Customer Reviews

Jack Be Nimble

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This movie was the most original thing I've seen in years. It stars Alexis Arquette who is emotionally and physically abused to the point of having to retaliate using his invention. Believe you me, this is a sight to behold. I agree with everyone, the sisters were creepy. The ending of this movie still gives me bad dreams. Veeeeery scary.

This film strikes out with lavish images and dark scenery. Mr. Maxwell is a remarkable director/writer and should not ever go overlooked.

I tuned in to Jack Be Nimble when it was on TV today, & I was blown away by Alexis Arquette's acting ability. I've read some reviews saying it was a dissapointment because it wasn't a supernatural gothic horror film with ghosts & goblins, but Arquette's character was so real & memorable I truly felt what he felt throughout the film. I'm rarely touched by movies, which is why I wanted to write this review. I'm a tough critic, believe it or not, being someone who has studied dramatic arts for years, & although this psychological thriller had its weak assets, Arquette's performance was nothing short of sheer brillance.

Garth Maxwell now directs lots of XENA episodes, but he made this great little New Zealand horror masterpiece several years earlier. It's a unique exercise in stylish mood and character. Alexis Arquette and Sarah Kennedy play brother and sister separated from each other as young children. Arquette ends up with an abusive family with 3 weird look-a-like "goth" sisters. What will Arquette do to survive the abuse from his new Mom and Pop and siblings? ---create a weird electrical - candle fused machine that can hypnotize and give him the chance to wreak revenge. It may sound ridiculous, but director Maxwell handles it as a mood-piece, almost like a fairy-tale, and it works. Eventually Arquette finds his sister which leads to their search for their abandoning mother. They're also being chased by the 3 "goth" sisters...which ends in a haunting finale. A great little horror film for fans who hate mainstream stuff like "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer". As far as the DVD goes, it's a mixed bag. Unfortunately, IMAGE ENT. once again released a bare-bones DVD with no extras, the film is not letterboxed and it contains that very low "phantom" audio track in the background during some scenes (this audio glitch was on IMAGE's laserdisc as well, but not on the original VHS release from TRIBORO). It's a subtle problem, however. I guess it's nice they released it at all, but they could spend a little more time and effort in their releases. The folks over at IMAGE don't seem to really care much about pleasing their audience....or maybe it's just laziness.

Very pleased, I received the DVD in a timely fashion,i`m very pleased the product was delivered in excellent condition,Thank YOU Soo Much !!!

5 years after (it was at Fantastic festival of Gerardmer, France), Jack be nimble is still a hard experiment in fear ! I regret this DVD edition doesn't respect the original format of the movie, you will be terrfied by the world of this boy's family : his half-sisters are completely unsane and give some of the biggest horror visions never seen for a long time. Some commentaries of the director about this mad story could've been a good bonus and will uprate the DVD.

This is my possibly the most underacclaimed work of cinematic brilliance ever. Nasty and a little disturbing yet at the same time uplifting and joyous.

And ohhhhhhhhh! Those sisters!

This movie is very bizzarre! The imagary and scenes are intense. The charactors are very disturbing and dark yet likeable. If you like to be shocked and intense themes\images you will love this one!

I got a VHS copy of this from Amazon and it is recorded in "EP" (the middle speed on your VCR, and some VCRs won't even play EP tapes). The tracking was all over the place (distorting the picture AND sound), so even if you got it right, a few minutes later it would change....VERY annoying distraction! There is a DVD version out there, but it is way overpriced right now.

Strange New Zealand film full of psychological suspense and psychic silliness. Alexis Arquette (Sometimes They Come Back Again) stars as the titular Jack, a young man who was cruelly abused by his adopted parents and their four witches from hell daughters. We follow little Jack and his sister Dora, who was adopted by loving parents, as they grow up. Eventually, Jack invents some kind of hypnotizing machine, coercing his adopted parents to kill themselves, and then he's off looking for both his sister Dora and his real parents. Meanwhile, Dora's hooked up psychically and physically with some older man named Teddy (played by Bruno Lawrence in a lifeless performance), who she employs to help find her brother Jack.
The movie has a tragic underpinning, but once grown up, Jack is so obnoxious in his revenge, and Dora becomes nothing more than a whining, sniveling teenage girl, pregnant by her psychic lover. They find their real parents, but the four sisters take care of things to make the ending as tragic as possible.
The movie looks thirty years old, and overall, is a disappointing thud. Arquette is talented, but here he emotes to the level of high school thespianism, and Sarah Kennedy as Dora just gets on your nerves.
Avoid.