Jennifer (1978 film)

Jennifer is a 1978 American supernatural horror film directed by Brice Mack, starring Lisa Pelikan, Bert Convy, Wesley Eure, Nina Foch, and John Gavin.

Its plot follows a young woman who, ostracized by her peers at an elite boarding school, enacts violent revenge via her psychokinetic ability to control snakes.

Jennifer Baylor is a poor young woman from West Virginia who possesses a supernatural power over snakes, an ability to control them and communicate with them.

When Jennifer climbs a ladder to retrieve them, Sandra's boyfriend Dayton startles her by taking photographs with a flashbulb camera, causing her to fall naked into the pool.

Dayton is thrown off the parking garage to his death, and Sandra attempts to flee in her car, but Jennifer manifests a giant snake that causes her to crash the vehicle and die in a fire.

[1] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "all things considered, Jennifer could be a whole lot worse", and noted that "while Miss Pelikan is not Sissy Spacek by a long shot, she does have a suitably spooky look in her eye".

[5] Bob Keaton of the Fort Lauderdale News also noted the film's similarities to Carrie, but praised Pelikan's performance as terrific.