Movie: The Belko Experiment
My Rating: 3 stars
I tend to watch a lot of this kind of movie—stories about office workers losing their minds and going full Battle Royale (with a dark sense of humor). I’m pretty much a guaranteed audience for anyone who wants to make a movie like this. I’m not quite sure why they appeal to me so much. Perhaps I’ve worked a few too many soulless cubicle jobs in my time. Or maybe it’s my morbid sense of humor. But, there’s something about that kind of anarchy—of social rules changing on a dime—that I find really fascinating.
This movie doesn’t differ too much from others in the genre. Workers in a typical (if mysterious), white collar business find themselves trapped inside the building one day after a dramatic lockdown. A voice over the loudspeaker informs them that they must kill one another, and that they have a limited amount of time to do so, so they’d better get a move on. Naturally there is some amount of disbelief at first, but then the mysterious disembodied voice starts to take people out himself just to show them how serious things are. And of course, this is when the true chaos of the movie begins.
There’s a certain point in all these stories when the characters turn from being good little rule followers to viscous killing machines. And of course, the characters who make this switch sooner have a better likelihood of survival. That is, unless no one else turns maniac, and then that first person is ruled a murderer. That’s always the risk. People feel uncomfortable turning killer first. But if they don’t, they run the risk of falling prey to the person who does. I suppose my strategy would be to hide long enough to see how things are playing out, and then throw my hat into the ring.
This movie isn’t anything great or special. It’s not particularly new or imaginative. There aren’t any real twists. But, it’s a moderately exciting romp nevertheless (if you’re into that kind of thing). It is quite violent and bloody, so the movie isn’t for the weak of stomach. But, I think the script does capture a pretty realistic sense of anarchy, which is interesting from a psychological point of view. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to see this movie, so I’m not exactly recommending it to you. But if you come across the film, and you’re hard up for entertainment, this isn’t a bad option.