Trinket Box is a 2023 horror film directed by Patrycja Kepa and Acoryé White, who also star as the main protagonists, Mike and Ava. The film follows a newlywed interracial couple who move to a new home, where they discover a mysterious jewelry box that unleashes a historical evil that threatens their lives and relationship. The film has received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, who praised the performances and atmosphere, but criticized the clichéd plot and lack of originality. In this article, we will reveal some of the major spoilers from the film, so if you have not watched it yet, proceed with caution.
The Jewelry Box’s Origin
The film begins with a flashback to the late 1930s, when a young white girl named Mary Ann stumbles upon a jewelry box in the woods. She takes it home and shows it to her parents, who are racist and abusive. They lock her in her room and forbid her from seeing her black friend Abe, whom they suspect of giving her the box. Mary Ann soon realizes that the box contains a dark force that can grant her wishes, but at a terrible cost. She uses it to kill her parents and escape with Abe, but the box follows them and causes a car accident that kills Abe.
The film then cuts to the present day, where Mike and Ava move into their new home, which was previously owned by Mary Ann’s relatives. They find the jewelry box in the attic and decide to keep it as a decoration. However, they soon notice strange things happening around them, such as objects moving by themselves, voices whispering in their ears, and visions of blood and violence. They also start to have problems in their relationship, as Mike becomes obsessed with his work and Ava feels neglected and lonely.
The Jewelry Box’s Influence
The jewelry box’s influence grows stronger as the film progresses, affecting both Mike and Ava in different ways. Mike starts to have nightmares about his past trauma, when he witnessed his father’s murder by a white supremacist. He also becomes more aggressive and paranoid, suspecting Ava of cheating on him with her ex-boyfriend André. He even attacks André when he visits them to congratulate them on their pregnancy.
Ava, on the other hand, starts to have hallucinations of Mary Ann and Abe, who try to warn her about the box’s evil nature. She also becomes more depressed and suicidal, feeling trapped in her marriage and unable to have a child. She attempts to get rid of the box several times, but it always returns to her. She even tries to burn it, but it causes a fire that injures her and kills their dog.
The Jewelry Box’s Revelation
The film reaches its climax when Mike and Ava confront each other about their issues and discover the truth about the box. They realize that the box has been manipulating them all along, feeding on their fears and desires, and trying to destroy their love. They also learn that the box is actually a cursed artifact that was created by a voodoo priestess named Judith Davis, who was Mary Ann’s great-grandmother. Judith was a slave who fell in love with a white man named James Davis, who owned the plantation where she worked. They had a secret affair and a daughter named Margaret, who was Mary Ann’s grandmother. However, James betrayed Judith and sold her to another slave owner, who tortured and killed her. Judith cursed James and his descendants with the box before she died, hoping that they would suffer as she did.
Mike and Ava decide to fight back against the box and try to break its curse. They find out that the only way to do that is to sacrifice themselves for each other, as Judith did for James. They stab each other with knives that were hidden inside the box, hoping that their love will be stronger than the hate that fuels the box. However, as they lie dying on the floor, they see Mary Ann’s ghost smiling at them. She reveals that she was actually working with the box all along, and that she tricked them into killing themselves. She says that she hates them for being happy together, unlike her and Abe. She also says that she wants their baby, who is still alive inside Ava’s womb.
The film ends with a shot of Mary Ann holding Ava’s belly, while Mike’s blood drips from the ceiling onto the box.
Conclusion
Trinket Box is a horror film that explores themes such as racism, trauma, revenge, and love. It features a jewelry box that unleashes a historical evil that torments a newlywed interracial couple who move into a new home. The film has some effective scares and performances, but suffers from a predictable plot and lack of originality. The film also has a twist ending that reveals that the couple was manipulated by the ghost of Mary Ann, who was the original owner of the box and a victim of racism and abuse. The film ends with a bleak and shocking scene, where Mary Ann kills the couple and claims their baby as her own.