Jack Be Nimble (1993) User Reviews

Intense

[Gafke · 7/10 · 31 August 2004]

Abandoned by their drunken and disturbed mother at a very young age, Jack and Dora are soon adopted by different families. Dora is taken in by a caring well-to-do couple while Jack is sent to live with a country family, consisting of a cruel mother, an abusive father and their four creepy daughters. Dora, an introvert with psychic abilities, leads a mostly normal life, though it's a mostly friendless one. Jack, beaten and tormented every day, grows up hostile and explosive. With the help of a weird, shop-class constructed hypnosis machine, Jack kills his adopted parents and flees the farm. Dora, with the help of her abilities, is able to find Jack and bring him back with her. But the reunion is not a happy one. Jack is seriously emotionally disturbed, lashing out at everyone that his sister loves and violently confronting their natural parents once the two are able to track them down. The increasingly emotionally distraught Dora tries desperately to hold onto her life and those she loves. To make matters worse, the four creepy sisters show up, determined to find Jack and take their revenge upon him. When Jack is indeed kidnapped by the freaky foursome, it is up to Dora to find him and save him.

This is both a horror movie, a grim fairy tale and a tense emotional drama, sometimes difficult to watch but always just intense enough to keep you from looking away. The performances are awesome, especially by the two leads. Alexis Arquette is frightening and sympathetic, turning in an incredibly harrowing performance as the scarred Jack and doing a great accent to boot. Sarah Smuts-Kennedy is equally awesome as the conflicted Dora. The storyline may be somewhat thin, but the emotions of the characters are plenty strong enough to fill in the gaps. There is little violence, but that which is shown is brutal and merciless, especially the shocker ending. A weird little gem of a film - not for everyone, but definitely worth catching at least once.

A very moving horror cult secret.

[im00sev · 7/10 · 3 May 2001]

I just finished this film. Bought it at eBay. I collect obscure movies. This one is a jewel. A very dark jewel in its very own genre. I'm not one to reveal plots, but I can describe the movie. Director Garth Maxwell takes you on a bit of an unexpected trip. It smacks of classic horror, but, it's new horror and you never know where it's going. Maxwell's use of light and color is simply astounding and unforgettable. I'm sure I'll sleep with some of these images tonight. It's not for those of you who like typical movies. It's very different. I have but two technical problems and they're small: 1) Maxwell let's Dora say, "Marigolds." and they're not. 2) One line slips out while no lips move. Otherwise, the film is certainly going to chill some blood cells and keep your brain ticking. Sorry, but Alexis Arquette couldn't be more good-looking, either. It's not big Hollywood (and I like that), but it's very, very provocative film-making. I like that, too.

Bizarre but serious horror film

[Keith-47 · 6/10 · 1 November 1998]

Bizarre but serious horror film that piques your interest from the opening scene. Maintains a unique and colorful atmosphere throughout. The depths of human evil are depicted here as if one were watching a fairy tale with witches and goblins (thus the Jack of nursery rhyme is chosen here). Great score, by the way, that helps to create the atmosphere throughout.

I recommend it as a good Halloween treat, but definitely not for children.

Awkward mix of gothic horror and social drama never finds its tone

[Groverdox · 4/10 · 5 November 2020]

"Jack Be Nimble" is a strange and unpleasant movie, the result of an unsuccessful attempt to mix a whimsical gothic horror story with down-and-dirty social realism. The movie doesn't manage any atmosphere or scares and thus fails as horror, gothic or otherwise. Its attempts at realism also fail, with one-note performances and the constant incursion of the story's supernatural elements, which don't mesh with the real locations and lack of style on offer.

The plot: a brother and sister are orphaned and split up when the sister is adopted first. She is adopted into a loving family, but the boy ends up being abused by sadistic foster parents, and spooked by their four daughters, who materialise over him and watch him sleep. He eventually escapes when he uses his mind control abilities with a machine he made in metal work to get his revenge, and then goes off to find his sister. She shacks up with the legendary character actor Bruno Lawrence, in what I believe may have been his last film appearance. Their relationship - a young girl with a much older man - is too "real" for this material, like the theme of abusive foster parents. There are ways for the supernatural fiction genre to deal with distressing, real-world issues, but this movie doesn't find them.

The main character is played by pre-surgery Alexis Arquette. I didn't realise he wasn't Kiwi, so he must have nailed the accent. He's kind of weird looking, though, like a Calvin Klein model with acromegaly. He reminds me of Rondo Hatton.

