Director and writer Branden Bierbaum brings us a sinister tale reminiscent of the Pandora ’s Box fable. A mute young woman named Leia (Tessa Torreano) is enchanted, if not almost possessed, by a strange creature that she keeps in a box. We watch as she completes a macabre ritual, feeding dead mice into the mysterious box. The dark and shadowy aspects of the film are firmly established from the beginning, rooting the story in the horror genre. However, we suddenly switch focus to JJ (Tony Driscoll) – a young man who has just got out of prison. He took the sole blame for the actions of his crew during a robbery. Hoping to turn over a new leaf, JJ is done with his life of crime and wants to get a job. But unfortunately, the life of crime isn’t quite finished with him. The old gang, made up of his brother Nicky (Zack Zitto) and friend Vince (Eizonte Smith) want him to do one more job. Unfortunately, they pick Leia to rob, unaware of the horrors her box of secrets could unleash.
Another strand of the narrative is connected to Leia – a harmless guy from the local comic book store who is hoping to date her. He doesn’t seem too off put by the fact Leia never talks, instead filling the void with his own musings. Despite singing at her and playing the guitar Ken-style, as we see in the Barbie film, Leia seems pretty into him. However, the attempted robbery of her house by JJ and his crew has a domino effect resulting in multiple deaths at the hands (paws?) of the box creature.
The ending of the film leaves many questions unanswered, including the fate of the woman and the box creature.
Overall, the film is engaging and entertaining. The characters are interesting and have a certain depth, although they could have benefited from a little more backstory. There are a few areas of inconsistency regarding quality. For example, the sound effects are atmospheric and well integrated but the audio quality of the speech is not so great. In some places it seems as if the audio has been recorded ADR, probably to control background noise. Similarly with the special effects – at one point there’s a hotdog used in place of a penis (which is actually pretty funny) and then later quite a convincing and gory representation of an eyeball hanging out its socket.
I actually quite liked the hotdog as it feels like the film doesn’t take itself too seriously. The use of these practical effects feels very in keeping with the continued reference to old horror movies throughout the film. I really enjoyed the use of archival footage too as it helps set the tone.
A guerrilla horror that hearkens back to the films that came before it.