The Belko Experiment

Not the best, not the worst. Has it's potential and million of possible outcomes and story lines. Some say it lack of originality and creative work, however, it was only one of the possible outcomes , either way, it seemed realistic, without bullshit inventions to make it, like many say, "creative".

It is interesting, yet, I dunno why people expect to watch a new version of matrix, fight club, either any other possible classic.

Sure the scenario is familiar, nothing new, neither old, just a new story exactly what a movie could give us.

Is a great film , which by utilising ideas from many books and movies , still delivers a non stop thrill and interesting enough , to hold my attention all the way to the end ! Not a bad one time watch !

Stuffed with characters you just don't give a damn about, and smearing the office floor with blood & corpses that keep on piling as plot progresses, The Belko Experiment teases with an interesting idea but it's executed in such an uninteresting fashion that it finishes as yet another forgettable example of its kind.

The Belko Experiment unfolds in a remote office building where all its employees find themselves trapped in the edifice once day and are forced to participate in a sadistic game of "kill or be killed" by an unknown voice on the company's intercom, eventually realising it to be a social experiment they never signed up for.

Written by James Gunn & directed by Greg McLean, the film sets its premise quickly, introducing its relevant characters in a hurried manner, and once bodies begin to go down, it never stops until the very end. The concept, although unoriginal, isn't entirely terrible but its translation on the film canvas is, for nothing about it stands out.

Characters are mere caricatures, a romantic subplot is unnecessarily added, dialogues are terrible, and although it doesn't hold back on violence & gore, it doesn't leave much of an impression in the end, for neither the plot nor the characters are compelling. Performances aren't any good either as the cast has nothing in script to build their work upon.

On an overall scale, The Belko Experiment is an incompetently directed, shoddily written & poorly performed horror, and is never for once intriguing. It is one of those movies that are forgotten the moment they end, and sitting through it isn't a breeze either. Dull, uninspiring & laughable, it is a failed experiment that brings nothing new to the table but may still fascinate those who don't mind the lack of a sturdy plot as long as they get their required dose of on-screen barbarity.

Eighty American workers in Bogota get locked inside their office building and an announcement over the intercom gives them half an hour to kill any two of the employees. When they don't comply, the rules are amped up, and an American Battle Royale (down to the 'collars') ensues.

The Belko Experiment managed to accomplish the difficult feat of never being boring, not even for a minute. It takes almost no time getting going, and at any given moment it is either action packed, or taking a break from action and descending into dark humour. Both of these were well-executed, with one particularly memorable action piece (the end of round 2, so pretty), and a spattering of interesting side characters, a lot of them hilarious in either attitude or demeanor. With that, it managed to entertain throughout, making it worth seeing.

However, where it fails is originality. The Battle Royale formula has been done time and time again, and here we get the straightest form of it, with zero deviation from the norm and zero unique perspective. Where a movie like Circle tries to infuse some kind of basic examinations of social themes, here there is no higher level to the killings. And for this, the movie never once surprises with a thought or an event. The characters are just shells of people; the bad guys are caricatures of evil, the protagonists of good. There is never ambiguity of character, in a movie where so much moral ambiguity should be present due to the situation. So from minute one you know exactly who will be a villain and who will be a hero, and the end game is obvious from the start. It's a waiting game for the movie to arrive where you know it is going, which makes it very unsatisfying once the action is over.

This review of The Belo Experiment is spoiler free

*** (3/5)

BEFORE HE CLEANED his writing for the family-friendly blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy (both volumes), writer-director James Gunn conducted the script to The Belko Experiment. A horror slasher/whodunit thriller. Both forming the two sides of Gunn, however before he had blockbusting scripture he was known as a horror writer, writing and directing the dark, Slither, and the uncompromisingly silly Super. This perhaps brought influence to Zack Snyder for Watchmen. For this Gunn left the directing to Wolf Creek's Greg McLean, making this a winning combination between writer and director and for a while at least it succeeds.

Plot wise, it's The Hunger Games franchise meets The Purge, happily there are few things this has in common with them, merciless rules, a time limit to kill and intriguing characterization. Not only does the company but also the title of the film itself screams government, a huge of security, a locked gate and a tall building a mile from civilization. There's a menacing company boss (Tony Goldwyn), who will do anything to keep his workers calm but when it comes to it he sacrifices others. And just on the outside in an abandoned hanger there is a team of tight-knit killers who have clever gadgets, with buttons and names of the employees and an unknown voice announcing a game of kill or be killed, the most satisfying part; there a whole bunch of people that are killed from micro chipped bombs.

Theoretically the exploding head technique works for a while, it's stunning to look at (in a merciless way) but after a while it becomes monotonous, painting rooms with blood and skull remnants all over the floor. There are changes in the killing strategy that come slightly too late though in some cases later is better, here that works when players are used as cannon fodder, perhaps leading the film to a predictable end but it's thrilling all the same. On the other hand Gunn is a wonderful writer, his screenplay is clever, has some silly moments but that's what made his blockbuster good, because it had silly moments. There is a bunch of that here, while for most of the time it stays mostly serious, implementing a balanced screenplay.

Even though practically everything you see here has been done before, the merciless killings and the player panic The Belko Experiment is a surprisingly enjoyable thriller with a lot of polished cred (the writer and the director), the style and the solid performances.

VERDICT: A brutally, bloody Battle Royale that gives tension, style and a lot of cred. That glides along nicely through, until a disappointing dip in the second half. Still, there are plenty of positive points, the brutal violence, the polished style and the solid performances to enjoy.