Black Box
After a car accident erases his memory, a devoted father enters an experimental treatment that forces him to confront a terrifyingly unfamiliar past.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- serious
- suspenseful
- disturbing
- late night horror
- psychological thriller night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the debut intriguing and emotionally rewarding, with strong performances compensating for a relatively unsurprising story.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Nolan undergoes an experimental treatment that allows him to probe memories obscured after his car accident.
Nolan's search for his former self becomes increasingly incompatible with the darkness revealed in his past.
Nolan's effort to raise Ava and return to being her father gives the memory investigation its emotional stakes.
The experimental memory treatment transforms Nolan's private psychological conflict into the film's primary horror mechanism.
Films like Black Box, and why
The Machinist
psychological horror built around fractured identity, memory, and an emotionally grounded family relationship
The Cell
science fiction horror using altered perception and disturbing revelations to explore identity and trauma
A Tale of Two Sisters
emotionally driven supernatural thriller combining a parent-child bond with unsettling questions about the self
The Jacket
intimate speculative thriller where personal grief and family responsibility intensify a destabilizing mystery
Movie Details
- Director
- Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr.
- Release Date
- 2020-10-06
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (623)
Cast
- Mamoudou Athie
- Phylicia Rashād
- Amanda Christine
- Tosin Morohunfola
- Charmaine Bingwa
- Donald Watkins
- Troy James
- Nyah Marie Johnson
- Najah Bradley
- Betsy Borrego
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Black Box about?
- After a car accident erases his memory, a devoted father enters an experimental treatment that forces him to confront a terrifyingly unfamiliar past.
- What is Black Box like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Black Box as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Black Box violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Black Box as mild.
- What did critics think of Black Box?
- Critics broadly found the debut intriguing and emotionally rewarding, with strong performances compensating for a relatively unsurprising story.
- Which films are like Black Box?
- Films with a similar feel include The Machinist, The Cell, A Tale of Two Sisters, and The Jacket.
- How long is Black Box?
- Black Box runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch Black Box?
- In United States, Black Box streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
