The Killing Room (2009) Poster

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5/10
To restate what was already stated about not being able to hear what has been stated
Scroobious23 July 2010
To repeat what I read in a previous review-- what did he say? The dialogue consists of a lot of whispering with cuts to much louder sound effects and screaming, forcing you to keep the volume remote in hand. Or, in my case, leading to apologies to the neighbors for the intermittent screaming last night.

More to the point, what did the movie say? It's a suspense/thriller, which keeps you waiting and really hoping that the ending pays you back for the time invested. This movie doesn't. The ending forces the viewer to realize how implausible the whole premise is.

I won't spoil the ending except to say that the ending is spoiled by the time you get to it.
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5/10
The Killing Room
Scarecrow-8814 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
There's been a host of films with the plot of "people trapped in a room", regarding human lab rats run through a series of experiments, until one survivor remains. Movies instantly coming to mind include, "Saw", "Cube", and "House of 9". Really, "The Killing Room" is no different, except in this movie we get an understanding as to who is behind the experiments. Four civilians are selected to fill out forms for a little money to answer some questions and act as guinea pigs for what they believe are relatively harmless experiments..what they can not possibly expect is that they are in for a horrifying experience, trapped in a room with no truly available exits. Sure there are escape attempts, but as we see on the outside, preventative measures have already been established to stop them. The lab rats include Timmothy Hutton, Nick Cannon, Shea Whigham(Splinter), and Clea Duvall..gnarly, eclectic cast, although one of them is killed right away to prove a point, with the remaining trio trying to figure out their situation and how to resolve it. Questions, and a gun, are sent into the plain white room with a bullet proof window(..the window is there for a purpose I will explain in a moment)through a slot in a locked door. Whoever answers the question correctly, lives, until one remains. Looking on from other rooms are Dr. Philips(Peter Stormare, stolid, with a bubbling intensity just seething underneath the surface)and his possible new recruit, Ms. Reilly(Chloë Sevigny), chosen because of her reputation for being ruthless and cold. We see, for a long time, that the situation developing before her disturbs and bothers her, although she tries intently to hide it. While those in the killing room are being tested, we can see she is as well. An indoctrination is taking place and we soon discover that this process has a lot to do with the enemy, given birth as the planes were flown into the World Trade Centers.

I honestly believe many will find this to be rather generic material, rather familiar and derivative. While we discover as the movie continues just why these terrible acts are taking place by Americans to Americans, in such a cold-blooded fashion that it sours your stomach, and the fact that those committing such deeds have an agenda which differs from those of other films of it's ilk like "House of 9" or "Cube", there are also striking similarities which I feel will leave many a viewer feeling rather ho-hum over the whole deal. The ending and the inner turmoil, developing as tensions and fear arise, is very akin to those examples I have mentioned. Good cast salvage the plot, especially Chloë Sevigny, because, like those trapped inside their own cell, she's battling a lot of personal emotions as well. Does she attempt to help them, or will Ms. Reilly join this covert operation, a secret project the government keeps silent for a purpose of engaging the enemy in a whole unique way, fighting fire with fire. Since Splinter has become an indie hit, many horror fans have discovered Shea Whigham, and I imagine they will be just as impressed with him here, maybe even more so. Hutton's presence here adds some major name power to the cast, which I imagine will have those who haven't heard about this movie, tuning in to see what it's all about. Cannon goes ghetto, and remains pretty much a frightened child throughout.
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7/10
Is worth watching
Alex_NLD2 October 2009
Although it isn't one of the top films I've yet seen I found this one worth watching. It is a sort of mind-game movie. It was only at the last few minutes that you truly understand what the hell you had to make of it all.

One of the reviewers said it was a waste of time saying that is was for the most part filmed in one room and the low budget statement. Well, let's watch 12 Angy Man, to my opinion one of the best movies ever, there is only one room where the entire movie plays out!

