Review of Circle (2015) by Piper O — 08 Sep 2017

This movie has potential but is bogged down with unlikeable generic characters and an ending that ruined the film for me. Up until the ending the movie was eh. It kept my interest and the only issue that was really bugging me was the bad transitions of topic to topic.

But I thought that if the movie had never left the circle then it would've kept the same claustrophobic feeling that buried kept right up until the last second. But leaving and revealing the twist (spoilers coming up) absolutely ruined it for me.

The unnecessary twist of paranormal beings being behind the circle made the whole film feel hockey. And with the twist of aliens behind it all, it brought up so many questions. Why? Why would aliens kill off a group of people? Are they interested in studying our reactions? Ok, why? And are there more groups? Can other people not involved in the circles see the ufo? How many groups are there? What happens to the survivors? I could go on.

I thought it would've been better to confirm the twist in the middle then build on these questions. But instead, the movie dances around social issues and big 'what ifs'. 2 stars.