The Box: Squandered Potential, the Search for a Real Plot

"The Box" is a wonderful example of a plot with a lot of potential that goes nowhere. What is today's obseesion with the circular plot? What's so bad about true plot and character development? Flirting with ideas of extraterrestrial life and the philosophies of Sartre's No Exit, "The Box" fails to ever even scratch the surface of any truly inventive sci-fi ideas. Set in 1976, the movie ends up feeling like a simple, and failed, attempt to revive a "Twilight Zone" episode. The most entertaining part of the movie is seeing snippets of 1976 headlines and pop culture that run through the background of the film. Props to the production designer, Alexander Hammond. At least he was doing his job. I can't say so much for the director Richard Kelly or Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. The suspense of the movie continuously falls flat. A Richard Matheson tale has so much more potential and creative flexibility than we see on the screen with "The Box." Instead, Kelly decides to avoid creating a truly mind-bending and original idea and simply takes a mere half-hearted stab at the sci-fi/horror genre.