Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Donnie Darko, The Twilight Zone
Likes: Richard Kelly, The Shining
Dislikes: Most Stanley Kubrick films
Hates: Barry Lyndon

The Movie
I'm a huge fan of Twilight Zone-style morality plays and I feel that Richard Kelly made one of the finest, most evocative period pieces ever with Donnie Darko. Combine the two, and you get The Box, a '70s-set adaptation of sci-fi master Richard Matheson's very short story Button, Button. The movie didn't do very well in theaters, but it's possible that it could find its audience on DVD, where you can spend a bit more time with it, an important element, since this is not a film that rewards passive viewing.

The story starts out very simply, mainly because that's exactly what the original short story was. A box is left on a couple's doorstep, with a note that a Mr. Steward will be returning. Inside the box is another box with a glass dome that covers a big red button. Once Mr. Steward arrives, played with a creepy calm by Frank Langella, he explains the box and the offer it comes with: push the button and you get a million dollars, but someone you don't know dies. Naturally, when confronted with this opportunity, and facing financial difficulties, Arthur (James Marsden) and Norma (Cameron Diaz) make the choice to push the button. And that's just the start of the story.

Kelly took the original short and built a nearly two-hour film around it by expanding on Arthur and Norma's lives, and giving Mr. Steward a back story, all of which is grounded in the NASA space program of the '70s, a smart choice on his part. Setting it in the not-too-distant past, when technology is still rather magical (a theme hammered home via a repeatedly-referenced quote by Arthur C. Clarke) and where there's more of an innocence about the world makes a lot of the plot more realistic. In today's world, would anyone really open an unmarked box left on their doorstep, without calling in Homeland Security? It's unlikely, but when you do it with garish wallpaper behind you, it doesn't seem so outlandish.

The story itself is actually a touch convoluted, turning the box into part of a grand conspiracy, and thus the film into a paranoia party, but it's the way it's told, mainly in the visual way it's told, that makes this film so enthralling. It's no stretch to say that Kelly was doing his best Kubrick impression (he does list the late director's movies among his favorites) when you watch this movie. There are hallmarks of his works everywhere throughout the film, but rather than simple cribbing from Kubrick's notes, Kelly absorbs the style and makes it work in a fresh, and incredibly creepy way. I could make a list of the many "Kubrick-ian" moments, but I don't have a direct correlation to share to one from his actual films, which makes me think Kelly achieved something worth watching, especially in a world that won't see another Kubrick film.

Though the term is often tossed around, this is a genuinely scary movie, because the altogether normal world the two leads live in becomes perverted and disturbing in a way that's just "off" at first, but then builds to be completely unsettling, as the never-ending sense of dread lays over you. If you pay attention, there are things happening in the background, away from the camera's focus, and in disconnected flashes, that start becoming more obvious, until, in a scene set in the symmetrical rows of the public library, everything comes to a freaky head. It's terrifying, yet not in-your-face (until it has to be,) which is why it's so effective.

A big part of why it's so effective is the audio, especially the music, which was provided by members of the band Arcade Fire. There's a haunting score in place that makes every scene feel like something is about to happen, but often without a pay-off to break the tension. Watching this movie, I was reminded of the bomb scenes in The Hurt Locker, and the way you weren't allowed to relax, when a moment of fear was topped with yet another danger. There, it made clear the feeling of living on the edge, and here, it puts you right in Arthur and Norma's shoes. And though that sense of fear gives way to a sense of confusion as the "true" story behind the box is revealed, you'll want to follow it through until it's over, in an ending that I will admit wasn't nearly as satisfying as one would hope. The ideas Kelly brings to the table here in this film are a bit too grand to be wrapped up so "neatly" if they could actually be wrapped up at all.

The DVD
A one-disc release, packed in a standard keepcase, this DVD sports a plain, static anamorphic widescreen menu, with options to play the film, select scenes adjust languages and check out the extra (singular.) Audio options include English, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, while subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French, along with closed captioning.

The Quality
The extremely wide anamorphic widescreen transfer looks tremendous, capturing the film's unique '70s feel well, with the softer look (marked by blurry lights and muted earthtones) still getting a fine presentation (including a good level of fine detail.) The special effects are integrated with the live footage quite well, part of the overall unsettling feel of the movie.

Considering how important the music is to the atmosphere of this film, the Dolby Digital 5.1 track is a bit too quiet, though in the big picture, that may fit in with the tone. There are moments when the side and rear speakers get a bit of action, including some scary music cues and one particularly intense moment, but for the most part, they act only to bump up the music and add some atmospheric effects. The dialogue sits front and center, and does a fine job in the mix.

The Extras
Warner Brothers continues to show disdain for anyone who doesn't upgrade to Blu-Ray by putting out DVDs without the bonus content found on the more expensive releases. Nothing that was put on the Blu-Ray seems to require Blu-Ray capabilities, especially the commentary by Kelly, which really should be here. Instead, there's only "Richard Matheson: In His Own Words," a brief five-minute featurette on the original story's author, with some fawning notes from Kelly and an interview with Matheson, in which he talks self-effacingly about his career, and "Button, Button" in particular.

The Bottom Line
It's rare that a movie draws my undivided attention, but that was certainly the case with The Box, as Kelly's beautiful, suspenseful film had me watching intently until the very end. The DVD looks and sounds very nice, but the lack of extras, especially when other exist, is a severe annoyance, and that forces me to pull back my recommendation a bit. Even so, this is an amazingly tense film, though it does have slight issues in terms of accessibility, as it can be a bit weird and distant, like the Kubrick movies it seems to pay homage to.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.