This impressive short film borrows shamelessly from the kind of science-gone-wrong ideas and limited frame of reference that has found such popularity these days. It borrows not only the ideas, but also the music and sound effects — it’s clear this is not a final product, but rather a sort of demo reel for one guy’s special effects and editing prowess. Perhaps a final project for a student filmmaker?

Like Gordon Freeman, the character never speaks, and close observers will notice Black Mesa mentioned in the news feed — to say nothing of the Combine noises. This led some to believe it is a viral from Valve, but on reflection that’s a pretty ridiculous idea. It also uses the music from Lost. Likewise its identifying of various phones suggested it might be something phone-related, but that’s really stretching it.

The site linked makes a big deal about “What’s in the Box,” but there doesn’t appear to have been any follow-up movies. An abandoned commercial product? Who knows? In the meantime, just enjoy.