THE MANNEQUIN movie poster | ©2025 Jackrabbit Media

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Isabella Gomez, Lindsay Lavanchy, Shireen Lai, Maxwell Hamilton, Gabriella Rivera, Krystle Martin, Jack Sochet, Trevor LaPaglia, John Berardo
Writer: John Berardo
Director: John Berardo
Distributor: Jackrabbit Media
Release Date: October 14, 2025 (digital, VOD)

Written and directed by John Berardo, THE MANNEQUIN begins with an exquisitely shot black-and-white sequence, where we meet 1950s model Ruth Calvert (Krystle Martin), who is posing for photographer Jack Bernard (Jack Sochet) in his warehouse-based studio.

Unfortunately for Ruth, Jack is a serial killer, who likes to use his mannequin (which has breasts that are painted in an anatomically correct manner) to pose parts of his kills.

Sixty years later, the warehouse property manager (filmmaker Berardo) is showing off the space to aspiring fashion designer Sophia Rojas (Gabriella Rivera) and her sister and bestie Liana (Isabella Gomez).

Given that the space is surprisingly affordable, Sophia jumps at the chance to lease it. It comes with a variety of original furnishings, including the naked mannequin, which Sophia dubs “Alice Baldwin.”

The sisters’ close friend Nadine (Shireen Lai) is having a party to celebrate her engagement to wealthy, accommodating Mark (Trevor LaPaglia). Also part of their social circle is Hazel (Lindsay Lavanchy).

The party is a catalyst for Liana to break up with her boyfriend, paranormal podcaster Peter (Maxwell Hamilton). Given what we know about the history of Sophia’s new rental, this seems like bad timing.

It’s not long before Sophia, by herself in the studio, is beset by ghosts and killed. Liana finds the body and is traumatized.

A year later, Liana returns from an extended trip to Italy and rents the warehouse herself, wanting to “finish what [Sophia] started.” She orchestrates a reunion with Nadine and Hazel, neither of whom think it’s a great idea for Liana to move in, even before some bizarre events occur there and elsewhere.

Berardo stages some nicely creepy movements and imagery, along with some solid morbid underpinnings. He also wants to open up the horror element to include the way grief affects people differently.

The cast is all game, appropriately sad, remorseful, defensive and hysterical in the right places. But the characters aren’t as articulate as we might wish about their feelings.

THE MANNEQUIN has some other stumbling blocks. We get a back story eventually, but nothing that explains the rules of when and how the ghosts can kill, let alone why.

There is also a strange lack of police presence regarding incidents where hospital psych holds and/or arrests seem like they would be the probable consequences. It’s also quite startling to learn (not a spoiler, since this seems to be something we’re meant to understand at the time) that everyone thinks Sophia committed suicide – given the manner of her death, this seems unlikely.

Finally, although this isn’t crucial, just what is it that Sophia began that Liana feels compelled to complete?

It’s clear what Berardo is trying to do with THE MANNEQUIN. Sometimes he achieves it, but sometimes the execution doesn’t fulfill the ambitions of the concepts.

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