Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Seductive construction. for a story who gives crumbs of childhood memories, interest for each reaction of actors , the care for details and something else, escaping for the cliches. or, more exactly, using them in smart way. a film who has the gift to remind a sort of precise rules of a game. nothing improvised, all expected. and a box. nothing more. but enough for a real good show.

"Slash-in-the-Box" is a 5-minute short film from five years ago that was written and directed by Nick Everhart. It shows us the life of a couple and what happens when the man brings home a jack-in-the-box for whatever reason. Apparently, the little cube is cursed or something, or possessed with an evil spirit as it certainly has a life on its own and keeps wreaking havoc. It is a mix of comedy and horror, but I personally felt it does not turn out convincingly in either of these two areas. Plus the female actress was pretty bad and I wonder if she had any purpose really other than showing us her great looks and curves in her night outfit. The guy is slightly better, but also far from good enough to carry this little movie. I hope Everhart managed to improve in the five years since this was made, otherwise I cannot foresee a great character for him in the industry. As for this one here, I do not recommend the watch.

Given Nick's The Asylum background, I was expecting over the top cheesy-ness. What we get is, well, funny... but not really that cheesy. Improbable... but definitely creepy. I think its OK to jump, laugh, and get a little grossed out is what I mean (btw, the best effects detail was the spray of blood when the box opened). If a low budget truly is an exercise in how to produce a quality film then Nick should win awards for making it look easy. Slash-in-the-box is everything you expect only better. Of course it can't be perfect or else it wouldn't be low budget. Which means it's familiar subject matter presented exactly how you want to see it with a bonus and in this case that's a good thing.

Most horror shorts show their low budget with bad lighting, poor acting, and/or cheap effects.Slash-In-The-Box wins on all fronts. At five minutes, it runs the risk of being too long for a "hit viral video" but the pacing is excellent, and it never feels like it's dragging. The actors look great, the cinematography is beautiful, and while the jump scares may not work as well as the director probably imagines, the last shot is the payoff that the entire piece builds toward, and it works wonderfully. In fact, I'm not sure how they did it, but it's a neat bit of effects magic.This is a perfect example of a simple concept executed extremely well. The director and his team (including Producer/DP Leigh Scott of Transmorphers infamy) come from a sordid history of terrible DTV schlock, but they seems to be making up for it here. Can't wait to see what else these filmmakers have up their sleeves.