Hello everyone, Welcome back to Streaming Originals. Last time, I took a look at another Netflix original, The Platform. As of right now, I have covered four Netflix Originals. Roughly, Netflix has had a 75% success rate for me so far. However with today's current climate of Streaming Services, we know that Netflix is not the only one available. Today, I am pleased to shed some light into the darkness of Shudder Originals.
So far, I have watched a few different Shudder Originals. I watched The Call with Tobin Bell and that was a miss for me. It felt like it was rather long and padded. I have also watched The Mortuary Collection which was a fantastic anthology film. It was a big breath of fresh air. Case in point that leaves Shudder with a chance for it to hit or miss. Another really solid original is Ruin Me from a few years ago.
A film I had heard about in the past is Anything for Jackson. It was one that kept popping back up and I had it placed in my backlog to cover it at some point. I had no idea that it would be the first Shudder Original that I'd be coming out swinging with. What brought it back to my attention was Patton Oswalt. Over on Twitter, he posted and was super excited that a podcast he listens to was covering the film. I could tell in this short little tweet that he genuinely loved Anything for Jackson. It was that genuine attitude that sold me on checking out the film.
The film starts out as a pretty normal morning for a husband and wife, Henry and Audrey Walsh. The house that they live in is huge, which is a good thing as this is the main setting for the film. The husband and wife are quickly discussing how he will look like a 'rapper' because of the hem of his pants being too high on one side. Pretty normal family stuff. That quickly changes as the story opens up with the arrival of Shannon. Well, arrival is a very light way of putting it. Okay, okay. They kidnap her because she's pregnant. Their main goal is to try and perform a ritual that will allow their dead grandchild, Jackson, to be reborn in Shannon's fetus. How are they able to do this? Well, it turns out the Walshes have a secret - they are Satanists.
While some may say that a lot of what I have said so far could be a spoiler, I have to say that it's not. It's really only the tip of the iceberg. There is literally so much going on with this film that you could watch it a few times and still uncover something new. Plus the sypnosis for the film kind of gives all that away.
I wasn't sure what to expect going into the film. I knew roughly what it would be covering. But the film literally goes to show just how far someone would go to get a loved one back. It's such a strong powerful message. With Henry, he would literally give up everything and everyone so that Audrey could get her wish. And Audrey would go to the literal depths of hell to try and get her grandchild back. Honestly, Henry's side of things is a pretty strong love representation of his love for Audrey.
Then there is Shannon, our unfortunate prisoner. This is someone that came to Henry as his patient and learned that she's pregnant. At first, it seemed like a very big end of the world realization for her. However with the use of the flashbacks, it beautifully illustrates just how much one's life can change for their child. Shannon could have easily been a thrown away character in some other film, however not here.
I would definitely say that for each of the characters in this film - there is a strong characterization to them. No one's really a shallow cookie cutter version of themselves. Even with the other members of the Satanists, we see a distinct character. It's pretty fantastic. And all of the actors and actresses bring their all to this film. The four big standouts being Julian Richings (Henry), Shelia McCarthy (Audrey), Konstantina Mantelos (Shannon), and Josh Cruddas (Ian). All of their performances are incredible and multi-layered. And definitely huge tip of the hat to Josh Cruddas, even if he does remind me of a YouTuber that goes by the name Brandon Farris.
Moving onto the horror elements of the movie, oh boy. There are some pretty heavy elements. I mean we kind of get it all. We get body horror, ghosts, and hints of possession to just say a few. Every single element works extremely well together. There were quite a few moments where the hairs on the back of my neck would stand up. The biggest one involving teeth, as someone that underwent dental surgery it caused me to cringe.
Honestly, the only element of Anything for Jackson that I don't know if it worked for me was the ending. It's presented in a very let the audience make up their mind on it. It's a bit of a bold move. But safe to say, it's not a happy ending. It's a bit of a bleak ending and that's okay. If there were some things that would have been tightened up a little bit, perhaps it would have worked better for me. With a second watch, it could very well work better. Time will tell.
Overall though, I was very impressed with Anything for Jackson. It is a powerhouse of a film while also being small and intimate. It definitely doesn't hold many things back. But the beauty of it is seeing the interactions between the characters. I wasn't disappointed with taking the time to watch it either unlike The Call.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
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