Judge Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush) is recovering from a stroke in a nursing home when he runs afoul of the resident psychopath (John Lithgow) and his puppet, Jenny Pen. Trapped in a failing body, Mortensen rails against the petty tyrant, but soon discovers that it is nearly impossible to succeed when no one likes you.
This is like the third (fourth?) movie I've seen this month that involves someone pouring urine on someone else as an act of psychological warfare. Very odd.
Lithgow I get, he's done horror before, but I was absolutely stunned to see Rush. He does a great job, though. It is basically One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest but in an old folk's home, so it's solid material to work with. Made me wish we took horror seriously as a genre. Lithgow is completely unhinged here. You love to see it. The New Zealand accent probably could have used some more work but I can forgive.
No supernatural element, no jump scares, no gore; if psychological thrillers are more your bag, this is an excellent entry. There is a cat that can sense death (nothing happens to it), but I feel like most animals can do that. I was not bored or annoyed at any point. Really well done, all around. It's streaming on Hulu.
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