While there are some imaginative effects and spooky moments (as well as a few hackneyed sci-fi touches) the whole thing gets pretty silly at times, and the mystery is never fully resolved.
Comment
11/05/09
The Box (2009)
46
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:93
Fresh:43
Rotten:50
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: Imaginative but often preposterous, The Box features some thrills but largely feels too piecemeal.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Theatrical Release:04-12-2009
Synopsis: What if someone gave you a box containing a button that, if pushed, would bring you a million dollars…but simultaneously take the life of someone you don’t know? Would you do it? And what would... [More]
Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn
Director: Richard Kelly
Reviews for The Box
The Box is an enigma in modern Hollywood. I am actually pretty surprised it was allowed to make it through the system, though I am very happy that it did.
11/06/09
A cool, philosophical mindfreak.
11/16/09
Impales itself on the smug awareness of how stuffed full of extraordinarily twisty ideas it is, without bothering to make sure that those ideas add up to anything halfway worthwhile.
11/10/09
What button, on whose box, did Kelly push to get the money to make this awful, preposterous thriller?
11/04/09
I think that Richard Kelly, from one film to the next, has gone in some very interesting and sometimes puzzling directions.
11/09/09
I think Kelly is a very inventive writer and I think he is his own worst enemy behind the camera.
11/09/09
The interesting thing about Richard Kelly's films is that in none of them do you know exactly what's happening, and it does not really matter, because there is such a wealth of imagination there. I found it very impressive.
10/28/09
Anyone going into "The Box" expecting a simple everyday thriller surely will be surprised with what they get--a dismal, morally complicated piece of sci-fi surrealism.
11/08/09
The Box is a fantastically made thriller that brilliantly captures the tone of the 70's and makes you ponder in a negative way about humanity.
11/06/09
The Box is a dreary and engaging brain trip into the world of Richard Kelly. This is where he's comfortable, this is where he succeeds and this is where he triumphs.
11/05/09
First-semester social-science students would wince at the overreaching metaphors in Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly’s latest Rorschach test.
11/12/09
Sci-fi lovers should find it risible, and those who devalue the genre will have their biases confirmed.
11/05/09
The Box...breezes right past slick, pre-packed sci-fi to find a resting place somewhere in the outlandish and exceedingly eccentric world of artists so true to themselves that their work inspires and infuriates in equal measure.
11/06/09
If you make a preposterous movie that isn't boring, I count that as some kind of a triumph.
11/06/09
Top CriticA confounding sci-fi mystery on one level and a tortured existential treatise on the other, pondering the nature of man in relation to God.
11/06/09
A Richard Matheson story is a good place to start, but boy did this screenplay lose direction. By the third act, a good story becomes totally laughable, including nose-bleeding zombies. Paul Chambers, CNN.
11/13/09
Not without interest, The Box opens to a collection of scenes that work and scenes that don't.
11/09/09
Riffing on a Twilight Zone-themed morality tale, writer/director Richard Kelly ("Donnie Darko") sets the table for a three-course meal of supernatural events but serves up an anemic narrative entree instead.
11/11/09
There's very little meat on the bones of this movie that's little more than an extended 'Twilight Zone' episode at best and a Stephen King TV movie at worst.
11/05/09
Latest News for The Box
November 05, 2009:
Critics Consensus: A Christmas Carol Dazzles But Disappoints
This week at the movies, we've got some modern-day Dickens (Disney's A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman); a button-pushing thriller (The Box, starring... More...
November 03, 2009:
Richard Kelly Talks The Box 
It's been a long and somewhat bumpy ride getting "The Box" to theaters, but director Richard Kelly is finally on the verge of releasing his latest film. He talks about the... More...
October 29, 2009:
Richard Kelly chats about The Box
Richard Kelly's no stranger to the mysterious whims of fate. His first feature, Donnie Darko, flopped upon initial release, only to live on as one of the decade's most beloved... More...
September 28, 2009:
New: Brand New Movie Trailer/Poster
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds