Michael Ledo
The opening credits scream "major indie film." Trevor and Rob sell privacy fences. As a hobby they buy estates and sell the junk on E-Bay. They recently moved into a home owned by Bill Zill who had passed away. The man didn't leave much behind, but left stuff that was coded and cryptic. Rob invites his fiancee to come stay with them, an irritating girl named Amber/Brit who was once engaged to Trevor (guess how that works out). Amber talks like people type on the Internet, with phrases like, BFD and BRB. Likewise her and Trevor like to have conversations with their mouth full of food, another bit of annoying indie realism.It turns out Bill Zill had a love for a web site called "4 Boxes." The 4 boxes are 4 rooms in a house which has cameras. A girl used to run the site, but then left. The house was taken over by a guy who wears a gas mask and is apparently a terrorist making bombs to send to the US. Trevor is trying to figure out who they are, where they are, and if it is real.The movie ends with a twist, then another twist, and then one stupid ending. I think they should have let the movie go with just the first twist instead of attempting to get cute. Sex, brief nudity, f-bomb. If you really really love low budget indies, then try this one out.
Cooper Wardell
I really like the way this movie was made and the story is well written and executed. I won't give away any of the plot, which has some interesting twists and turns. However, the way this story is put together is exactly what indie films are about in my opinion. The movie has a slow start, with a definitive tone, and most of the action is in the last third of the movie, but the setting and character development in the first 40 minutes is the essential part of the film. Rather than being thrust right into the plot, the audience experiences it unfold with the characters. What I dislike about so many indie thrillers is the action tends to unfold in predictable ways along very similar time lines, and while the character development is supposed to be shaped through the action in the film, many times there is not enough care taken in exploring the characters and their relationships. This leaves plots where things seem to just happen to a group of people we don't care about. This film is the opposite, and you find yourself trying to figure out the mystery right alongside the characters.
makeswork
This movie's plot twists pretty much require a second viewing to fully understand what went on - every half hour or so you realize what you thought you were watching wasn't what it seemed, and you have to rewrite your initial impressions as you go. Kind of brilliant. The script was smart, snarky, funny, the plot was thoroughly engrossing, and the precise art direction (for all its greyness) made even the brief little details visually and emotionally compelling - the kind of details most low-budget independents can't muster. True, not everything gets explained in the end, but do you really want it to be? Personally, I like a little "What the hell was that?!" from my movies, and this movie delivers. I wouldn't exactly label it a "thriller," as its pacing and interests seem to extend beyond that, but it is definitely suspenseful. An undercurrent of social commentary tugs at Four Boxes throughout - the characters seem adrift in the banalities of suburbia, and their search for success and a pathway out is both believable and a little sickening. Overall, kinda icky, kinda great.
Sdsa Detroit
I was very excited upon starting this movie, because Justin Kirk from weeds is in it, and to me, that meant that the movie would be good, or at least watchable. it wasn't. the story was not very well thought out, the characters were annoying, and the story went nowhere. the ending leaves you unsatisfied, and all you can think about is how much better the movie would have been with a different writer, a different director, and different script. Justin Kirk was the ONLY good thing about this movie, because he's so awesome on weeds, and always inventive and comedic in his scenes, but his talent was wasted on this excuse for a movie. Very sad.