Review of The Belko Experiment (2017) by Colin M — 23 Aug 2017

The Belko Experiment felt like it should've been a black comedy, given that the script was penned by James Gunn, but the movie isn't satirical enough to be funny.

Instead, Greg McLean turned Gunn's script into a gory grindhouse horror movie, which is more of his specialty. It's not a bad idea, but for a movie about people killing each other, it's very unimaginative and rather boring.

I understand the movie was supposed to explore the morality conflicts between characters and the things people would do to ensure their own survival, but the movie's approach to the human condition doesn't go below surface level, and what we get instead is an inferior version of Battle Royale, The Hunger Games, and even The Purge.

I finished the movie thinking it was at least two hours long. Nope! It's an hour and a half, but it certainly felt a lot longer. One of the things that ruined the pacing of this film is they keep cutting back to certain characters, and you'd think they'd be more important later on because the movie puts a lot of time into these characters, but then they just get killed off.

And even as a grindhouse horror movie, there isn't enough creative kills to please even genre enthusiasts. I'm sure they'll enjoy parts of the film, but I'm also sure that they've seen better B-movies just like it.

The Belko Experiment isn't a bad film. The reason I'm giving the movie two stars is because I see a better movie somewhere in this generic, run-of-the-mill grindhouse horror. This movie could've been great under a different director, even with the same script.