The Jack in the Box
- 2019
- 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
4.2/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
When a vintage Jack-in-the-box is found and opened, it's new owners soon have reasons to believe the creepy clown doll within has a life of its own.When a vintage Jack-in-the-box is found and opened, it's new owners soon have reasons to believe the creepy clown doll within has a life of its own.When a vintage Jack-in-the-box is found and opened, it's new owners soon have reasons to believe the creepy clown doll within has a life of its own.
- Awards
- 1 win & 6 nominations
Robert Strange
- Jack
- (as Robert Nairne)
Robert Howgate
- Policeman 1
- (as Rob Howgate)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll entries contain spoilers
- ConnectionsReferences King Kong (1933)
Featured review
'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.
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.
- paulclaassen
- Jan 7, 2022
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- The Jack in the box
- Filming locations
- Northampton, UK(All locations)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $1,035,734
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39:1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content