The first film was a well-shot, but fairly run-of-the-mill direct-to-video horror. The production value was good for the budgetary constraints, but overall, the story was generic and felt a little padded.
'The Jack in the Box: Awakening' is certainly an improvement. We begin with what seems like a basic horror film setup, but the film surprised me by showing a surprisingly large amount of the story through (one of) the villain's perspective. It's very clever from an emotional standpoint and the acting was actually really good from everyone, but Matt McClure as Edgar is definitely the standout.
So the story, is actually quite well-done, and while there is a somewhat overlong exposition scene, it's more about the emotional journey than it is all the backstory of the demon. There are some very effective sequences of tension building too, often involving lights, which sounds very rudimentary on paper, but, trust me, it's used to good effect here.
I only wish they hadn't shied away on many of the kills though: a disappointing amount of them happen off-screen, which is okay for a few times and I know suspense is more effective than gore, but it is a slasher and I would have like to have seen a little more pay-off with the deaths.
I would recommend this for low-budget horror fans. Aside from being just a little overlong, it's a fairly uniquely-told story with good production value (the locations are gorgeous), well-done cinematography and some decent suspense and scares. Lawrence Fowler has clearly grown as a writer and director and you won't be lost if you skip the original film. I wish the creators the best luck in their future endeavours.
