Directed by Richard Kelly, it's a thriller/conspiracy/drama/action/ horror and sci-fi movie rolled into one.

It's set in Virginia in 1976, when Arthur and Norma Lewis (played by James Marsden and Cameron Diaz) receive a red-buttoned box from the disfigured and mysterious Mr Steward (Frank Langella).

The proposition: push the button and you will receive $1 million in cash. The catch: someone you don't know will die. Ethical dilemmas and a race against time ensue.

Apart from Diaz's thick Southern accent being a little off-putting at first, all the acting is brilliant, especially from Marsden, who played Cyclops in X-Men.

Langella's suave and intelligent villain with a half computer-generated image face seems fit for a James Bond film, yet the extremely tense score throughout the film reminds you that it is anything but.

No scene is more memorable or better choreographed than the library scene, which is so strange, funny and scary that it feels almost like a dream sequence reminiscent of old school sci-fi and the Twilight Zone shows.

Kelly develops this world so consistently and with such complexity that you will replay the film's events in your mind for days on end.

You'll also ponder the consequences which can arise from the smallest of choices. This is definitely the sort of film that would become more satisfying with repeated viewings, as Kelly skilfully avoids any form of simple exposition. This may frustrate some viewers, but where's the fun in getting definitive answers?

If you enjoy films of mystery that constantly nudge you closer and closer to the edge of your seat, you couldn't ask for a better night out at the cinema.

(Caution: ``Thinking caps'' are recommended).

By Nicholas Mark