The Rule of Jenny Pen 2025

An elderly judge, Stefan Mortensen, passes sentence in court and then collapses. A stroke leaves him partially immobile, and he goes to live in a care home. There he meets another resident, Howie, drinking and smoking outside. The care home cat, considered to be an omen of death, watches nearby. Howie drops his cigarette, which ignites his clothing, and Stefan watches him burn to death.

Stefan shares a bedroom with former rugby player Tony Garfield. Another resident, Dave Crealy, bullies and terrorises the residents. Dave visits Stefan and Tony in the night to menace them, one time throwing a bottle of urine over Stefan. Dave carries a hand puppet called Jenny Pen, which he uses for his bullying and forces the other men to grovel to it.

At first Stefan believes he will recover from his stroke and go home, but he comes to realise this will not happen and his condition will worsen. He tries to drown himself in the bath, but panics and grasps at the rails, and is saved when a care assistant helps him to sit up. Stefan discovers, by looking at old staff photos, that Dave has been at the care home for decades, first as a young man working there.

One night Dave leads Joyce, an elderly woman with dementia, out of a secure gate. She wanders into the night, looking for her family, and is found dead in a puddle. Stefan tries to stand up against the constant bullying, and unsuccessfully tries to disable Dave by emptying his asthma inhalers.

Tony initially cowers before Dave, not wanting to cause problems or have his family think he is “pathetic” by making a complaint. But seeing Stefan’s example, Tony decides to stand up to Dave, challenging him with a haka in the dining room. Stefan and Tony work together to lure Dave to a isolated laundry room. There they attack him and manage to smother him. Peace comes to the care home residents, and the cat begins to take an interest in Stefan.