Jennifer is the only scholarship girl in a very select and very posh school called Green View. She has fallen foul of the bitchy in-crowd led by the ultra-vile Sandy, whose father is a senator. Jennifer’s father is stanchly religious, and they live on their own above the pet shop that he owns. Jennifer once demonstrated a power regarding snakes when she was younger, but after a local boy in their native West Virginia was bitten by snakes she had been handling, Jennifer hasn’t handled snakes since, and they left because of it.

I first saw Jennifer when on holiday in Jersey in 1986. It’s stayed with me ever since.

This American International film owes more than a passing resemblance to Carrie, but that isn’t to knock it. Jennifer is great fun, with the eponymous hero being a brilliantly realised character. I also loved the bitchy mean girls and the school staff, who are also fantastically written and played. I kept thinking of Dawn Davenport and her goons in Female Trouble.

Watch out for the expertly lit and coloured final showdown (or should that be sssshowdown). It’s really something to behold.

Great films spawn imitators that are also great in their own right. Jennifer is one such film.

4 out of 5 stars