Having picked up writer/director Richard Kelly's The Box and shaken it, via the new trailer online now, I'm anxious to rip it open. I haven't read the 1970 Richard Matheson short story "Button, Button" that this is based on or seen the previous adaptation (directed by The Changeling's Peter Medak), which aired as an episode of the '80s Twilight Zone revival, but I like what I see here. Although it's set in the '70s, it doesn't look like Kelly is exploiting the decade for its kitschy, camp aspects. I'm not sure why Kelly determined that The Box ought to be a period piece but given the elements of paranoia and conspiracy seen here, maybe he believed this story naturally fit in the decade that put paranoia on the map with films like Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, and All the President's Men. Whatever the case, it looks like The Box stands a good chance of being an ideal match with Kelly's idiosyncratic style and a mainstream thriller.On a separate note, I find it funny that the distinctive Saw music appears in this trailer given that The Box is due in theaters the week after the latest Saw installment (VI for those who've lost count). I've heard the Saw music used in other trailers (like Valkyrie) but in this case, with The Box infringing on Saw's turf ("If it's Halloween, it must be Saw!"), it seems like a deliberate thrown down on the part of the marketing people. If that's so, I'm all for it. Anything that takes the Halloween season back from the Saw films is good with me - if there were a button to push to make that happen, consider it pushed.
5 comments:
Here's hoping Cameron Diaz doesn't muff it.
Yeah, her Southern accent sounds like a potential problem.
Cameron Diaz is a big pile of suck. But, this trailer is pretty great. I am a big fan of Kelly's Donnie Darko and I really enjoyed Southland Tales even with its many issues. I'm happy he decided to go and direct the film himself, I know for a while Sh-Eli Roth was attached to direct it which would have been fine, but I would prefer to see more work from Kelly as a director.
I agree about wanting to see a film of any type take out Saw at the Halloween box office..."If it's Halloween...it must be a shitty month in the theaters!"
The appeal of the Saw films mystifies me - although to be fair, I'm sure the appeal of the series that got me excited as a kid, like Friday the 13th and Halloween, was lost on older fans at the time.
That is a thought that has crossed my mind many a time...
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