Spoiler-Free Review of “Jakob’s Wife” on Shudder: Barbara Crampton is Bloody Fantastic

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“He who loves his wife, loves himself…”

Jakob’s Wife originally premiered in April 2021, but it released on Shudder on August 19th 2021. The film stars Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Sarah Lind, and DeVon Johnson. It runs for approximately an hour and forty minutes.

A pastor’s wife starts to change her behavior dramatically after an encounter with a dark presence in her small town, leading to a thirst for blood among other things.

Here is the trailer:

Jakob’s Wife has a horror legend and queen as its lead, telling a campy vampire story that has a message about female empowerment embedded in it. Does it do enough to earn a watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Shudder

Barbara Crampton shines on screen.

I am already a huge fan of the iconic and legendary Barbara Crampton, but wow did she flourish in this role. It’s hard not to root for her during the film. She gives us plenty of humor and charm while embracing the darkness that is controlling her in such a convincing way to make this an entertaining watch.

Images courtesy of Shudder

A story about female empowerment.

I’ve seen so many vampire films over the years and I thought that this particular one did a good job of presenting us with something original and unique. Even though we know we are going to be witnessing plenty of blood and gore along the way, there is a bigger message here.

Jakob’s wife, Anne, has lost her voice and identity in her marriage. People interrupt her when she talks and she barely recognizes the woman she used to be when she looks in the mirror. When she starts to transform into a vampire, she speaks up when she wants to and does things for herself. I really liked this angle and I thought it helped make the film stand out.

It still has a campy horror feel without ever becoming too heavy, but the message is there and it’s an important one.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Shudder

The supporting characters lacked a little bit of magic…

I’m fine with just focusing on the wonderful Barbara Crampton, but I wanted a little bit more from our supporting characters. They were all just mostly filler for me and I didn’t invest any real time in them so it didn’t matter if any of them died throughout the film.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Shudder

I’m in!

The film is really campy and slightly outrageous at times, but it is an entertaining watch from start to finish and Barbara Crampton is absolutely wonderful in it. Seriously, she doesn’t age! As long as you don’t take the film too seriously, you will enjoy your watch and I think it has an important message at its core worth paying attention to.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Jakob’s Wife in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

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