I have to admit to having a soft spot for this franchise in spite of its obvious misgivings.

Director Lawrence Fowler has spent considerable time working on the mythology surrounding the demonic possessed Jack-In-The-Box. In my recent review of The Jester, I spoke of pretenders to the silent killer crown, stating that no one so far has entered the arena with the same cut-throat appeal to match Art the Clown (Terrifier 3 can’t come soon enough in my eyes). While I still stand by this statement, I neglected to mention The Jack.

That’s not to say that it should be mentioned in the same breath as Art, as far as gore, or shock is concerned. The creature design still is a strong when and ably performed by Nicholas Anscombe (who played Doctor Clarke in The Jack in the Box: Awakening and can also be seen in Crocodile Swarm this month), replacing James Swanton who is starting to craft an impressive credit list appearing in Stopmotion; Lot 249 as The Mummy; and The First Omen.

This time around The Jack is resurrected once more to claim another six victims. The setting change here is within an exclusive girls boarding school, and with an overly elaborate set up, we finally follow Raven (Iasabella Colby Browne) having established that she is working for a cruel underground agency that are holding her father captive. Her only hope to save him is to do their bidding and retrieve the antique jack in the box from the afore-mentioned boarding school. Once arrived, we’re introduced to the would be victims, as they are slowly picked off one by one.

The hook here and one that places this feature marginally better than the previous sequel, is the choice to do a whodunit in the mix. We’re left to guess who is the wielder of the box and therefore protected against The Jack as he shuffles his way through the corridors to enact his next sacrifice. It is this component that keeps you connected but ultimately we’re still treading water in a franchise that could be so much better.

The Prognosis:

While I really want to see this succeed as The Jack once again takes victims from Britain’s privileged members, it still suffers under a poor script to ignite this premise.

Director Lawrence Fowler can’t keep resting on the one note that he serves up in his movies and if he does look to life beyond this trilogy, will need to up the ante in the gore stakes and breathe new life into his scriptwriting.

The competition is hot out there and there are filmmakers that have done better and smarter things on the same kind of budget.

• Saul Muerte

The Jack In The Box Rises is available on Home Entertainment from May through Eagle Entertainment.