The Jack in the Box

I was a bit doubtful about the premise, but the synopsis sounded interesting. It turned out much better than I thought it would. It relies on some tired old horror cliches, such as the lead character telling anyone and everyone that there is a monster on the loose. (LOL) I think I spent half the movie wanting to smack the guy with a rolling pin. Tired or not, these old cliches always seemed to work and they are still working now. Jack in The Box was as enjoyable as Friday the 13th or Halloween. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

I liked this show. There are many flaws but hey it had a real monster (and even better a demon that crawls out of a pocket dimension or perhaps a portal).Flaws, the insomnia, guilt sub-thread was total BS. Not sure why it was in the movie. The rear view mirror scene could have taken place without that and in fact could have been ambiguously attributed to a ghost or perhaps a side effect of the curse much like a movie filmed down the road in London and a few decades earlier also featuring an American bamboozled by the supernatural in England i.e. American Werewolf in London and his good ghost buddy Jack. I mean if he feels guilty for doing nothing about unpreventable crimes why not take guilt on for every single murder the box did too. Also, in a time when murder dramas are a dime a dozen (at least in America) anyone would surely know not to enter into a casual conversation with the cops acting like a complete nitwit like he does. Everyone knows that movie detectives are not friendly even when they are acting friendly nor do they accept even the remotest possibility of the supernatural so his question "Ever encountered the supernatural." after acting incredibly suspicious during the interview was completely beyond the pale of stupidity and I saw the plot rails all the way to the horizon at that point. Further, The demon suffers from the usual declining effectiveness cliche in horror movies killing the first victims pretty quickly but when it came to the last it was a long drawn out affair as the demon because plot... ran out of steam and took its time.I liked the demon costume, well not so much the cardigan onesie but the makeup and the extra nictating membrane on his jaw was pretty good. The early reveal would normally be a bad thing but in this age of so called "horror" movies that don't actually feature a monster (the evil was inside YOU all along) or that use crappy CGI or the very worst features an invisible possession demon because those are super cheap to use this early reveal was most welcome. I was like At last a movie calling itself horror featuring an actual horror! I also liked the three supporting characters, the incredulous Jack In the Box expert who was setup but did not credit the demonic origin of Jack in the Boxes. The poor guy who lost his wife, he did a great job especially about being pissed with hooligans who just won't let it go. And the demonologist who doesn't know how to receive and entertain guests. Though I have to wonder why he advertises but does not respond to an actual demon case. If he doesn't want to help with Jack cases why bother advertising that he does and making his number public. Maybe he was just an author, I wasn't clear on that but Demonologist usually means; person who is passionate about demons and would be stupidly interested in studying one up close.I also liked the setting, the museum is a pretty fruity museum though; I mean I have to wonder if Rachel is trying to get the museum to go bankrupt. It was a kooky addition to the movie that was better than stuffing the scenes in some guys house because it would have been cheaper to do so or because you didn't have a friend that owned a pile that you could pretend was a museum. I really like the story concept, and I liked that the demons arc was not the dire end all that such things usually are. I mean as countdown threats go for demons this demon is pretty unambitious. I mean 25-star general Zapp Brannigan would have known exactly what to do in this situation.So in summary a practical (if a little cheap) costume, decent props, decent acting, great story thread not bad setting - I will probably watch it again sometime down the road.

Good scary movie. It actually had a plot and a good ending. Acting was good.

The movie actually had some good potential. The person who played the antagonist did a very good job, especially given that he has zero dialogue. Had they put a little bit more thought into his costume, Jack would have made a great horror movie villain.As it stands, however, the painfully wooden dialogue ruined the movie. The main character seemed to only have two emotional levels - happy and flirtatious, or moody and brooding. This means that about 90% of his dialogue is delivered with incongruous or just plain inappropriate emotion. His backstory was pathetically cliche.Listen to the other comments - you will likely find yourself rooting for Jack by the end, if you can make it.(Spoiler) The worst thing, I would say, was the scene where the ghost his dead fiancee was put physically in the backseat of his car to give him a little moral speech. There is zero subtlety, no scene of her voicemail message playing in his head, no screaming at himself, no smashing the steering wheel, just him arguing with a ghost. This should have been a "less is more" type of scene, but instead a lazy writer decided to smash the viewer in the face with his moral dilemma as if it were a hammer. It makes me think the writer just believes every viewer is as dumb as a post and wouldn't get it otherwise.

It's the little details that will determine if you like or dislike this movie.For example, early in the movie they bring up the female lead's fear of flying and then do nothing at all with it. They don't even have her thrown around or falling or ending up somewhere high up.and I have several more (spoilery) examples of this I can list. Minor details that could have really made this movie if properly used but instead are left flapping in the breeze.That being said: the acting was decent, the pacing was good, the only real complaint I had with the sound was that everyone spoke really quietly but the music and sound effects were loud and the story was decently interesting.In essence it was a bit of a rip off mix of "Hellraiser" and any demon clown movie you care to name but if you're looking for something to waste a couple hours on without needing to get heavily invested it's a good one.

Guter Film

I enjoyed this. Enjoyable, maybe without being excellent.If, like me, you watch a lot of horror movies you won't be surprised by anything here. It doesn't innovate anything. But it does the basics well. Ethan Taylor did well as the lead, and I've always had a soft spot for Lucy-Jane Quinlan. (Who was more of a worried friend character than a lead.)The villain was cool, and had an interesting mythos. If they have sequels I'd like to see him established more.Would've given it a 3.5, but as I couldn't I rounded it up rather than down. Just for the amount I enjoyed it. Those seeking original stuff might be disappointed. But an enjoyable enough way to spend 80-odd minutes.

Middle of the road for me. Not a massive fan but I don't hate it. It didn't really engage me from the start. The DVD arrived in great condition and arrived when expected.

Arrived in suffcient time. Bit skeptical at first because of negative poor reviews beforehand and buy. I suppose it was worth observing and viewing. thrilling tense scenes without been taken back,doesnt innovate anything and nothing to shout home about. Basic suspense with tense unease parts.

I like the dvd because the sequel was as good as the first one 👌