Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr.
Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine
Black Box, the latest film to emerge out of the Blumhouse banner, has released directly on Amazon Prime. Though Blumhouse boasts of films like Whiplash and Blackkklansman in its roaster, its flagship productions are in the Horror/Psychological genre, most notably Paranormal Activity and Jordan Peele’s Get Out.
In fact, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to call Black Box a spiritual sequel to Get Out. Both films have their central plot themed around psychological manipulation of the brain using advanced tech. But while Get Out was also a seething social commentary on racial discrimination, Black Box largely stays away from this and focuses its discourse on the main plot, though all roles are helmed admirably by actors of colour.
In the opening scenes we are introduced to the film’s protagonist Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) who’s now an amnesiac after suffering head trauma in a car accident. He’s a photographer and lives with his young daughter, the kindergartner Ava (a superb Amanda Christine). He has post-its pasted all over home to help him recollect and retain essential information to get him through the day. What’s troubling though, is how he seems to have lost his knack for photography overnight after the accident. While he runs pillar to post looking for photo assignments, he learns about the existence of a possible panacea from a Doctor friend.
This potential cure for his amnesia would be through the use of a device invented by Dr Lilian (Phylicia Rashad), a senior neuro-surgeon. This device, by using a combination of hypnotism and virtual reality, aims to reinvigorate lost threads of thought inside a person’s brain, by recreating older life situations and making patients re-live them virtually. Nolan has a problem though after just a few sessions in the treatment room. He doesn’t seem to recognize most situations and places recreated by this device, apparently from his own subconscious. Some of these images are even disconcerting, like the visuals of a woman crying after what looks like an episode of physical assault.
This makes Nolan question everything about his current existence. Was he violent towards his own wife when they were together? Why has he started smoking now in real life when he never used to before the accident (as Ava constantly reminds him)? And what is that horrific creature that keeps appearing in the treatment visuals that looks crippled and walks backwards (even ominously named as ‘Backwards Man’ in the credits)?!
Black Box isn’t the first psychological thriller to be based on the concept of technology enabling manipulation of the human subconscious and won’t be the last (Get Out is the easiest reference from Blumhouse itself). But where it stands out is in its minimalistic approach to a complex narrative. You could literally count the number of characters in the whole film on your fingers. The production is stylistically basic, but the graphics are sophisticated and understated at the same time. I mean, when was the last time a film gave you the creeps by just blurring the faces of its actors! The suspense hangs in the air throughout and we’re left guessing till the final reveal.
I also loved how the film remained focused on the core plot, and stayed away from getting pulled into emotional melodrama, even with two of its main characters facing a crisis over parenthood. There is no place for such indulgence here, but keeping with the spirit of the rest of the film, even the emotional notes are orchestrated brilliantly through minimalistic sequences. “Someone has to do it”, says little Eva to her grieving father, as she storms into the kitchen to prepare dinner. She’s taken her mother’s place and is in effect the new head of the house. We’re brought close to tears then during a later scene when circumstances prompt Nolan to ditch young Eva and move on separately with his own life.
‘Black Box’ is generally a phrase used to refer to complex devices whose internal workings are largely unknown to the average user. In the context of this film, the title definitely refers to the mysterious workings of the human brain and our various attempts to achieve mastery over it. While technological advancement and the effect of such knowledge falling into the wrong hands form the crux of the story, Black Box is a riveting film that actually celebrates the power of the human spirit. The human spirit will go to great lengths to survive pain and hurt it argues, even if it means having to literally bend over backwards.
Overall rating: 3/5
