The Box Review

What if a complete stranger came to your door and offered you an opportunity? Would you take it? Reject it? Perhaps wait awhile until you give your final decision? What if you knew there would be consequences to your actions? In Richard Kelly’s latest movie, he looks to put normal people in a situation like this, and sees just how they will react. Will they throw their lives away for money or continue to their daily routine?


Before I go on, for those that don’t know, Richard Kelly did the cult classic Donnie Darko a few years back. If you’ve seen it, you know just how complex it is to fully understand. People going into this movie really need to keep that in mind; that Kelly’s style is out there, but in an exceptionable way.


The Box starts with a mysterious package being delivered to the house of Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden). Inside is a button, with no description as to what it does. Shortly after, they are visited by Mr.Steward (Frank Langella) who explains that if they chose to push the button, they will receive one million dollars. However, upon doing so, a human being they do not know will die as a result. Curious as to how entertaining this movie is? Continue reading to find out.


There’s so many mixed feelings I have towards this film, that it’s really hard to begin talking about it. I will tell you that if you’ve seen the trailer, that’s about 10 percent, maybe even less than what the movie actually entails. That being said, this movie takes a while to pick up.


Once Mr. Steward makes his first appearance on screen, the entire plot kicks into a higher gear. Unfortunately, many of the scenes that Kelly wants you to see as being serious or that will make you think turn into moments of unintentional comedy. They’ll give you a cheesy horror movie sequel feel than goosebumps. The opening states that this movie takes place in 1976, but instead of believing that you’re actually in that time period, it’s more like present day with collectors items bought of eBay.


Here’s a way to take in this movie: The Twilight Zone. It’s got some good parts, a story that you need to focus in order to fully understand, but there are some parts that aren’t needed. This film is not for everyone. I had a hard time getting into it at times, but the more you try to push yourself away, it recaptures your interest. You’ll need to see it a second time to realize what’s going on, but that shouldn’t be in theaters. Rent this on DVD when it comes out, so you can do that. Did Kelly successfully create a psychological thriller? I think he didn’t to the best of his potential, but he certainly has something here. Makes me wonder if there’s a directors cut perhaps?


Justin “The Pepsi Plunge” Verterano