This is a pretty budget production based on a premise that feels it would be better suited as an episode of Black Mirror. There are plenty of interesting themes and threads wrapped up in a predictable plot and shell. The main character initially comes off as sympathetic, but as events proceed we start to lose track of why. There’s a precocious child, who likewise comes off fairly likable, but begins to irritate before too long. While concepts of digital consciousness and malleable memories carry some inherent existential terror, the only real frights come from nightmarish hallucinatory sequences featuring contortionist Twisty Tony. There’s a very disjointed and confusing plot gap that makes little sense but doesn’t entirely derail the plot, as it is. Most of the movie’s beats are telegraphed pretty far in advance, and while this is a decent thriller, it could easily be condensed into an hour without missing a beat. There’s nothing particularly notable or memorable, and I can feel memories of it already fading which seems sadly ironic for the subject matter.
Black Box (2020)