The Jack in the Box (2019) by Lawrence Fowler

Director: Lawrence Fowler

Year: 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Supernatural Slasher

Plot:

Taking on a new job, a man arrives at a special antique toy store where he begins work on a just-donated vintage jack-in-the-box toy, but when he finds that the rest of the staff are dying mysteriously around him comes to believe the doll within the toy is alive and must stop it.

Review:

Overall, this was a fairly solid and enjoyable effort. Among the better factors to be had with this one is the workable and generally serviceable storyline that makes for a fine enough entry in this style. The first instances here offer the means that he gets introduced to the job and finds the different perks of the job focusing on restoring the toys brought in or cataloging the other items left behind, which serves nicely to introduce him to the particular toy after it’s being brought in. There are enough hints of curiosity about it that lead to the investigation into the past of the Jack-in-the-Box toys as a whole, and this particular doll, which soon introduces the idea of the figure being haunted or cursed based on the heritage and legacy it uncovers. This sets up some decent work involving the quest to uncover the rest of the truth and what it means to possibly stop the killer doll they’ve got in their possession.

That sets about beginning in a lot of fun with the creature’s antics, knocking off those around it. Already working with the tense idea of the doll’s concept of the children’s toy using the eerie tune and unexpected appearance which are used to chilling effect involving several victims being brought to its attention through utilizing these factors before the actual stalking, there's a fun sense of utilizing the actual toy before we get the released entity that carries everything out. These early scenes of the crew inside the museum looking into the doll’s history while being unaware of the living doll watching them or moving around on its own, while serving well enough to let the released entity that stalks victims have a memorable enough appearance. These set up enough intriguing stalking scenes of the creature going after the workers or coming for the worker who freed him in an extended, standout stalking scene at his house, providing this with a lot to like.

There are some issues here that bring this one down. The main factor against this one is the film’s pace and tempo, which provides this with a rather sluggish atmosphere more than anything. The first half to this one is spent more with the investigations into everything and getting used to the museum that there’s not much to be said about getting anything else involved here which continues on with the rest of the film, which takes far too long to get anything accomplished after knowing something’s going on. Rather than deal with the mounting disappearances and possible murders, the lack of interest in what’s going on is a big detriment to the film, as this does not present the type of intensity required. The other issue here is the lack of gore in the incredibly dry and bloodless kills, which don’t leave a strong impression on this one, which combined together bring this down the most.

Overview: ***/5

An enjoyable enough genre effort even with some issues, there are some worthwhile aspects to this one while being let down by some big issues, to keep it down just slightly overall. Those with an interest in the genre, are curious about it, or are not bothered by these factors, will have the most to like here while most others out there should heed caution.