Blu-ray Review: “Jakob’s Wife” This disc both shines and falters, but is worth having for the film

It’s not often you can build a drama about a long-married couple caught in the throes of their stagnant marriage, watching the effects of them having grown apart over many years… then changing that game by wrapping a bloody vampire story around that gooey melodramatic center.

The story of Anne silently accepting the benign neglect of 30 years of being taken for granted, expected to always “be there” and do what everyone else expects her to do for them before discovering she has power of her own and flexing it would be an interesting drama in the right hands.

But when Anne is attacked by a master vampire, her new-found power comes from surviving that attack and becoming something halfway between human and vampire, and realizing that all of the neglect and dismissive attitudes she’s live with just aren’t going to work for her bold new vision of life and living. A sort of “take that life, and shove it” response turns into a dark but earnest quest for Anne and Jakob to find a new equilibrium with their marriage, in the hopes of staying together, and staying alive.

The picture sparkles on this set, and the sound comes as a warm yet creepy reminder of the false sense of security small town life can lull you into.

My one quibble with this disc is that there aren’t any commentary tracks. Having a commentary track featuring Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden and writer/director Travis Stevens could have been a gem.

Jakob’s Wife is on DVD and Blu-ray on July 20, 2021 from RLJE Films (a business unit of AMC Networks)

Bonus features on the DVD and Blu-ray include:
* The Making Of Jakob’s Wife
* Deleted Scenes

Anne is married to a small-town minister and feels like her life and marriage have been shrinking over the past 30 years. After a chance encounter with “The Master,” she discovers a new sense of power and an appetite to live bigger and bolder than before. As Anne is increasingly torn between her enticing new existence and her life before, the body count grows and Jakob realizes he will have to fight for the wife he took for granted.

Starring Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Nyisha Bell, Mark Kelly, Sarah Lind, Robert Rusler, Bonnie Aarons, CM Punk
Directed by Travis Stevens
Written by Travis Stevens, Mark Steensland and Kathy Charles