If you like mind-game movies, thriller and secret organization performing (brutal,but not sick-) mind game experiments (where people do die) you should watch this one.
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The Boring Room
Chrysanthepop11 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
What initially attracted me to 'The Killing Room' were Chloë Sevigny and Clea DuVall. However, this supposed psychological thriller that tries to be intelligent fails in psychology, logic and suspense. It's a very boring movie. For the first 80 minutes, it tries to be one of those mind-control flicks with four people trapped in a room with translucent white walls. The only girl in the group (Clea Duvall who is wasted here) is killed off within the first 5 minutes after which the other three mumble incomprehensibly with the occasional screaming. The psychologist Emily Reilly (Chloë Sevigny in a thankless role) is shocked by what she sees and is conflicted every now and then but she does nothing. One can't be bothered to connect to any of the characters. Every now and then, people wearing white lab coats will pop-up (I guess they're supposed to be evil scientists). In the last 10 minutes, we learn that these people are being trained to be suicide bombers. This is a bit what the f***! What..how...what! This is one of the worst twists. How can you scare people into suicide bombers? How much researcher has the writer done? Doesn't he know that suicide bombers are fearless and they blindly believe that what they're doing is for a great cause? 'The Killing Room' thinks it's cleverly written and it tries to shock and engage but it miserably fails on all counts.
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7/10
Reminiscent of the Milgram experiment
krinklyfig5 September 2010
The film is a taut, effective psychological thriller and character study. It's not entirely novel, but it's well done and could possibly be set on a stage as a play. The set is not elaborate, taking place almost entirely in a white, locked room, and the pacing relies on dialogue and Deus ex Machina, as well as what Hitchcock called MacGuffins, e.g., the gun, the clock, the questions on notes, etc. These types of plot devices are common in thrillers, and they're used to decent effect here. I will agree somewhat with people who found a lot of the dialogue to be very quiet, almost mumbled, particularly when the crew were communicating over the radio. I had the volume up and could hear it, but I believe it was done for a reason and has the effect of subtly adding tension (if you can hear it), and it's likely done for a reason by the researchers. Indeed, everything that happens in the film can be considered part of the experiment. Or perhaps not ...

I see that many people who are reviewing this film believe the premise of the experiment to be implausible. There was an infamous psychological experiment dealing with authority conducted in the early 1960s at Yale, that escalated quickly, but almost predictably, into a Lord of the Flies type situation and had to be halted. It's known as the Milgram experiment, and I'd add a link but it's against the guidelines, so do a search if you're not familiar. Also search for MKULTRA, a very real CIA program that ostensibly was shut down in the mid-1970s after a Congressional investigation uncovered a small amount of evidence of what was going on, some of which involved psychological experiments on unknowing subjects, including a surreptitious LSD dosing of a CIA agent which lead to his suicide. The remaining papers that weren't destroyed before the investigation revealed an environment ripe for the kind of abusive experimentation shown in the movie.

The thing is, the people running MKULTRA really didn't know all that much about a lot of what they were studying, and they had virtually no real oversight and too much latitude, so even though not well intentioned lots of their experiments went nowhere. They tried many different "truth serums" to no avail, as well as studying purported UFOs and paranormal experiments, interviewing and testing "experts" in the field, mostly dealing with the possibility of mind control of some sort. The film "The Men Who Stare At Goats" is a much less serious stab at the subject of MKULTRA. There are also plenty of conspiracy theories floating around about it, including the idea that it was never truly shut down, but the facts as we know them are pretty crazy, with thousands of pages of evidence of a CIA-run covert psychological program gone off the rails - at least with Milgram they knew they had to draw a line somewhere, but not really for MKULTRA.

You really don't need to make anything up, but what the film does with MKULTRA does make for an interesting premise. It's not that different from some of what they used to do, so it's plausible to anyone who knows the history, or plausible enough. You don't need complete realism, just the elements for good drama and a competent cast, and they're all here. It might not appeal to fans of the modern gory morality plays like Saw, as it's not a big budget film and is morally ambiguous. It's not as good as Hitchcock's one-room thrillers, such as "Rope," but what is? It's far better than most horror films made today, relying on slowly building tension which never truly abates, and the ability of the actors to make it real. Worked for me.
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7/10
Claustrophobic and somewhat unpleasant
neil-47619 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Four people volunteer for what they think will be some sort of scientific trial, but it turns out to be a programme involving playing mind games which lead to their deaths, one by one, until only one is left. At the same time, a new girl is being tried out to see if she fits the programme on the control side.

This brief summary doesn't give a fair impression. Most of the movie takes place in the featureless killing room of the title or in the control room. There is a sudden, shocking killing early on which raises the stakes for both the characters and the audience, all of whom spend the rest of the film trying to work a way out of the quandary. The film is claustrophobic and suspenseful, with good performance from a top flight cast.

The problem with it is that you don't really care very much. There is never any reason for you to become invested in any of the subjects. And, while the eventual reason for the project is vaguely credible, the movie as a whole doesn't really convince.
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2/10
Awful psychological thriller.
poolandrews19 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The Killing Room starts as four ordinary volunteers who have signed up to be part of a psychological research experiment & lead into a small white room, the four strangers have never met each other before & that each get on with filling in a questionnaire. A Dr. Phillips (Peter Stormare) enters the room & give a little speech about the purpose of the study & then suddenly takes out a gun & shoots one of the volunteers through the head killing her. Panic sweeps the room & Dr. Phillip's leaves, the door is locked behind him leaving the three remaining volunteers trapped inside with a dead body. All part of an extreme experiment to test how far a person can be pushed casualties were inevitable, but what is the ultimate purpose of the experiment & who does Dr. Phillip's work for?

