Review: Nothing Special Awaits in 'Welcome To The Blumhouse: Black Box'

The first in Amazon's Welcome to Blumhouse series of eight thrillers, "Black Box" is certainly one that will grab your attention, but that might wane as the film plods to its twisty finish.

Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) is a young single father to Ava (Amanda Christine). He recently lost his wife (and Ava's mother) in a car accident where he also lost his memory. We meet these two as dad gets ready to bring young Ava to school and then heads off to a job interview. It's clear that Ava is trying to help Dad regain his memory and remind him of things from his past. The two make a good team, but something troubles Nolan: Memories and images he can't shake that make him question his past.

He contacts a doctor friend (Tosin Morohunfola) who suggests he speak with a research physician named Lillian (Phylicia Rashad) who has crafted a treatment that helps those with traumatic brain injuries regain their memory.

The process involves strapping on a helmet contraption and being shoved into memories the patient has locked away. For Nolan, he first sees his wedding. But before he can lift the veil of his bride to be, a cracking, backward man comes lumbering up the aisle like Linda Blair's spider walk in "The Exorcist: Special Edition."

Clearly, something isn't right, and as he investigates his past further and dives deeper into his memories, he starts to unravel a bigger conspiracy.

Suffice to say, there are a few twists and turns here, but ultimately many of them you can guess early on – or at least have an inkling. It's moderately interesting for what is essentially a TV movie, but even at one hour and thirty-seven minutes, the narrative feels drawn out.

Athie ("Cake") is terrific and shows some star power in a more complex performance. This is his movie all the way, so it's a great calling card for him to take on more (and better) leading roles. Rashad reins it in as best she can, although the part can lean on the cheese a bit.

This is Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour's first feature, and it certainly has some style in its more horror-related sequences, but the pacing is a bit tepid. This is more a fault of the script that has a simple idea that gets silly toward the end. The backward man stuff is creepy and all done live (no CGI), but a nifty trick does not a scary horror film make. This is definitely a mild effort from Blumhouse's much-touted new collection of films for Amazon. Here's hoping they pick up steam as they continue throughout October.

"Welcome To The Blumhouse: Black Box" streams at Amazon beginning Oct. 6.