Review of Exam (2009) by Manon M — 23 Jan 2012

Occasionally clever and slightly mysterious low-budget thriller with some decent psychological twists. Director Stuart Hazeldine created a modern morality tale with big ambitions. The cast is modest and the overall-concept works.

But I admit that I expected more. I am very aware that making a movie that plays in only one room is a real challenge and very hard to structure, and "Exam" is actually quite decent, but I've seen better (see Buried).

.. It tried too hard to psychologically claustrophobic, evolving some ideas that are somewhat pointless and not tight enough. It is a shame because the concept is so damn interesting and the film does keep your interest.

.. but it's so uneven, with an unintelligent and seriously boring conclusion!! I wished Hazeldine had played more with the pressure these people were going through while using the narrowness of the one-room-concept, I wished he would have been more manipulative, creating more psychologically clever twists, I wished he would have created a darker atmosphere.

.. and and and. Seriously, this film could have been everything... sadly, it's just average.