The Jar

The Jar/Charon, directed by Bruce Toscano and written by George Bradley, had two sold out showings at the Music Box in Chicago, and a sold out showing at Sie Cinema as part of the Scream Screen series, hosted by Theresa Mercado. In addition, it won the audience award for the Best Art/Experimental Feature at the Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco in 2025.

The Jar
Directed byBruce Toscano
Written byGeorge Bradley
StarringGary Wallace
CinematographyCameron MacLeod
Edited byBruce Toscano
Music byObscure Sighs
Release date
  • April 16, 1984 (1984-04-16) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200,000 (estimated)

The Jar is a 1984 American horror film directed by Bruce Toscano.

Plot

A schoolteacher named Paul gets in an auto accident with an old man. After bringing the old man to his apartment to heal him, Paul finds that the man has disappeared, leaving behind a bottle in a paper bag. Within the bottle is a demon who possesses Paul and induces hallucinations including vignettes of being crucified and fighting as a soldier. Paul murders his neighbor and passes on his demonic possession to his boss.

Cast

Legacy

In 2015, the film was featured on an episode of Red Letter Media's Best of the Worst, together with Future War and White Fire. The film was rated by the hosts as one of the worst ever featured on the show, and the end of the episode has the hosts melting their copy of The Jar in a jar filled with acetone.

Subsequently, Terror Vision contacted Bruce Toscano, the director, to see if he still had the original negatives. Bruce did have them. Brad Henderson (of Terror Vision) and Bruce painstakingly worked on restoring the movie (along with Ryan) until the movie met everyone's satisfaction. Terror Vision released the restored version on Blu Ray, with the intended aspect ratio and restored color.

The restored version showed at two sold-our viewings at The Music Box in Chicago and a sold-out show at Scream Screen at the Sie Film Center in Denver, hosted by Theresa Mercado.

It also won the audience award for Best Art/Experimental Feature at the Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco.

References

  1. 1 2 Albright, Brian (October 19, 2012). Regional Horror Films, 1958-1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews. Google Books: McFarland. ISBN 9781476600420.
  2. ↑ Teddy Blanks (October 17, 2008). "The Jar". NotComing.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  3. ↑ "The Jar (1984)". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Film Review: The Jar (1984)". HorrorNews.net. May 26, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Worst Horror Movies Ever Made: "The Jar" (1984)". Slasher Studios. June 29, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Best of the Worst: Future War, The Jar, and White Fire". Red Letter Media. September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ from Gary Wallace, who played Paul in the movie
  8. ↑ Gary Wallace, who played Paul
  9. ↑ Gary Wallace, who played Paul