Review of Circle (2015) by Emma M — 23 Nov 2015

Circle is an independent science fiction story revolving around 50 strangers who awake in a bizarre room surrounding a mysterious object that begins to kill a person every two minutes for seemingly no reason.

The people quickly deduce that they are, in fact, voting for the next victim with a secret ballot system that only the individual can see and it becomes a 12 Angry Men-esque debate for survival as the group splinters and alliances begin to form based on age, race, stereotypes, and survival instinct.

In setup alone, this is a brilliant, Twilight Zone-like concept that has great social commentary and an unparalleled amount of tension as literally every person is expendable. The acting is serviceable, with the only known actress being Julie Benz, but each character is given enough personality to make you root for their survival.

It's evident early-on that the group is likely taking part in an alien experiment of some kind and try to deduce why they in particular have been selected, but this never really pays off and I had hoped for a much bigger reveal.

On that note: the ending is surprising when you see who makes it and how they pull it off; pretty much damning our society in the process. It's a very under-the-radar film that has loads of ideas and a gripping hook, and will certainly make you think about how you would act in a similar situation.