"BOX" (2022, squirrelpascals) plot interpretation by ent

ok So im gonna call the blonde guy in the intro Martin because thats the first name that came to mind when i saw him, and the protagonist will be Eric because idk

///movie plot

The movie seems to start with Martin dead, and Eric attending his funeral. It then cuts to Eric rummaging through a closet, presumably looking through some of Martin's old belongings to see if there is anything that he should dispose of or keep safe. He finds a pendant which he quickly pockets, and then a safebox labeled "CASH BOX". He shakes it to see if theres anything inside, and hears something moving in there.

Film cuts to Eric going to, what i assume to be, the backyard shed, and finds a panel of old keys. He takes all of the keys into the living room and attempts to find the right one for the box. After searching through a bunch of them, he finally gets the correct key, and slowly turns the lock.

The next scene shows the box slowly opening on its own, with a very bright light emanating from inside. This works well to prepare the audience that they should expect something unnatural. What happens next.. is certainly that, but i dont think anyone expects it in the slightest.

Inside the box, there seems to be some weird field of grass, and in that field there is a bewildered version of Martin: walking on all fours, torn clothes, mud/paint on his face, messy hair, startled animal-like look in the eyes, etc. This version of Martin makes eye-contact with Eric, who is looking down inside the box. The background music also changes significantly to signify that this encounter is very paranormal. The most curious thing occurs right after: a close-up of Martin's hand in the grass, holding the pendant that Eric found at the start of the film.

Eric promptly closes the box, perplexed and scared by what just happened. He thinks about what he should do next for a moment, and then throws the box in the fireplace, burning it once and for all as the camera slowly pans away from him.

///my theory

I believe it's safe to assume that Martin and Eric were related, in one way or another - given that they seem to be close enough for Eric to attend his funeral and the fact that the pendant and the cashbox with its key were both in Eric's house. What this relationship was is unclear (friends, brothers, lovers, etc.). For ease of writing, I will just refer to them as being close friends.

The pendant seems to be a very important item because, despite Eric pocketing it at the start, it later appears in Martin v2's hand, inside the box. While it may be possible that they are two different, but identical, pendants, I think the more correct interpretation (given the actual contents of the box) is that the pendant represents a link.

A link between the true human nature and the mask that it hides behind. The link between Martin's *honne* and his *tatemae* (yes i wrote this on purpose). What the box represents is Martin's attempt at hiding his real self - the bewildered version of himself - from the people around him. The Martin that dies is actually just the facade he used in society, whereas Martin v2, who lives inside of the box, represents his real self, who is kept away, quite literally, "under lock and key".

After his death, Eric coincidentally stumbles upon the box and, unaware of all of this this, decides to try and open it, assuming it's simply holding some objects that were special to Martin. What he uncovers, in fact, is Martin's secret: things he never knew about him, things that shock Eric, that he doesn't want to believe are real, because they completely oppose what he knew about his friend. Horrified by this discovery, he burns the box in the fireplace, to keep others from finding out what he had just had.