The movie was just such an awkward mix - and quite unpleasant in places - that I wasn't able to focus on it for long. It didn't make much sense and I don't think I wanted it to. I probably should have bailed out early.

Die, Jack, die!

[gridoon · 3/10 · 3 February 2002]

After so many positive reviews for this movie, get ready for a negative one - just for a change.

I really hated this flick. It tests your patience. If the washed-out colors don't get to you, the revolting unpleasantness of it all will. The script essentially pits a psychotic freak against four creepy, murderous, insane girls (and yes, there are even more, equally dislikable characters around!). Do you care who wins? If you do, you may like this one. If you don't, you'll be just waiting for it to be over. (*1/2)

Dark, Beautiful and Exciting

[CantripZ · 8/10 · 18 August 2008]

This low-budget horror film from New Zealand is, for me, a textbook example of why I love the genre.

It has everything a quality horror movie needs, including the elements which big-budget and "typical American" horror all too often lack.

The film looks great, using the natural beauty of NZ alongside impressive cityscapes, but also showing us the very ordinary and (of course) the dark and ugly side of both the rural and urban environments.

The plot is straightforward but intelligently thought through and far from simple, resting on the characters and the tragic events in which they're embroiled.

There is violence and death, disturbing rather than gory, and an insidious tension which builds slowly and isn't allowed to dissipate until the very end.

The characters are sharply defined and individual, yet at the same time convincingly complex.

The dialogue is unpretty (sometimes even crude), but direct and often powerful - in many ways watching this was like discovering an unknown early Cronenberg flick, but in place of Cronenberg's cool intellectualism Garth Maxwell has crafted a highly emotional film which isn't afraid to take its viewers into uncomfortable territory.

Some of the performances might perhaps have been a little more fluid but Alexis Arquette (as the titular Jack) and especially Sarah Smuts-Kennedy as Dora are exceptionally honest in their portrayals of a damaged brother and sister. Mention must also be made of the blunt, persuasive presence of Bruno Lawrence, bringing to life a character who could easily have been badly mishandled.

Mainly, though, it's the ideas which make this shine. There are more surprises in this film than in the last dozen Hollywood horrors I watched... and thankfully they're the kind of surprised which make you think, not the kind which make you jump! There are very few FX beyond straight-up film techniques and a little fake blood, and that too is to the film's credit. This is a film about people whose lives have spiralled out of control and into the dark side, and while the paranormal elements are ever-present they're never the meat of the meal.

There are a few rough edges. As I mentioned in passing, the script has its clunky moments and not all the acting matches the quality of the standout roles. There were also some heavy-handed edits, and the sound design wasn't as accomplished as the visual aspects of the movie.

These are, however, minor quibbles, which didn't detract in the slightest from my enjoyment.

If you have an interest in the more sombre, conceptual side of the horror genre, this is an underrated modern classic, and comes highly recommended.

"You won't leave me, will you?"

[Backlash007 · 10 November 2003]

~Spoiler~

Jack Be Nimble can be summed up in one word: weird. This is a strange import from New Zealand revolving around twin siblings who are separated at a young age. One leads a decent life while the other, Jack, is tortured and belittled by his adopted parents. This humiliation leads Jack (played by Alexis Arquette) to build a machine in metal shop that allows him to kill his new parents in particularly nasty ways. Don't worry, these people had it coming. He then sets out to find his long lost sister. I would have been very pleased and fulfilled if the movie had ended there. But it doesn't. Jack finds his sister and runs into a whole new set of troubles to kill, er, deal with. If you enjoy a good abnormal creepfest, this won't disappoint you.

South Land Tales

[saint_brett · 5/10 · 2 February 2023]

I was going to watch 'Lars and The Real Girl' tonight but it's only PG-13 and I'm not in a PG-13 mood.

So, I'll watch whatever this movie is instead.

Oh, it's a New Zealand movie! "What am I gonna do - paddle to New Zealand?"

A distressed woman is being attacked by both the elements and some laundry on the clothes line which smacks her hard across the mouth resulting in her consulting straight vodka. The curtains then attack and strangle her. Not having much luck today, eh lady? What next - the iron?

I got the damn DVD set on a Spanish language. No wonder I'm not following proceedings.

'Jack Be Nimble' is Jack Se Listo in Mexican.

Two orphaned kids are abandoned in a child rental factory warehouse and leased out to the highest bidders.

They're split up and sent to convict settlements in Albury and elsewhere.

No doubt they'll grow up and be reunited again down the track. Too predictable.

