The Box (2009/I)

Director:

Richard Kelly

Writers (WGA):

Richard Kelly (screenplay)
Richard Matheson (short story "Button, Button")

Release Date:

6 November 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

You Are The Experiment

Plot:

A small wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple, who know that opening it will grant them a million dollars and kill someone they don't know.

Plot Keywords:

Box | Button | Young Child | Mysterious Stranger | 24 Hours

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Cameron Diaz	...	Norma Lewis
James Marsden	...	Arthur Lewis
Frank Langella	...	Arlington Steward
James Rebhorn	...	Norm Cahill
Holmes Osborne	...	Dick Burns
Sam Oz Stone	...	Walter Lewis
Gillian Jacobs	...	Dana
Celia Weston	...	Lana Burns
Deborah Rush	...	Clymene Steward
Lisa K. Wyatt	...	Rhonda Martin
Mark S. Cartier	...	Martin Teague (as Mark Cartier)
Kevin Robertson	...	Wendel Matheson
Michele Durrett	...	Rebecca Matheson (as Michele Durett)
Ian Kahn	...	Vick Brenner
John Magaro	...	Charles

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44919) | Finland:K-13 | UK:12A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | Hong Kong:IIA

Filming Locations:

Boston Public Library - 700 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Darko Entertainment

Trivia:

Veteran character actor, Basil Hoffman, was also in the original version of this story when "Button, Button" aired on "The Twilight Zone: Profile in Silver/Button, Button (#1.20)" (1986).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After Norma's Father runs Arlington's license plate number, he refers to the vehicle as a "Town Car". It's actually a Buick Electra.

Quotes:

Norma Lewis: You sure do ask a lot of questions.
Walter Lewis: And now you're avoiding them.

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

Deck the Halls

Next year, Santa should leave this movie, instead of coal, for the naughty children.

This movie should be the new threat from parents to their misbehaving children. "Do you want me to make you watch The Box again?"

I saw this movie at the theater in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the movies are free for service members. I wish they had charged so I could have demanded my money back. If Diaz needed money that badly, she should have called me. Taking, even stealing, money from a service member would not have hurt her reputation like this movie. This movie is so bad that you even notice the editing. Even that was awful. It was as if the editor allowed his son to do it with rusty scissors and band aids.

Ed Wood's movie, Plan 9 From Outer Space, is no longer the worst film made. At least that one you can enjoy the blatant badness of. Mr. Wood is now resting in more peace knowing that he can not rightfully be called the worst movie make in Hollywood any more. To the cast and crew of The Box, Ed Wood thanks you.

If it had not been for the cigar I was smoking, while wasting my life in front of that movie screen (it is an outdoor theater), I would have nothing good to say about my time at that move. I highly recommend the Romeo and Julieta Cedro #1. It is a fine cigar.