Puzzle Box
Written and Directed by Jack Dignan
Starring Kaitlyn Boyé, Laneikka Denne, Cassandre Girard
Unrated
Runtime: 1 hour, 13 minutes
Available digitally October 11

by Mo Moshaty, Staff Writer

Puzzle Box sends the audience on a psychological journey of addiction, emotional turmoil and repressed anger between two sisters in a sinister ever-changing house. Written and directed by Jack Dignan with claustrophobic tension, the film centers on Kait (Kaitlyn Boyé), a drug addict relegating herself to self-rehabilitation in a remote cabin. In tow is her devoted and emotionally exhausted sister Olivia (Laniekka Denne), who’s there to video document Kait’s road to recovery and prove she’s clean to avoid jail time. But as the ladies enter the house, the atmosphere transforms into an eerie metaphor for the harrowing cycle of addiction.

Kait’s struggle with substance abuse is portrayed with raw intensity, amplified by the isolation of the cabin and the ominous, almost taunting presence of alcohol found around the house. The story is perforated with what you can expect from an ominous remote stay: power outages, unsettling noises, and sudden shifts in the house’s structure that work to create acute physical and psychological threats. When Olivia goes missing and the house’s reality-bending nature traps them inside, Kait must face the monsters of her torment—literal and metaphorical.

The film excels in reflecting the inescapable grip of addiction, with the house itself becoming a living representation of Kait’s struggles—its shifting walls trapping her in a relentless cycle. Dignan’s stark metaphor usage for the highs and dangerous lows of drug abuse make Puzzle Box a compelling and chilling journey.

That being said, the film drags its feet in areas where pacing is bogged down by excessive exposition and an overuse of The Screaming Woman (Cassandre Girard) and night vision sequences. These elements, while initially suspenseful, ultimately decelerate the film’s momentum, and distract from the powerful story at its core. Despite these minor weaknesses, Puzzle Box remains an unsettling and poignant exploration of addiction and survival.