The Belko Experiment

The anticipated new release is out and even though much more could have been made of the excellent premise, a cautious thumbs up nonetheless. The first trailers for The Belko Experiment were very enticing and the film has thus ranked among the most anticipated things of this year. It’s clear: an enclosed building with 80 employees tasked with killing each other (friend-to-friend) is more than attractive stuff for a horror film, too bad they didn't have the courage to push the envelope more. Yes probably the most heads in the history of movies explode here at once, some of the employees turn out to be proper bastards (Tony Goldwyn rules the roost and his selective choice of who should survive and who shouldn't is one of the film's strongest moments). I was a bit disappointed that the executions, though quite ruthless, were mostly shootings, as a horror fan, especially of violence, I would have expected more play with axes, knives or other tools. The ending, although expected, was still a surprise and if there is ever a sequel I will be looking out for it. 70%. (09.06.2017)

James Gunn confirmed that he has a very dark sense of humor. Greg McLean was a great choice because he managed to be exactly as excessively bloody as needed in some scenes. It's gotten so ridiculous that you just have to laugh. Of course, if you are comfortable with a similarly far-fetched spectacle. Great from my perspective. The Belko Experiment also has a certain social depth, where employees often in reality don't know what their employer will actually do with them. It's just not usually this sort of carnage. (18.07.2017)