Review of The Experiment (2010) by Andreas O — 05 Jul 2011
The Experiment is a 2010 thriller, based on the German film Das Experiment, based on the book Black Box. The movie stars Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker.
The Experiment is based around a psychological study, in which 26 men are put into a simulated prison. The group is split into two, guards and prisoners. Travis (Brody) and Barris (Whitaker) start as friends, but once Barris becomes a guard and slowly becomes more twisted and corrupt with power, Travis doesn't go by the rules, and is constantly challenging Barris and his guards. At the start there are 5 rules the prisoners must follow, and the guards have to maintain these rules. If one of the inmates disobey the rules, the guards have 30 minutes to figure out a correct punishment, before the red light goes off, meaning that the experiment is over, and the men will all go away without their money.
This movie's storyline and the way it unfolds is incredible, It's fantastic watching them slowly become more insane. Watching the inmates lose their grip on reality, and the guards become corrupt with power as their punishments become more and more sadistic. The movie becomes more and more intense, leaving you with eyes on the screen at all times.
The acting is nothing special, but Brody and Whitaker do what they have to do. Brody continues to rebel against the guards and bring out an uprising, while still trying to help fellow inmates like Benjy (Ethan Cohn) who is a diabetic and needs his insulin. Whitaker's performance it good too, as he slowly becomes more insane. He starts out being mean, but becomes more demented and hands out much worse punishments as the time goes on. The same goes on with the other guards, as the inmates also begin to take a stand to what's going on. I do have one thing against this movie though, it's ending. I won't ruin anything, but it's just a bit flat.
Most Hollywood remakes are pretty crap to say the least. The Experiment isn't. It's a great thriller, that will keep you on edge the entire time.
8.5/10.
This review of The Experiment (2010) was written by Andreas O on 05 Jul 2011.
The Experiment has generally received positive reviews.
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