Anything for Jackson (2020)

Anything for Jackson takes a wickedly clever premise—a grieving couple so desperate they turn to a “reverse exorcism”—and spins it into a horror ride that feels both fresh and confidently old-school in its craft. Justin G. Dyck keeps the tension ratcheting with tight pacing and a creeping, wintry atmosphere, while Sheila McCarthy and Julian Richings sell the madness with performances so grounded you almost understand the terrible choices before you recoil from them. The film’s scares land not just as jolts, but as a steadily worsening sense that the walls are closing in and something truly wrong has been invited inside. Fair warning: it’s nasty, profane, and often brutal, but if you like your supernatural horror smart, sinister, and unafraid to go for the throat, this one delivers.

Anything for Jackson is clearly aiming for a fresh spin on possession horror by making the villains a grieving, almost disarmingly “normal” older couple, and for a good stretch it works thanks to committed performances and a nasty, inventive streak. The problem is that once the supernatural chaos ramps up, the movie starts to feel like it’s throwing ideas at the wall instead of building to a clean, satisfying payoff, so the back half can come off unfocused and the ending may leave you more deflated than disturbed. It’s also extremely graphic and relentless, leaning hard into gore and bleak imagery rather than suspenseful slow-burn dread. If you want tight plotting and a climax that neatly cashes the checks the premise writes, you may walk away annoyed; if you’re up for mean-spirited fun, creepy set pieces, and don’t mind a messy finish, it’s still a worthwhile late-night watch.