The Jack in the Box

None of the actors were familiar to me and that was perfectly fine. The story was creative and not like a horror film concept I've seen before. It combines the eeriness of some of our greatest fears regarding clowns and the nostalgia of a childhood toy. Excellent character creation, costuming, and movement of Jack. No foul language or gratuitous violence. Not Rated but was a film we watched with our 10 year-old. Give it a chance.

I am a hugeeee scary clown fan and I can't tell you how many times I come across movies with amazing covers that turn out to be dog crap. Clown movies are staples of low budget, f grade acting, and terribly written atrocities. It seems for every decent one you have to dig through 5 terrible ones. For instance some of the better ones would have to be Drive Thru, Clown, Killer Klowns From Outerspace, Terrifier, and Haunt. Just to name a few.

So where does Jack in the Box stand? I was actually quite shocked at the production value of this movie. The clown looks wonderful and the intricacies of the box itself. Although CGI in some spots. Looked really well done. This movie reminded me of Gremlin from 2017. In that it had a similar story line. And for me I also enjoyed that movie because it brought some new ideas and was pretty interesting to watch. Especially the twist at the end which I thought really made the movie. This one took some of those same principles but mixed it in with a clown and I for one am quite happy for the attempt.

The back story of demon boxes and how something like this came to be. Although pretty far fetched is quite a fascinating piece of fiction. I really like how this thing thrives on it's victims and has to be passed along in order to stay alive. It's clear they at least had a foundation for the plot line of this movie. However I would argue I wish it contained a few more layers. At times we are left trying to put together the pieces and you can't help but notice that at it's core it's pretty one dimensional. There isn't really a pay off and the ending although alright, has been done many times before in similarly told stories.

This movie also has several drawn on boring scenes. Not even important scenes that are critical to the progression of the film. More so just there to fill in the gaps and add some dialogue and character interaction. We have all seen this done countless times in movies that don't have much direction or a solid complex story that can keep things interesting. Nor do they really go out of there way to make you fall in love with any of these people to warrant such scenes. But when it counts they do give you just enough to keep watching.

The death scenes aren't amazing. A lot of times you just see people being dragged into the box. I'm sure with a bigger budget we could have had some more glorified kills. However when that clown is walking around it is quite terrifying and I cannot credit them more with nailing the way he moves and breathes.

Acting is fine in my opinion. Nobody took me out of the film nor did anyone go above and beyond. There are times where it isn't as strong as it could be. But I am not a stickler for this kind of stuff. As long as it isn't amateur hour.

If you are a fan of creepy dolls or music boxes. Puzzles or clowns. Then this is a great movie to watch if you have nothing else to do. I would say the movie itself probably deserves a 4 in it's plot progression. But it gets another point for me because that clown was so well done.

Jack kept me in this, even though the story made no sense!

'The Jack in the Box' had the potential to be such an awesome movie, but sadly fails.

The film's score is really good. The sound effects are good. The Jack in the box doll with its haunting eyes, is creepy. The demon clown with its scary make-up is the stuff nightmares are made off. So what went wrong? The script. This is a very basic script, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes its good to have a premise that is simple and straight forward. Only, the dialogue is pretty standard. The characters are not fully explored and not interesting at all. The events are not even interesting. The demon clown appearing for the kill felt deja vu. He had the same demeanor in every scene - and there were times when it seemed they didn't really know what he was supposed to be doing.

The Acting. Boy, the acting was bland. The film looks acted. It didn't feel realistic - as if the actors were saying their lines, and then waiting for the director's "Cut!". It looked like they were doing this for the paycheck, or for experience only. They didn't seem motivated at all. Unconvincing. Lucy-Jane Quinlan especially was really bland as Lisa. Then again, the character itself was such a dull and dreary character that one can't really blame the actress. She hardly served any purpose in the movie until the final moment.

Ethan Taylor stars as the film's hero, Casey, who also didn't really seem like he was taking it very seriously. Maybe the director was to blame, who knows, but the film lacks on too many levels. Had 'The Jack in the Box' been directed by Mike Flanagan or James Wan for instance, I think it would have been a lot better. The film just wasn't as suspenseful or captivating as it could and should have been. The film also looked like it was shot with a home movie camera. The visual effects were also basic and low budget. The main draw card here is the box, which had a great design, and the Jack.

Having said that, it also is not a bad movie. If you can overlook the flaws, sit back and allow to be entertained, I'm sure you'll find something here you like. The clown certainly is memorable, although he, too, could have been far better explored.

Surprisingly, it was followed by a sequel - 'Jack in the Box: Awakening'.

Would I watch it again? No.

A low budget but enjoyable horror. The main character is a good actor and the jack in the box wasn't exactly scary but was entertaining.