Painful pastiche of sketch comedy, fantasy sequences and lousy humour this attempt by writer/director Simon Sprackling to create a new franchise by having a jester demon who cracks wise, is silly looking and talks directly to the camera (which effectively kills any chance for suspense) is a complete and utter failure.

After winning a million dollar mansion in a poker game to elderly gent Christopher Lee (the legendary horror star who is only in this for the paycheck, obviously - he's in it for five minutes tops), record executive Benny Young moves in only for his family (and his brother who's brought along a bunch of hitchhikers as well) to fall victim to the title baddie who spends the movie sneaking around knocking everyone off in apparently "funny" ways.

Even though the make-up on the baddie isn't bad and Tim James does okay playing him this is truly awful because not once does the script border on coherency, the humour is totally low-brow (it even resorts to having one character named and looking exactly like Velma from Scooby-Doo) and it thinks it's wittier than it is (which is not at all).

There's an okay moment involving a "duck gun" but really is one scene worth trudging through 88 minutes for? And why does the stereotypical Jamaican girl (who reads tarot cards, has a horribly done fake accent and an afro) end-up off in another dimension for no reason?

Directed By: Simon Sprackling.
Written By: Simon Sprackling.

Starring: Tim James, Benny Young, Ingrid Lacey, Pauline Black.