Fresh off its world premiere at Raindance, Bryce Hirschberg's Jackalope is a memorable thriller meets psychological horror with a bold vision yet intimate storytelling that brings to mind the likes of The Strangers and Jennifer's Body among others. 

Brothers Conor (Alex Mandel) and Aidan (Hirschberg) head out to a family getaway in the woods to play some life catch-up despite getting some odd instructions to disable the wi-fi from their father (played by Mandel's real-life father Howie Mandel in a pay attention cameo). 

It's clear pretty early on that our brothers are a wee-bit elusive and that Hirschberg's going to take this familiar yet inspired story in some unique places even when we get the obligatory "stranger at the door," Lilly (Terrifier's Catherine Corcoran), a woman whose looks could kill and they just might. 

Jackalope is the second film from Hirschberg to cross my desk after Counterfeiters, and I have higher hopes this one is going to find the audience it deserves. It would do so even without having Howie himself sign on as both executive producer and for his brief cameo. Both Hirschberg and the younger Mandel are immensely talented with a believable chemistry that is never quite what it seems yet always still believable - that's essential to sell this story. 

Hirschberg has the ever so slightly larger part here, though Mandel's emotional care is what really drives this thing home. 

At first, I was kind of thinking that the Catherine Corcoran/Lilly thread was unnecessary, however, Corcoran is so good here that I can't imagine the film without it. Let's just say that Lilly is beyond different from how she presents and there are images here one won't easily forget. 

Kudos to D.P. David Klassen for those images, off-putting yet natural and otherworldly yet incredibly personal. There's a cinematic tapestry here that's just an awful lot of fun to watch. Richard G. Mitchell's original score for the film also does a terrific job of setting a unique rhythm for Hirschberg and Klassen's storytelling. 

There's an awful lot going on here, perhaps a bit too much, and there's much fun to be had with Jackalope. Early in its festival run, this is going to be a film to watch for along its festival journey and hopefully a life beyond the festival circuit with an indie distributor that can give it the love it needs to find a wider audience. If you get a chance, check it out. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic