Black Box (2020)

Streaming Services: Amazon Prime Video
Movie Name/Year: Black Box (2020)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: NR
Production/Distribution: Amazon Studios, Blumhouse Productions, Black Bar Mitzvah, Blumhouse Television, Amazon Prime Video
Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour
Writer: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Stephen Herman
Actors: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa, Troy James, Han Soto, Andrea Cohen, Gretchen Koerner, Donald Elise Watkins, Najah Bradley, Nyah Marie Johnson
 
Blurb from IMDb: After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
Just about all the new movies I’ve seen lately have been pretty damn good. This one was no exception.
 
Black Box started off as expected. There was some mild intrigue, but it was a bit slow.
 
It immediately showed off how abnormal the life of the protagonist was, and that fed me plenty of questions to keep me interested. After that initial shock, though, it started to feel a bit basic.
 
Until it didn’t.
 
After about a half hour, the first of several twists hit. From then on, I was glued to the screen. I thought I had the film all figured out. I was very, very wrong.
 

Some highly-rated films definitely influenced the creation of this one, even though the story didn’t feel familiar. I can’t be specific about which ones without giving serious spoilers. After watching it, I’m fairly certain the four flicks that come to mind, would also be obvious to many movie-lovers.
 
Mamoudou Athie (Uncorked, Underwater, Sorry for Your Loss) had a chance to show off some incredible range in this film. He wasn’t on my radar before, but now he definitely is. At no point in this complex part did I question his acting. I believed every single moment. Even when the story was slow, he kept me tethered to what was going on, enough to keep me around for the twists.
 
Everyone else involved was at the top of their game as well, but Athie really stood out. I’m going to be keeping an eye on the rest of his projects now.
 
I absolutely recommend Black Box to fans of sci-fi thrillers – or even just fans of Black Mirror (2011- ). This is something both groups would enjoy.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 74%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 62%
Metascore – 62/100
Metacritic User Score – 6/10
IMDB Score – 6.1/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5
 
Trust the Dice Parental Advisory Rating: PG-13
 
Movie Trailer: