The Box, starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden comes out this weekend and the plot is built around a delicious ethical dilemma. If someone said they would give you $1,000,000 and the only repercussion is the death of a stranger, would you take it? Strangers die all the time, right? What’s one more?

Of course, in science fiction morality plays like this one, things never end up as tidy as one might hope for. Usually in these scenarios, the button-presser ends up killing an automobile driver mid-journey. His car hops the curb and crushes their only son. Or they end up inadvertently killing the person who had just figured out a way to cure cancer.

The Box is based off an episode of The Twilight Zone from 1986 called “Button, Button.” I won’t tell you how that one ends because I don’t know how closely the movie follows the plot. I know it deviates somewhat – it has to if it’s going to support a longer running time. But I don’t know how much of the original story it uses as a springboard.

All I know is that I can’t imagine a reference to The Twilight Zone without thinking of the parody Futurama made of it with their similarly eerie show-within-a-show “The Scary Door.” Invariably, every episode Fry or Bender watched would end with the zinger “IT WAS MAN!”

My question about The Box is why they chose to set it in the mid 70’s? That doesn’t appear to be an era any filmmaker wants to revist anymore – even ironically. Aside from Zodiac, I can’t think of a recent movie that tried to do a period piece in the 70’s.

It’s not like The Box’s story is time-sensitive, or anything. It’s a morality play. A representation of human weakness. It could be told in ANY time period?

I dunno. Studios always seem transfixed on modernizing everything (if the litany of remakes is any indication). Seems like a bizarre choice to set things up during a time of bad hair and bell bottom pants.

We talked about The Box a little bit on Monday’s Triple Feature. Joe is excited for it because it’s directed by Richard Kelly – the same guy who directed Donnie Darko and Southland Tales – and Joe is a fan.

I don’t know if Kelly’s directorial history is enough to get me in the theaters this weekend, but I admit to being curious about the film. It’ll probably be a rental for me.

What about the rest of you? Are you curious to see what happens after the button is pressed? Who here is seeing The Box this weekend and what is attracting you to the movie? Leave your comments below!