The Jack in the Box: Awakening

A man digs up a buried box and brings it home. His wife resents the object and questions its value. Soon after, a monstrous being emerges from the box and kills her in front of her husband.

Years pass and Casey, an American, travels to a British town to rebuild his life after his girlfriend's death. He hopes a new environment will help him cope with trauma and guilt. He begins seeking stability and purpose in work and new friendships.

Casey meets Lisa and learns about a room full of objects of dubious value. He spots a very old-looking box among the artifacts. When he touches it, a lever is pulled and the Jack-in-the-box reveals a disturbing clown.

That evening, thieves break into the museum and insult the clown. The box's demon bursts forth and kills them in brutal fashion. The room falls silent as the danger becomes real.

The next day, a genuine antiques expert examines the box and confirms its extraordinary value. He explains legends that certain artifacts hide demons and that Casey might be dealing with something supernatural. Casey realizes the danger extends beyond ordinary crime.

Casey is haunted by memories of his girlfriend and suffers from insomnia. The distress bleeds into his daily life, affecting his concentration at work. He begins to question whether reality and nightmare are blending together.

The following day, a museum customer disappears, and Casey, exhausted, overlooks warning signs. A missing-person poster suddenly appears on a nearby street, featuring the woman Casey heard scream in the museum. The mystery deepens.

The demon strikes again, brutally attacking a cleaning lady. A policeman questions Casey about possible supernatural involvement in disappearances, and Casey's responses make him look guilty. The sense of danger intensifies.

Refusing to give up, Casey calls Maurice, a well-known demonologist, for answers. Maurice is reluctant to engage but warns that some rituals must be handled carefully and that containment can be fragile. He hints at a serious battle ahead.

Casey returns to the museum at night and confronts the demon directly. The creature savagely confronts him, but the demon spares him after a tense exchange. The encounter confirms the threat is real, not a feverish tale.

Casey tracks down the box's original owner, once accused of his wife's murder. He learns the demon killed the wife, and the owner was wrongly blamed. The revelation reframes the tragedy as a supernatural crime rather than a human one.

Casey is summoned by his boss, Rachel, and fired for his strange behavior. Lisa defends him but finds herself at odds with Rachel. The job ends under a cloud of fear and accusation.

Casey goes to Maurice, who explains how to lock the demon back into the box and warns him to run if necessary. The ghost of his girlfriend appears, urging him not to flee. He steels himself for the looming confrontation.

Casey hurries to the museum to save Lisa and confront the demon. Rachel is killed as Casey fights to trap the demon back inside the box, but a claw remains outside the lid, signaling a precarious win. The authorities arrive to arrest him for murder.

Lisa testifies in Casey's defense, but her testimony is ignored. She tries to bury the box to end the nightmare, but the demon escapes and devours her as Casey is led away. The horror lingers even as the case closes.