The Killing Box (1993)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

George Hickenlooper

Writer:

Matt Greenberg (writer)

Genre:

Horror | War

Tagline:

BE WARNED! The perfect soldiers are the ones who can not be killed!

Plot:

Slave traders bring back evil voodoo entity that is accidently freed by the Confederate army during the Civil War...

Plot Keywords:

Voodoo | Drummer Boy | Supernatural | Silver | Shot Through The Mouth

Cast

Corbin Bernsen	...	Col. Nehemiah Strayn
Adrian Pasdar	...	Capt. John Harling
Ray Wise	...	Col. George Thalman
Cynda Williams	...	Rebecca
Roger Wilson	...	Maj. Josiah Elkins
Jefferson Mays	...	Martin Bradley
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Langston
Martin Sheen	...	Gen. Haworth
Dean Cameron	...	Borne
David Arquette	...	Murphy
A.J. Langer	...	Thomas, the drummer boy (as Allison 'A.J.' Langer)
Alexis Arquette	...	Cpl. Dawson
Mark Salzman	...	Corporal
Jon Beatty	...	Lieutenant
Matt LeBlanc	...	Terhune

Also Known As:

Ghost Brigade (USA) (video box title)
Grey Knight (USA) (director's cut)

Runtime:

80 min | USA:92 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA)

Trivia:

Matt LeBlanc's feature film debut.

Soundtrack:

Unaccompanied Cello Suite in G Major

An interesting war/horror hybrid which ultimately fails to hit the mark

Set during the American civil war, The Killing Box tells the tale of a Union expedition sent to discover the fate of a group of Union soldiers slaughtered in bizarre circumstances. As the film progresses, it becomes evident that this slaughter isn't just an isolated incident, but rather a series of mass murders of both Union and Confederate soldiers. To complicate the expedition, the Union soldiers have to rely on the aid of a captured Union defector to help investigate the incident. Who or what can be responsible for these grizzly deaths?

The Killing Box takes a fairly well-worn horror/supernatural concept, but turns the concept around by putting the film in the unique setting of the American civil war. The film and its concept had me hooked for the first fifteen minutes, although my attention began to slip away a bit from that point on once the "enemy" was revealed. Quite frankly, the "enemy" were very hokey, and didn't instill any real fear or suspense into the story. I've seen actors at a horror-themed dinner theatre inspire more terror than what the Union soldiers faced in The Killing Box.

Overall The Killing Box tried to be an interesting war/horror hybrid, but fell short of the mark.

5/10