PLOT: After moving into her new home, Mia, a mute Girl, discovers a cursed dollhouse hidden in the attic. When her younger brother vanishes into thin air, she must unlock the relic’s dark mysteries before the ancient hex claims his soul forever.
REVIEW: One of the great joys in my life is getting to see a movie that I know absolutely nothing about, has no recognizable actors or filmmakers, and it kicks all kinds of ass. That was the case with Jinx, a fun little horror film out of England that I could see being the perfect gateway horror for little ones, while not going too juvenile for adults.
Jinx follows Mia and her family as they move into a new house, where her brother disappears shortly after. They come to find that there have been many disappearances in the house over the years as well as a dollhouse in the attic, where strange supernatural occurrences seem to happen. So Mia makes it her mission to find out what happened and save her little brother. Despite the dad being skeptical, they bring in a paranormal expert to try to get to the bottom of this and find their son, without losing themselves in the process.
Mia is shown as different but plenty capable, with her younger brother, Todd, even coming to her in the middle of the night for comfort, not their parents. They clearly have a good connection, which also seems to carry over to their brother Noah, who sadly died young. Chloe Hews does wonderfully in the role, and the film really comes alive when she starts adventuring with the supernatural investigator. If you’re wondering where the title comes from: the local kids call Mia, Jinx, since she’s a mute, and there’s that old game where you can’t speak until someone says your name.
Christopher Mulvin’s Rick Spector evokes other eccentric characters from horror history and is so much fun in the role of the paranormal investigator. He brings levity while never making it overly funny or silly. Mia’s doll, Whisper, gets turned life-size and is a bit of a loveable dope. He was my favorite aspect and really makes the finale more impactful. The bullies can be a bit stereotypical, but it works for this “new girl comes to town” story. And it adds a fun obstacle for the latter half of the story. Though, one of those girls gets absolutely yeeted by Whisper, to the point where even if she somehow survived, she’s got some serious injuries And the fact that the movie laughs at the moment, makes their more one-dimensional portrayal have a very fun payoff.
Whether it’s the design of the dollhouse or the masks of the villains, there are some really cool props. Something about the villains actually reminded me of Imhotep’s mask from The Mummy (1999). Though admittedly, the film really isn’t about them, and they’re more just tools to tell the story. Which some may be disappointed by, especially since they have such a cool design. There are also some really fun fake posters like “Critter Crew” looking like a Gremlins rip-off. I miss films doing this versus just putting the same ten posters that we always see on walls in movies.
Despite the lower budget, the filmmakers really nail the technical side, and make Jinx look like a million bucks. Anytime I was worried they had bitten off more than they could chew, they somehow beat the odds and pulled it off. Some of the “smaller person in a dollhouse” effects don’t entirely work, but they never took me out of the moment. Sometimes the sound design can be a little strong, dictating what the viewer is supposed to be feeling in a very overt way. It can make for some predictable beats, and I do wish it had been toned down just a little bit. Thankfully, even with the supernatural elements, the story stays relatively grounded.
I really enjoyed my time with Jinx. Despite coming out of the UK, this had a similar tone to Housebound from New Zealand, blending lighthearted beats with a more serious undercurrent. I’ll also be adding it alongside Little Monsters, Dust Bunny, and Gremlins as kid-friendly horror films that can be a gateway into darker stuff. It’s really hard to pin down exactly what kind of movie Jinx is, as it can go harder with horror tension one moment, and then feel more like a whimsical fantasy film the next. There are laughs, but there is also some fairly disturbing imagery. It’s an interesting mix of tones that never betrays its own identity.
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