the very well-trodden topic of trauma and abuse. Jessica has spent the last few years trying to avoid the fixated attention of Kevin with no luck. The experience has hardened the young woman while simultaneously weakening her. Elena remarks early on that she has changed and though the viewer isn’t privy to a ‘before’ Jessica, she is obviously not as confident as Elena paints the former version as having been.
When the two women reconnect, there is a highly uncomfortable, but exceptionally effective sequence during which Jessica shares her abuse with Elena. Rather than recite her experience, she simply hands over her phone, which is full of intense messages from Kevin, as well as a pile of letters he wrote. Watching this footage makes the skin crawl due to its real world parallels. The scene forms the meat of Jethica, the rest of the sub-eighty minute run-time is sparse bones.
Ohs does not feel the need to populate every moment of the film with dialogue or story. Instead he takes a more meditative approach, the scant script making way for some excellent mood setting atmospheric shots. The cinematography (captured by Ohs) is beautiful. The New Mexico location is stunningly encapsulated, the vistas alone screaming a higher budget than Jethica actually had. Some clever framing, especially within Jessica and Elena’s vehicle, adds a frisson of tension. Jessica’s air fresheners sway into the viewer’s line of sight, obscuring it, and leaving the viewer awaiting the unexpected. It is a neat technical device that works a treat.
In terms of lore, Jethica sets out to reinvent the rules around ghosts, creating an interesting new set of ideas. Jessica and Elena cannot vanquish Kevin’s spirit with the usual salt and flames; only another ghost can kill him. It is an unusual angle that allows some of the humour into the piece. Without these moments of levity, Jethica would be a much more gruelling viewing experience. As it stands, Jethica balances itself admirably, fitting alongside fellow kooky ghost stories, A Ghost Waits and The Jessica Cabin.
Jethica
Summary
A beautifully shot tale of the bizarre, Jethica is plentiful in originality.
Jethica is out on Digital HD now.
