3.5/5 Globes

On Oct. 6, Blumhouse released one of their new horror movies for the Halloween Season, “Black Box,” to stream on Amazon Prime.

The movie stars Mamoudou Athie as the main character, Nolan, who is a photographer. The film follows Nolan after he loses his wife and his memory in a car crash, and viewers see his struggle to recall what his relationship with his wife was like.

Additionally, Nolan’s daughter, Ava (Amanda Christine), is trying to keep up and be there for her father. Ava begins to get frustrated at Nolan for sudden outbursts of anger and other behaviors he never did before the crash. 

In order to restore his memory, Nolan decides to take part in an experimental psychiatric treatment. This is where the film begins to be even more dark, and what is revealed is like if Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” was actually an episode of Netflix’s “Black Mirror.” 

“Black Box” is a dark, tense film to sit through. There are scenes that involve physical abuse, and the whole movie deals with death. The film is listed as a horror/mystery/sci-fi, and there are elements of each drama incorporated throughout. There is some disturbing and scary imagery throughout, and the sci-fi aspect is obvious throughout as the experiment is done on Athie by Dr. Lilian Brooks (Phylicia Rashad), who practically forces Nolan into it. 

The movie makes viewers try to piece together what is happening little by little, before revealing it all in the third act of the movie. 

Athie’s performance as Nolan is excellent. He plays a very convincing amnesiac, and at one point he is essentially playing two parts in the movie. 

“Black Box” has a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and many viewers are comparing the movie to several others, such as “Momento,” and “Get Out.” 

Blumhouse has released four “unsettling” movies onto Amazon Prime to stream. Under normal circumstances, Blumhouse’s releases are shown in theaters, but they did move their releases onto the streaming platform due to Covid. “Black Box,” as well as the other three films already released, are part of an anthology of sorts. The release poster showcased “Black Box” along with “Nocturne,” “Evil Eye” and “The Lie” and advertised them as “four unsettling films under one roof.” 

Blumhouse is supposed to release four more films onto the platform for eight releases total.