The 1978 film Jennifer is the strangest rip-off of Brian De Palma’s hit, Carrie. Several other films were inspired by the success of the Sissy Spacek film, but none was as slavish or eccentric as the AIP release.
United Artists had little faith in Carrie when it was given previews in October of 1976. The Halloween screenings were very successful, and encouraged the studio to advertise the film more aggressively. Based on the popular Stephen King novel about a shy, bullied high school girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers, it proved to be a surprise hit with critics and audiences. It also garnered two Academy Award nominations for acting; Spacek for Best Actress and Piper Laurie (Twin Peaks) for Best Supporting Actress. The movie would revitalize De Palma’s career and created instant celebrity for Spacek and the other young cast members.
The success of Carrie spawned several films looking to cash in on the seemingly simple premise. Nurse Sherri, Laser Blast, Prom Night, Evil Speak and the TV movies The Initiation of Sarah and The Spell were just a few of the titles that either borrowed elements, or stole outright, from De Palma’s film. Director Al Adamson added shock scenes to his exploitation film Nurse Sherri at the request of his producer, who had just seen Carrie. ABC TV’s The Initiation of Sarah was much more blatant, simply substituting college for the high school backdrop. However, none of these titles were as slavish, or strange, as Brice Mack’s 1978 film Jennifer.
Carrie Rip-Off Jennifer Gets Points for Bizarre Plot Turn
Written by television actress Kay Cousins Johnson, Jennifer is a perfect example of 70’s era exploitation hackery. It features a great performance by Lisa Pelikan as the introverted title character who is on scholarship at an elite girl’s school. Jennifer is picked on by the wealthier kids, including the spoiled Sandra (Amy Johnston) who is determined to get her kicked out of school. During an elaborate prank, when Jennifer has been kidnapped and taken to a parking garage where she is tormented by kids in cars, her latent supernatural powers are awakened. While this film is lock-step with the Carrie storyline, it definitely takes a turn when the protagonist gets aggressive.
It turns out that Jennifer was part of a religious cult as a child and handled snakes during their ceremonies. Not only was she a gifted snake handler, but she evidently had a supernatural hold over the reptiles. In addition, Jennifer can conjure all manner of poisonous snakes out of thin air and control their behavior. This rather random story choice gives the familiar scenario a bizarre edge; elevating a mediocre rip-off into a more extreme guilty pleasure. While Jennifer hit all the beats of the De Palma film, including a religious fanatic parent and a concerned teacher, the snakes-out-of-thin-air premise adds a layer of the unexpected.
Surprisingly, AIP, the company that released Jennifer, was not sued by United Artists for copyright infringement. This might have something to do with the advertising campaign, which offered scary ambiguity over the actual plotline. Though the one-sheet does state: “Makes Carrie look like an angel”, potential views would have been hard pressed to know what the movie was about. The bizarre snake angle, also not mentioned in the advertising, might have also had something to do with UA’s indifference. With strong supporting players including Nina Foch, John Gavin (Psycho), and Bert Convy, Jennifer is a competent enough film that is easy to watch.