Short Film Review: ‘Jacob’s Little Helper’ (2024)
★★★★
NR - Horror (11 minutes)
dir. Richard Russell
Starring: Heather Bayles and James L. Edwards
“It's not easy being a franchise Horror icon. Everyone can use a little help and that includes deformed serial killer Jacob Vorski. Lucky for him, that help comes in the form of Adrienne Palmer. In this exclusive interview, get a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of mass slaughter.”
— Official Synopsis
Jacob’s Little Helper serves as the perfect fan-film turned spoof for horror aficionados. With witty callbacks to several retro-slasher icons of the past, this Friday the 13th rebrand is a love letter to the genre and has a lot of fun in turning the classic “serial killer” narrative on its head. Adrienne Palmer (Heather Bayles) sits down for an exclusive with Roy Weiand (James L. Edwards) to discuss life as a mass murderer’s accomplice; a delicate twist on the subject—opting to follow a glorified assistant rather than the killer or victims. After all, Jacob Vorski (the heralded legend) isn’t exactly the talkative kind.
The film boasts some gnarly special effects and uses intercuts wisely to keep the a cap on the limited production budget. Shot compositions are tactfully selected to make both the interview and kills feel consistently kinetic and fresh. Oozing with meta-commentary, the plot does take a few liberties to ensure that the filmmakers’ creativity can be satisfied. Not to mention, it’s quite difficult to pinpoint exactly where the story will go. If it’s overly self-aware, should we expect to be surprised? And, in closing: yes.
It’s a project that doesn’t take itself too seriously and, in turn, the cast and crew are able to let loose with some fun antics. Jacob hates copycat killers, but even worse: he has a deep disdain for fan films. Jacob’s Little Helper may just be a celebration of the popular genre franchises of the past, but it’s also a repudiation of terrible fan films that often lack originality. However, we can safely say that the film avoids being too serious or creatively bankrupt. Stay tuned after the credits for a little fun with the cast and crew!
Jacob’s Little Helper was submitted to the 21 Days of Horror Festival where it won two awards, including second place for the best woman-led film.