The Belko Experiment (2016)
Directed by Greg McLean
A group of eighty American workers are locked in their office and ordered by an unknown voice to participate in a twisted game.
3 connections found
View:
3 films that influenced The Belko Experiment
What critics say influenced The Belko Experiment
This implies a a level of subtext absent within the horror genre since 2012’s The Cabin in the Woods , another horror film that flipped audience expectations and horror conventions.
There’s also a healthy dose of The Cabin in the Woods in The Belko Experiment, as well as a dash of real-life events like the Stanford Prison Experiment.
But for its appreciable nods to “The Cabin In The Woods,” “Office Space,” and both the “Saw” and “ Purge ” series, the movie is probably best distilled as the Stanford prison experiment (a famously nasty psychological trial itself made into a film in 2015) on amphetamines; a disturbing look at the evil human beings are capable of, only frenzied instead of measured – and soaked in blood.
Gunn seems interested in positioning himself as the next Joss Whedon, who laid down the blueprint for a cheeky horror fantasy with “The Cabin in the Woods” (directed by Drew Goddard), as a precursor to his Marvel debut with “The Avengers” (even tapping his Thunder God for a role as one of the doomed cabineers).
Equal parts The Cabin in the Woods and Battle Royale, the “kill your co-worker” flick is tailor-made for horror audiences looking for a rocking good time.
At times, the movie also reminded me a lot of Ben Wheatley’s thriller High-Rise , based on the novel by JG Ballard, mainly due to the building location, except that this film went to such gross extremes it became very hard to stomach at times.
There was a time before Guardians of the Galaxy when filmmaker James Gunn was better known for horror films like Slither and for writing the screenplay for Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake.
James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Slither) delivered a screenplay tailored for EVERY genre fan.
Written by Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither’s James Gunn and directed by Greg McLean of Wolf Creek fame, The Belko Experiment should have been a can’t-miss proposition.
Written by James Gunn (while most known for directing Guardians of the Galaxy he has also proven his expertise in horror and black comedy with projects such as Slither and the remake of Dawn of the Dead) and directed by Greg McLean (currently making a name for himself with the critically acclaimed television series Wolf Creek), the two have collaborated to create a film that is uncompromising on its savage premise.
Australian director Greg McLean (the Wolf Creek films, Rogue, The Darkness), working from a years-old screenplay from filmmaker James Gunn (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy), clearly made the decision early on that holding back wasn’t an option.
Nine years ago, writer/director James Gunn had the slick and sickening horror-comedy Slither under his belt, yet could get no momentum on an office-set slaughter fest called The Belko Experiment.