Was that Lorde?

Typical how the late 70's moulded every young lady as potential -

Hang on, hold that thought!

There's a fight going on between two school girls here.

Get her, Dora! Keep it clean - no hair pulling. You're behind on points, Dora.

As I was saying, the late 70's used to groom every young girl as a future typewriter. (Or, was that a 60's thing?)

Drats - Dora was just murdered!

Check out these 4 - is that the chicks from 'The Craft?'

Jack's not so nimble, he's being whipped silly with barbed wire by the dope from 'Foot Trot Flats.' Remember that crap? "I come from a land down under. I'll stick with you, kid, that's the bottom line. Slice of heaven." That sure is whack though! We need clarification on that! Never mind.

Dora, played by Lorde, just raised from the dead. No way she would have survived that fall from that distance.

Jack invents some hypnotizing device, I thought it was a time machine that makes you meet Morlocks and Gargamel, and he starts instructing his stepfamily to commit suicide under his spell command. He kills the two parents first. If I was him I'd make the four Craft sisters treat me like harem geishas. You know - do the whole feed-me-grapes thing on the vine, clean my carpets, lick my feet, and disinfect the outhouse.

Lorde recovers and meets Andy Robinson from 'The Stepfather.' She tries to drown herself in the Tasman Straight and realizes that she has invincibility cheat code powers and can't be killed.

The quality of my DVD is not very high definition and in need of some tracking.

That's not The stepfather! Looks nothing like him!

Jack and the living dead girl reunite - as predicted - and the movie kind of loses its way.

Or, it's lost my interest with this boring Michael Ironside fella, who has the voice of the demon from any Exorcist movie.

Why do I own this movie? I can't recall purchasing it. Why would I buy this?

These four morose Craft sisters would go well pitted against those sisters from 'The Fighter.' It's actually an intriguing storyline with the four Craft sisters driving around in Ed Gein's pickup in search of revenge.

Well, this is a movie first - this guy is gonna kill himself by way of a thousand sit-ups! Yeah, exercise.

What's with all this back and forth bickering and arguing between everybody? It's beyond played out and past the point of annoying and run its course.

(It must be noted that Jack has Freddy Mercury's mouth.)

How long does this run for anyway? I want to go to bed and try to connect with the Astral Realm. It'd be much better than this. (I nearly got there later that night but fear brought me back just as I was there. I get scared of succeeding.)

The Craft girls steal Jack Texas Chainsaw style. Nimble nothing.

The Exorcist fella looks like the principal from 'The Wonder Years.'

I wanna brush my teeth and go to bed.

The Craft girls pour motor oil down Jack's mouth with a funnel.

Lorde uses the cheat code again at the end to defeat the four Craft beauties.

And, my oh my, weren't they all a bevy of perfection when aligned? How I'd go to the prom with all four of them cuties hanging off my elbows. Two girls for every boy did they sing? Nah man, I want these four honeys. Two girls off every arm, man!

Jack's strung up like a scarecrow at the end similar to a victim in that Captain Howdy movie with his eyes and lips sewn together. "Wanna play ball, scarecrow?"

Due to the poor, blurred, quality of this DVD, I have a major headache today as a result.

It's not a movie I'll be rushing back to watch any time soon either.

A colorful horror adventure about taking revenge!

[OJT · 10/10 · 14 August 1999]

This fantastic film is an adventure based upon an old fairy tale with the stepmother and three gruesome step sisters. But Jack will be taking his bloody revenge.

Our film club featured this, and all the viewers were astonished. It's brutal, it's beautiful, it's sparkling with splatter and horror ideas. A true classic, and hidden gem! A complete movie of of vibrant colors sick ideas! The use of colors are greater than David Lynch manages in his films, and reminded me in that way of Blue Velvet!

You really don't know what you've been missing out before you see this! Go head over heels to get hold of this one! Though it deserves to be seen at a large screen, or preferably in a cinema, though that might be difficult for most.

This is one fine example of how great New Zealand cinema scene is, and I'll without any doubt consider this as a classic but refined gore, which should inspire many.

So get gold of this must-see film! But, of course... be nimble!

Barely watchable genre effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 2/10 · 10 October 2021]

Growing up separated as young kids, a boy and his sister eventually find themselves years later as teens having been adopted into vastly different families, but when his psychotic upbringing eventually causes him to snap they go on the run to help him while avoiding his family members out to seek revenge.

