Retro Film Review: The Killing Box (Ghost Brigade, 1993)

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(source: tmdb.org)

At times it seems that the Hollywood spent almost all of its creativity and that the Hollywood filmmakers can't make original and compelling stories. This is especially evident for horror films. In 1990s new titles belonging to this genre almost never failed to arouse "déja vu" feelings among the audience. Yet, there were few horror films that actually were quite original. One of them was The Killing Box a.k.a. Ghost Brigade, directed in 1993 by George Hickenlooper.

The plot of the film begins in 1862 on the battlefields of American Civil War. The "killing box" is a military term which describes situation in which one Confederate regiment gets into at the beginning of the film - being surrounded by the enemy from all sides and thus unable to avoid fire. The regiment is shot to pieces, but few months later Union Captain Harling (played by Adrian Pasdar) is sent to investigate its apparent resurrection. The Confederates seem to rise from the dead and attack Union soldiers at night. Harling comes to POW camp to seek explanation from his pre-war colleague and friend, Confederate Colonel Strayn (played by Corbin Bernsen), the only man who had survived the massacre. Strayn is initially rather unwilling to help his former friend, but subsequent events would lead him to change his mind. The Confederate ghost regiment seems to receive reinforcements from people in blue uniform and some of its victims are wearing grey. After a while, it becomes apparent that Harling and Strayn have to deal with something supernatural - mysterious force that turns dead soldiers into seemingly unstoppable army of vampire/zombies. The key to the mystery is slave girl Rebecca (played by Cynda Williams), but she is mute.

The Killing Box shows that even the oldest genre concepts can look original if the filmmaker shows a little bit of originality. Screenwriter Matt Greenberg chose to implement standard horror story into the unusual setting of American Civil War. This was good decision for two reasons. First, the characters and situations are now different - two protagonists must fear each other as much as they worry about supernatural evil. Second, the irrational horror of supernatural evil is brought into broader and even more chilling context of much more tangible and realistic evils of war. Although filmmakers try to take standard Hollywood approach towards two opposing sides in American Civil War and give sympathetic portrayal of both Unionists and Confederates, The Killing Box, unlike most of American films set in Civil War era, doesn't shy away from the issue of slavery. In the film the evil supernatural forces arrived to America with the slave ships and in some way they represent the metaphor for the shameful racist past and its ghosts that lurk beneath the surface of present-day America.

Apart from having terrific script, The Killing Box can pride itself with the excellent cast. Adrian Pasdar is good in the role of unconventional protagonist, while Bernsen is even better in the complicated role of a man forced to co-operate with his mortal enemy. Smaller parts are played by excellent character actors like Billy Bob Thornton and Ray Wise, while Martin Sheen makes a chilling cameo at the beginning of the film. Unfortunately, the direction of the film leaves at least something to be desired. The events are at times too confusing, while the bad synthesiser music prevents the suspension of disbelief, thus revealing the movie's low budget. However, despite the flaws, The Killing Box is a nevertheless a good sign of creative forces still existing in modern American cinema.

(Note: Grey Knight, director's cut of this film is not covered by
this review.)

RATING: 6/10 (++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on November 18th 2002)

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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/48565-grey-knight?language=en-US
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