Review of "The Box," opening 11/6 at area theaters

The Box
Director: Richard Kelly
With: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Sam Oz Stone

The set-up for this film is intriguing.  It wants to be a moral dilemma wrapped in a creepy thriller.  It almost makes it, before it crashes and burns.
A Virginia couple who have experienced some economic reverses (Diaz and Marsden) receive a box that has a red button on top.  A mysterious man named Steward (Langella), tells them that if they push the button, someone somewhere in the world, and unknown to them, will die.  The will receive one million dollars.
It is not giving too much away to say that she pushes the button.  After that, the film becomes very scary and discomforting.  Strange things begin to happen to them, and Steward warns them that they brought it on themselves.
Then it gets really stupid.  What was really creepy gets silly and preachy.  There is a semi-religious tone of eternal damnation for one’s sins, that is not helped, or relieved, by a lame science-fiction twist.  The situations become cruel rather than scary, and the dialog gets very overwrought.
A couple of subplots go nowhere, and are just there to crank up the tension for nothing.  It is a great idea squandered on a story that is mystifying only for how badly it is developed.
Save your money.
D