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Star Cast

The Box
  • James Marsden
    Arthur Lewis
  • Cameron Diaz
    Norma Lewis
  • Frank Langella
    Arlington Steward
  • Michael Zegen
    Garcin
  • Lisa K. Wyatt
    Rhonda Martin
  • Ian Kahn
    Vick Brenner
  • Gillian Jacobs
    Dana Steward
  • Celia Weston
    -
  • James Rebhorn
    -
  • Holmes Osborne
    -
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  • Director:
    Richard Kelly
  • Producer:
    Richard Kelly, Dan Lin
    Kelly McKittrick, Sean McKittrick
  • Music:
    Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Owen Pallett
  • Screenplay:
    Richard Kelly
  • Story:
    Richard Matheson
  • Genres:
    Thrillers, Horror, Science Fiction
  • Certification:
    Parents strongly cautioned
  • Status:
    Completed
  • Soundmix:
    Dolby Digital


Plot Summary

The Box

the boxThe Box is the movie of Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the box press of a button.

But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the box nature of their humanity.

The Box

Maxabout Review

It's a movie that requires you to think outside the box.. .

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Richard Kelly is proving that he is probably a one hit wonder. Hell is other people and so this movie. Richard Kelly proves once again that Donnie Darko was a fluke. Dull, poorly edited and predictable, The Box will come and go so quickly in theatres, you’ll wonder if it was ever released when you see it for rent on DVD.

 
For the first three-quarters or so this is an extremely chilling horror film, full of icy foreboding and unsettling moments that are all the more disturbing for never quite adding up. Think of it as an only slightly less surreal David Lynch story, or a M Night Shyamalan film where you’re not waiting for a lame twist.
 
It’s not clear if Richard Kelly is just a horrible storyteller, if he can’t handle the high concept ideas he presents or if he hires bad editors, but any of the three could be correct. The Box is filled with non-sequitur moments and an odd sense of randomness. One moment doesn’t lead to the next and chunks of the film feel missing as the story is strung together enough to get to the end but at times you’ll wonder how you got there.
 
But then the explanations come out and instead of letting the audience fill in the many gaps Kelly (who’s adapted a story from master horror writer and I Am Legend author Richard Matheson) piles on yet another mood-killing mix of quasi-science, mysticism and references to “eternal damnation”. Fortunately he manages to pull proceedings back from the brink with a final few scenes that return to the unexplained unease of the first hour, but the damage has been done.
 
There is a big moral message to this movie, naturally. But it's self evident from the beginning and by the oompth moral decision the characters make you just want to tell them to all just button it. The long and fuzzy headache of pseudo-sci-fi-plot does nothing to improve this either. It's a shame, really.
 
Hampering the film even more is the horrible performance by Cameron Diaz. Her attempts at being southern largely involve raising her eyebrows and looking sad. She attempts a southern accent, which is comical at times.
Marsden isn’t very believable as a NASA scientist trying to become an astronaut. He doesn’t carry the authority to be believable and his actions come off more as the high school football coach. Thankfully Frank Langella carries much of the film.  His creepy character is menacing and frightening.
 
The story was weak and the characters flat. It was impossible to feel something for the main characters. Even the score was bad and didn't suit the tone of the movie at all. It felt like a bad M. Night Syamalan movie. In fact, if you are one of the few people who actually liked Lady in the Water, you might like The Box. I found myself laughing at scenes which were supposed to be scary, and I'm a person who is easily scared. It seems strange that the same man who directed Donnie Darko could make something like this.
 
See it if you want to, but don't expect to be satisfied with it. Or you can just see Donnie Darko again instead and skip this one.
 

Taglines

The Box
  • You Are The Experiment.
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Trivias

The Box
  • Veteran character actor, Basil Hoffman, was also in the original version of this story when it aired as "The Box, Button" on the new Twilight Zone in 1986.
  • This marks the first feature-length film the box scored by members of the Canadian band Arcade Fire (Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Owen Pallett).
  • This marks the first PG-13 film the box to be directed by Richard Kelly.
  • Charlie Clouser's score from Saw (2004) was used for the trailer.
  • On the box commentary of Tony Scott's Domino (2005),Richard Kelly outright dismissed shooting a 1970's period piece with a digital camera. But after seeing David Fincher's Zodiac (2007/I), Kelly's position quickly changed and he was quoted saying, "It can be done."
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The Box Images & Videos

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The Box

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