University of Virginia

A Message from Above:

Connecting The Box to the Christian Faith

Matt Peterson

ENWR 1510-018

Prof. Britta Rowe

February 21, 2018

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Richard Kelly’s The Box is a film that requires a bit of thought and dissection both during

the movie and after one departs the theatres (or their living room). Playing out like a thrilling

mystery, The Box kept me on my toes while I tried to piece together clues, some obvious, some

not, in hopes to fully get to the bottom of Mr. Steward’s and his employers’ schemes and

motives. In my opinion, one of the most interesting details of the movie was the fact that some

of the leads Kelly teases the audience with go unsolved or unexplained, such as the first

husband’s plot to kill the entity (01:30:00) motivating Mr. Steward and the strangely enchanting

scene in the employees only library featuring three gateways of water (01:12:50). However,

with a little bit of thought and wonder, one quite important detail dawned on me. While the

last two films studied in our class have focused heavily on the relationships between the occult

and Satanism, The Box showcases a subtler connection between the occult and a seemingly

unlikely partner; Christianity.

One of the most notable connections between Christianity and The Box is the film’s

multiple and significant uses of water as a form of rebirth. These uses of water can be related to

the biblical (and current) act of baptism in the Christian faith. According to Steven Gertz, “most

Christians view baptism either as the means of salvation and entry into the church or as a sign of

Christ's redemptive work in the converted.” This rebirth is traditionally symbolized by sprinkling

water over one’s head or fully immersing one’s body in water. The gateways in the library,

which rise high like pillars, symbolize this full immersion as Arthur walks into pillar number

two, only to be dropped out the other end into his own bedroom, leaving a good portion of his

home washed over. These pillars, however, represent baptism in another deep, haunting way. In

addition to being passageways where Arthur would be literally submerged in water, two of the
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gates are described to lead to eternal damnation, while one leads to salvation (01:12:50). What

isn’t clear is whether or not Arthur chose the correct pillar to lead him to salvation. On one hand,

he doesn’t die immediately and is able to return (in the oddest of ways) back to his wife and

home, but on the other, he is later forced to choose between shooting Norma through the heart or

watching Walter suffer through his blindness and deafness for the rest of his life. Could this

situation potentially be the eternal damnation Clymene Steward speaks of? Having posed that

question, my opinion is that Arthur did indeed choose the correct pillar, shown by how he exits

the NASA hanger from a bright white light after he and the husband of the box’s latest victim are

rammed by a massive truck on a snowy road (01:32:30). Another allusion to baptism is displayed

through the use of another portal, the motel’s swimming pool. This connection is slightly more

distinct, as Walter is lowered into the water by someone else, resembling a method of modern

baptism (01:29:50). Through this portal, Walter is dispensed into his locked bathroom, blind,

deaf, and dripping wet. Whereas Arthur’s “rebirth” left him with salvation, Walter’s “rebirth”

left him with two serious medical impediments.

Norma and Arthur, as well as the other two couples who encounter the box throughout

the film, somewhat resemble Adam and Eve. In all three instances, it is the woman who presses

the button in the box. This is synonymous with Eve taking a bite out of the apple from the tree of

knowledge. Whereas one of these actions leads to one million dollars and the other leads to the

ability to be on God’s level in the universe, they both share one motive; insatiable greed. This

greed is the downfall of all parties in each situation. While eating the forbidden fruit resulted in

the fall of man, pressing the heavily tempting button results in the fall men and women, quite

literally, when Arthur falls through the water pillar into his bed, and when Norma falls to the

floor after being shot through the heart.

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One final connection to Christianity that I noticed was Steward’s references to his

employers. At one point in the film, he describes himself to Norma as being in contact with

“those who control the lightning” (1:12:30). In another eerie scene, when asked why he is

conducting these tests with the box, he essentially responds by explaining that the tests are given

to gauge if the human race should go extinct again, saying that “if human beings are unable or

unwilling to sacrifice individual desires for the greater good of [their] species, [they] will have

no chance for survival” (1:22:30). By referencing his employers as somewhat of a higher being

that watches over the humans from above, one can assume he may be referring to God himself,

or at least a God-like figure. While it a be confusing to agree that his plural employers are really

just Christianity’s autonomous God, I believe he may be referencing the Holy Trinity, consisting

of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

When looking at The Box as a potential Biblical analogy, things have the chance of

becoming slightly more chilling and grim. Nonetheless, the film makes accomplishments in

portraying human greed as a very dangerous factor in a foretold second fall of man. While

speaking into a deeper understanding of how temptation and anonymity of pressing the button

relate to current issues in which lives are put at risk because of others’ greed for certain resources

or commodities, The Box serves as an unsettling warning to many members of the human race, a

warning some are not willing to hear.

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Works Cited

Gertz, Steven. “What is the pre-Christian history of the baptismal ceremony?” Christian History

| Learn the History of Christianity & the Church,

www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/what-is-pre-christian-history-of-

baptismal-ceremony.html.

Kelly, Richard, director. The Box. Warner Bros., 2009.