Overall, this one was pretty disappointing and underwhelming. The only good factors here really stem from the series of scenes that revolve around setting up the revenge later on. His life on the farm and the abuse he suffered is all a great setup for the hypnosis-fueled series of accidents that are passed off as his parents' deaths create a rather strong first-half while generating the proper build-up required for the scenes later on featuring the girls coming back for revenge. This offers some decent scenes with them chasing the two around the area leading to the finale that brings about some fun chases around the property and getting some solid gore once her powers are finally brought to the forefront. It's really some of the only factors that make this one likable. There were quite a few issues with this one. One of the biggest problems with this one is the idea of this one being so heavy-handed with its setup that there's so little interest in what's happening. Despite the creation of an intriguing setup involving their vastly different lives and the quest to get back together, very little here becomes interesting due to the way this all becomes presented. As the differences with their lies growing up are immediately clear and don't stand up to the kind of fascination it thinks it has. The discrepancies in their upbringing and how different it was for them to be brought up is all a tired cliche anyway and don't generate much in the way of excitement for a genre film. Most of it is all played in a serene and maudlin approach that comes about through their reunion and the troubled nature of everything, failing to make any kind of genuine impression overall. This lack of interest also applies to the films' attempt at scares which are incredibly troubling and just plain uninteresting. Since he's such an unsocial psychotic nutcase that snaps at everything and everyone around him in the most unrealistic manner possible, it's not at all feasible to look at him as a sympathetic figure during his attempts to kill off the people around him for what happened in his life. This causes a series of utterly underwhelming and forgettable scenes that despite the attempt at raising the energy featured within the film make no sense as to why they would play out as they do with her helping him perform these actions in front of her or driving away everyone in her life just because he's too unstable to be around. Frankly, these really hold this one down the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Violence, Brief Nudity, and a mild sex scene.

weird. very weird.

[mattkratz · 17 September 2000]

This is a slick, weird film about a guy who gets gruesome revenge on his abusive family and sets out to find his sister. I thought it was okay, and Leonard Maltin gave it a good review, but you will need to see it to get your own opinion. Watch for New Zealand actor Bruno Lawrence as Teddy. ** 1/2 out of ****

I am unable to relate

[jordondave-28085 · 5/10 · 8 May 2023]

(1993) Jack Be Nimble PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPERNATURAL HORROR

Co-written and directed by Garth Maxwell making what could've been a fascinating horror movie from New Zealand which starts out with two very connected children ending up into the orphanage as a result of some dysfunctional family circumstance with good parents adopting the sister, Dora while bad parents adopting the brother, Jack. They're then become interconnected once the sister inhabits some telepathic powers as a result of knocking herself unconscious to the ground who then possess the ability to not only converse with other people by using her mind and without speaking to them, but also has the ability to listen to the undead similar to the kid in "The Sixth Sense". While she's living in a normal environment, the same thing can't be said for Jack for he gets abused repeatedly by the all the women in the household which includes four bushy haired sisters and an abnormal mother and father who consistently beat him. The brother and sister are eventually going to reunite but as a result of people getting killed in the process whereas Jack always uses a contraption that can hypnotize people. And there's not a single law enforcement officer throughout the entire movie where adults can pretty much assault people without any consequences. The movie is very spontaneously made with the 'rules' don't even apply to the people in the area, for it must have taken place on some deserted remote town that's somehow isolated from the others.

Superb Obscure Horror

[zarch-3 · 9/10 · 27 October 2010]

Part fairy tale part violent retribution cruelty rears its ugly head here from the start and doesn't let up it's unrelenting death grip until the final frame. Jack and Nora are two siblings who become separated due to the negligence of their parents and discover they both possess psychic skills which they proceed to apply to their situations. How they put their abilities to the test is connected to their home environments and each other in complete contrast. Poetically filmed in new Zealand this is a very interesting and dark little tale where everything goes desperately wrong. It's gruesome but beautiful all at once, highly recommended!.

This one is kind of my all time favourite since his release!

[delirix · 10/10 · 3 June 2007]

i like Australian and newzeeland film making in general,but this one is at least as outstanding as "once we were warriors"(not that you could compare these two goodies...) sound,light and camera are really stunning and well balanced.

i really like the performances of all the actors,too! arquette is more than convincing in giving an carping asshole-until it comes out WHY he's acting like this all the time and won't be let alone! this film is a sensual experience,don't miss it!! a shame,that this director did not produce one "real",feauture-length movie since than. this was are more than promising afford, but today, i think he only directs c-class TV-crap like "xenia"(?) and similar low-quality stuff.