Review of The Box (2009) by Craig H — 19 Feb 2013

The Box carries the supernatural feeling of Richard Kelly's fellow films, Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, although it's not especially evident until its second half. The film has an unconventional way of maintaining tension, but ultimately is a large letdown, as all its events feel pointless with the ham-fisted, heavy-handed way Kelly resorts to answering the questions raised about the scenario of a man delivering boxes to married couples to test whether they can resist the temptation of greed over receiving $1 million in exchange for a random person's death.

Unfortunately, there's no other real element intact here; the acting is listless and Diaz and Marsden are left limping around in a story bereft of any real meaning. It feels as if Kelly has thrown disparate elements together in a desperate attempt to concoct a complex plot.

For instance, the '70s setting and Norma's (Diaz) disfigured foot are largely pointless other than being artefacts of the director's basing it on when he grew up; they have no real bearing on any of the plot developments.

The Box ultimately shapes up to be a mess with nothing to say.