I would actually rate Jacob at a "7" but I added an extra star because I feel the current rating below five is far too low. I just watched the movie on Netflix and, as it ended, I said, "Finally - a good movie!" I thought the acting was fine, especially the guy who plays the sheriff. Some of the other "redneck" characters pull it off very well, also. This is obviously a low-budget film, but I feel they did very well with what they had to work with. I do not like idiotic "slasher" movies like the Friday the 13th series, and I do not consider Jacob a slasher flick. The title character goes on a killing spree toward the end of the movie, and a flashback recalls his father's rampage in a local bar, but the violence and light gore is not the movie's main appeal. The mystery about a supernatural force can remain a mystery - not everything needs explained. The father obviously dabbled in the black arts and that's really all we need to know. Some supernatural force is apparently present in the old house and with Jacob and Sissy. The real story is the reason for Jacob's killing spree. I recommend this movie to horror fans, like me, who do not enjoy mindless slashers flicks.

I can't tell you how many times I've watched this movie.. what I can tell you is that it gets better EVERY time I watch it. I am consistently catching something I missed before. Larry Wade Carrell does an amazing job directing and acting in it. He is going to take Hollywood by storm... I've known men like Otis, he nails the personality, and Billy, You'll just want to take him home...Grace Powell is an up and comer not to be reckoned with & Dylan Horne scared the daylights out of me. Don't just watch this movie once! Trust me. it gets better each time! I love horror flicks, I'm a horror flick junkie.. and now I am a Jacob junkie!!

I just viewed Jacob again tonight, and it's even better than when I saw it the last time.As an aficionado of horror films, I absolutely love this film. You just can't help but loving it. But it's a lot more than just a horror film.It's excellently photographed and directed, with a consistent mood, augmented by an effective score. You'll love the locations -- among them, the beautiful haunted house and the picturesque cemetery.Grace Powell is especially memorable as Sissy. With such talent at such a young age, she's sure to progress into a very successful actress. Dylan Horne is both masterful and touching in his role as Jacob.If you haven't yet seen this little gem of a film, do yourself a favor. Buy it or rent it, and enjoy something unique. Something fun. Something excellent.

I had the pleasure of seeing this film's screener at the 2011 Splatterfest in Houston. Before the film began, the director apologized for sound effects that hadn't yet been added. To be honest, it was hardly noticeable due to the story and the acting pulling me into the film.The story begins as a classic ghost story- 3 young local boys are gathered for an afternoon of fun, and 2 of the boys dare their squeamish younger friend to join them at the ruins of an infamous local house. The antagonists are run off by Sheriff Billy (played by the film's director), and the timid youngster asks him if the stories about Jacob Kell are true. This leads into our tale. Dylan Horne is creepily effective as Jacob Kell, a young man who reminds one of Steinbeck's Lenny, albeit that Lenny was 3 times larger, stronger, and mute. Grace Powell is his beloved baby sister Sissy. I see a big future in film for this little girl. While Sissy's age is never given in the film, we are led to believe that she is around 7. She is the only voice of reason in a household that finds her mother, Edith, being brutally beaten by her stepfather Otis (also played by the director.) The world-weariness that Powell gives off when witnessing the fighting and tending to her mother afterward, while still finding time for dolly tea parties with her brother, will seriously tug at your heart.While I think that Carell did an amazing job as director, I also consider him an excellent actor. To play both honorable Billy and cretin Otis is an admirable feat, both in performance and the fact that both characters are so different.The character interactions give major drive to the story. While the viewer may wonder just why hapless Edith, Sissy's and Jacob's mother, stays with horrible Otis, we also gain insight from how her neighbors waffle in attention and affection for her. We learn that her first husband, Lawrence (played by the always-brilliant Michael Biehn) met a terrible end due to an unknown evil taking over him and leading him to commit multiple atrocities against the town. Her boss, Max (Joe Grisaffi) is a sympathetic character for whom I was certainly hoping would not get torn to shreds at the end of the film.The bloodbath begins when Sissy is accidentally killed during one of Otis' alcoholic rages. While I do not want to give away details for one of the most original kills put to film, I am not joking in regard to my use of bloodbath. Emphasis on bath. The blood flies, and it flies for a long time.When the town rallies together to stop Jacob, all bets are off. I have seen many gore-fests over the years, and the kills in this movie alone put 20 years of viewed kills to absolute shame.The supernatural element to the story was an interesting angle as well. While motive is never fully given for the evil events that occur, it offers up a nice little twist at the end of the film.While there is no shortage of somber moments in 'Jacob', there are also plenty of hilarious one-liners to liven the mood. Otis' party-buddy Earl (Jeremy James Douglas Norton) has, hands down, one of the best one-liners in the film that is sure to become popular once the film is released, while another particularly hilarious moment pops up during Jacob's reign of terror against his lynch mob.Overall, I consider it a great privilege that I was able to see this film. It's a rare thing to find truly original films, and as Michael Biehn stated earlier in the evening "Big budget and big studio don't necessarily equal great movie." To me, this year's Splatterfest was a celebration of originality. Michael Biehn's "The Victim" certainly fit the bill, and the 'Evil Dead' series, which headlined the weekend, is a classic case of gory originality. "Jacob" is fiercely, intensely original and deserves to be recognized everywhere as a new horror classic.