Black Box Movie Review

Black Box (2020)

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Written by: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour and Stephen Herman (teleplay by), Stephen Herman (story by)
Directed by: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour
Starring: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine
Rated: NR [R]
Watch the trailer

Plot
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.

Verdict
This is a solid thriller-horror that explores memories and whether doctors should meddle with them. It has chills and thrills while never devolving into jump scares. The crux of the movie is always a man trying to rediscover memories. The bleak ending provides a nice twist that make the movie into more of a cautionary tale.
Watch it.

Review
Blumhouse Productions are distributing eight movies through Amazon Video in October. Blumhouse is known for making budget thriller-horror movies that do well at the box office like Ma and Upgrade.

Mamoudou Athie plays Nolan.

This has a very Black Mirror feel. A doctor is exploring a new technology to restore memories, but when Nolan enters a hypnotic state, there's something disturbing in his memories, and that's not even accounting for all the faceless people he can't remember. The hope is that he will rediscover his memories and the faces will become clear.

Something's not right and the question arises as to whether these are Nolan's memories. We're guessing along with Nolan as each new hypnosis session gives him another clue. He's in an experiment gone awry and something is trying to attack him through his memories. 

Phylicia Rashad and Mamoudou Athie play Nolan and Dr. Brooks.

When he's not induced into a trance his friend wonders what's going on, and Nolan's daughter becomes frustrated. She's concerned he dad's memories will never come back. The memories Nolan does remember don't match what he sees in photos.

I really like the ending. The 'monster' in his memories is a great depiction of what's happening, but I won't spoil it. This also ends on a bleak note which, when combined with the experimental science, gives this a Black Mirror effect.