As the body count rises, it becomes clear that no good will come to those who find themselves in Jessie’s midst, which doesn’t bode too well for Preston (Mark Webber), an old high-school “friend” who gallantly tries to help her figure out what’s going on. Preston, as it happens, has a shrew of a wife (Larisa Oleynik, in a thankless one-scene role) who doesn’t take too kindly to the reappearance of this attractive old flame. It’s one of a few wobbly but well-intentioned moments when “Jessabelle” attempts to steer away from its horror-thriller trappings and capture some sense of life in this dead-end backwater, where opportunities are scarce, marriages are unhappy and only a lucky few manage to escape.