Midlands Review of The Jack in the Box

The Jack in the Box

Directed by Lawrence Fowler

2020

High Fliers Films

Antique and vintage toys are awful. They’re all painted wood and cracked porcelain and not a Transformer in sight. And of all the vintage toys, the jack-in-the-box is definitely the worst. Its not a toy, its a jump-scare machine.

You crank the handle, a cheap mechanism mangles Pop Goes the Weasel and then BAM! Face full of creepy ugly clown. Just the worst. Unless the box houses an evil demon, in which case it’s much more fun.

The Jack in the Box is the latest horror film for Northampton’s Up A Notch Productions, written and directed by Lawrence Fowler. When Casey (Ethan Taylor) turns up for his first day of work at a museum in a stately home, he and new colleague Lisa (Lucy-Jane Quinlan) discover an antique jack-in-the-box with a deadly secret – the clown is a demon, and once freed it’ll prey on all around it unless Casey can find a way to stop it.

Two things are apparent right away. Firstly, that this is was shot on a low budget. Secondly, that Fowler won’t let a little thing like that get in the way of making a good film. Every penny was put to good use – this film looks great. It’s slick, it’s creepy, and it uses its limitations to great effect. Shot mostly on location at Abington Park Museum, the setting works great as the demon’s hunting grounds as victims get trapped in dark rooms and twisting stairways. It’s lit perfectly, and Fowler ramps the tension up in most of the right places. In fact, in its direction I’d say The Jack in the Box is head and shoulders above its peers and even rivals some of the lower-end mainstream horror fare.

The special effects are also really well done. The box itself is remarkably creepy, and the way it moves to reveal its handle is very much like a Hellraiser puzzlebox and the clown inside is, as many characters remark, absolutely hideous. In the best way, of course! Jack looks much scarier once he’s out of the box, of course. What looks at first glance to be a standard clown mask is, on closer inspection, a really effective creature effect considering the budget.

A lot of low budget films have shaky acting, but almost everyone here is great. Taylor and Quinlan work well together, with the latter stealing her scenes with an effortless realism, making up for her character not having much to do until near the end. But the real standout is Robert Nairne as Jack. He cuts an imposing figure as he stalks his prey, walking like Doug Jones and generally have a whale of a time. He gives the monster a sense of genuine glee that’s fun to watch.

There are some bum notes, inevitably. The story’s a little basic and predictable, but no less fun for that. The pacing’s a little rushed at the beginning too, but it settles down and learns to take its time. At the beginning there’s over-reliance on slow-motion montages with people speaking silent as the music plays over it – once would be ok, but twice in one act is a bit much, especially as the music is what lets the film down the most. It’s too… earnest? Overwrought? I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s trying too hard and could do with being a tad more subtle. It makes the film feel cheesier than it needs to be, which is a shame as all the other aspects of the film don’t need to work as hard to be effective.

In all, this is a very fun film. If you’re looking for so-bad-it’s-good low budget flick then you may want to look elsewhere, as this is a genuinely good horror film to be enjoyed unironically. It’s a hard genre to pull off cheaply, as evidenced by all the poor attempts out there, but Lawrence Fowler does it with ease. Can’t wait to see what’s next!

Sam Kurd

Twitter @Splend

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Midlands on the Move: A Local Lad in London

By midlandsmovies • December 4, 2025

Local film critic Jacob Holmes heads outside the region to the BFI London Film Festival. In our latest Midlands on the Move feature, Jacob shares some helpful hints in a first timers guide to what to expect when visiting these type of events that may be new to local filmmakers and film fans. In 2025 I had the honour of attending the 69 th BFI London Film Festival for a week, I attending premieres for some of my most anticipated films of the year. And even grabbed a press pass too. This wasn’t my first film festival, but this was my first London Film Fest and to be brutally honest, in the build-up, I was nervous! Sadly, I found the BFI and Accreditation websites not very intuitive and quite confusing. So this this article hopes to give some peace of mind and let people know what they can expect when attending such UK festivals - both as a regular guest and as press. Tickets Getting regular tickets can be stressful, akin to a big concert. And in a way it's like the Hunger Games, a survival of the fittest type of vibe. First off, BFI advertise tickets go on sale at 10am in September, which is true but not wholly accurate. Instead, at 9am you head to the website and get put in a waiting room with a random allocated number for when the actual sale start at 10am. At that time it tells you where you are in the queue. If you get lucky, you could wait 15 minutes, but often the wait can be an hour plus. Finally when you can make a purchase, you are let in and can put all tickets into your basket. I have two years of experience with this queue! The first time, I failed completely and all movies I wanted to see were sold out. But this year I had a plan! The key to success is knowledge to how to play the game. Tip 1: For the best possible chances, subscribe to the BFI and become a member. The year membership was £35 at its cheapest. And if you're in the Midlands like I am, outside the festival a membership can be fairly useless unless you go to London often. But what this membership gives you is important. A week before general release there is a presale for BFI members. Not only is this a benefit, it also gives you a crucial second chance. By that I mean if things don't go your way the first time, you can try again in the general sale. And I had to do exactly this. When general admissions came out, I tried again for tickets for Wake Up Dead Man and got my ticket! Tip 2: Quantity. There's nothing against the rules saying you can’t enter the queue on multiple devices! I was placed very low down in the queue in my first year on one laptop, but this year I used my phone, PC, laptop, my friend's laptops AND my friends' devices! But it all paid off. Devices can take 2 hours or only 30 minutes. More Devices = Higher chance of getting tickets. Tip 3: Know the films you want to see beforehand. If you don’t know what films you want to see or when they screen you will be completely lost. Write a timetable - and furthermore, have back up plans. Sometimes you'll click on what you want and it will be sold out, but having a backup plan will be much easier overall. Tip 4: Even if you don’t get tickets, it's not the end of the world. There are plenty of second-hand ticket websites selling tickets at normal (or sometimes cheaper) prices. Websites like Twickets, social media accounts like @LFFstubs on X or the r/londonfilmfestival on Reddit will have second-hand tickets. In fact, I sold one of my tickets on Twickets and had no complaints either. Press passes As you can imagine, this process is very different for industry passes. The biggest issue is tickets go on sale in waves each day. Instead of one go, pass holders book their tickets day by day. Tickets go on sale at 8am two days before, usually taking place on the accreditation app or website. In some ways this is easier, but it's also a gigantic pain. Although it's MUCH easier to get a ticket, do have to wake up every single day to go onto a laggy website and book a few tickets. You may even have to book tickets in the cinema. Another issue can be if you plan to see both general and press screenings. One you book way in advance, but press screenings are booked during the fest. Ticket prices for public screenings vary, but the gala/premiere screenings are usually £30-£40. Whilst the press screenings are completely free, you just have to pay for the pass itself which is around £55.