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman this psychological thriller apparently had the working title Manbreak & tires to be clever & even a little topical by using emotive issues & themes that are reported all to regularly in the world's media, while it tries to be shocking & clever it isn't & I have to say I thought it was pretty crap. For the first 80 odd minutes of this 90 odd minute film there's little to talk about, four people in a very bland white room, one gets killed with the majority of the rest of the time just spent on them talking with scenes of Dr. Phillip's & his scientist mates (we know they are scientist's because they wear long white laboratory coats even though there's no laboratories anywhere to be seen) watching them & as a counter balance to their coldness fresh young recruit Emily Reilly doesn't like what she see's, this goes on & on for what seems like hours. At least in a film like Saw there traps & puzzles while here in The Killing Room there is nothing & it's incredibly dull & repetitive to watch. Then there's the final 10 minutes, oh God the final 10 minutes. It turns out that the nasty US Government are running this strange experiment to find the next wave of homegrown suicide bombers or civilian weapons as the men in suits (& long white laboratory coats) call them. What on Earth makes the them think putting people though this will suddenly turn them into suicide bombers? It's a reach stretch to say that because someone is willing to sacrifice themselves in a very controlled situation that they will then happily commit suicide for you & kill potentially thousands of innocent people in the process. Aren't suicide bombers fanatics & extremist's that would be willing to die for their cause? The twist just doesn't work & the idea of using the subject of suicide bombers as a cheap twist is in bad taste, The Killing Room is a film with a twist that tries to have a point & meaning but comes across as not having a damned clue. The character's are as lifeless & basic as you can imagine, it's hard to root for any of the volunteers & the scientist's (hey, they do wear those laboratory coats so they are scientist's) come across as very cold & inhuman. I suppose the 'now for phase 2' ending leaves things open for a sequel, I shudder the very thought.

Event though 90% of The Killing Room is set in a single, plain white run of the mill room director Liebesman still manages to make this thing look ugly with a constantly twitching camera, fast edits & deliberately out of focus extreme close-up foregrounds obscuring the character's. There's a bit of blood splatter but no real violence or gore worth mentioning. An extremely repetitive, bland & dull film with a ridiculous twist that didn't work The Killing Room is also lacking in tension & suspense as my major emotion while watching it was boredom. Also I don't know if it was just my copy but a lot of the dialogue sounded muffled as the three volunteers whispered to each other in increasingly panicked tones, I actually found it quite hard to understand what was being said on many occasions.

Filmed in late 2007 The Killing Room wasn't released anywhere until 2009 & it's easy to see why there were no takers for over a year, not a very good film & not a particularly easy sell as nothing really happens in it. It would certainly be hard to cut a decent trailer for it that made it look exciting. The acting is alright & rather surprisingly Nick Cannon is actually the husband of pop superstar diva Mariah Carey. Timothy Hutton once won an Oscar while Peter Stormare is better than this.

The Killing Room is a terrible psychological thriller that tries to be clever & shocking & emotive, it fails. A really boring thriller set in a single room full of faceless character's & a dumb twist ending just to round off the torment.
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6/10
Well done if not underrated thriller
movieseed18 September 2014
Some people keep saying it was derivative but I loved the way this film pushed the genre constrains in it's own unique and intriguing ways. Sure it was clichéd at certain obvious moments and had its inherent flaws but at the same token it surprised me at a few turns. I won't spoil this for anyone and I wont tell you the plot but just give it a try if you're bored one afternoon and have an hour or so to kill. just Just don't expect an Oscar worthy performance or mind blowing character study.

Not better than a 6/10 and the acting could have had a little more to it but I would watch something by these filmmakers again.
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3/10
Horrible movie
chelseariley4426 May 2019
I hated this movie, it was so boring and slow and so predictable! Horrible movie
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7/10
A solid idea done fairly well.
fxdx425 June 2014
This is not a slasher/ hacker movie, this is much more a physiological thriller delving into humanities ability to survive.

The plot gets going quickly. The 'main' character is a woman watching as small group of people arrive in a room. They think they are there for a questionnaire, a few medical tests and a few bucks, but not so.

The movie progresses quickly, but does leave the audience with some glaring questions here or there. These take a bit of a leap of faith to get around, but the speed and overall enjoyment of the movie caused me to over look them for the most part.

The movie does a good job of building tension, but we are introduced to a major piece of 'logic' for the Killing Room moments before the climax - maybe a bit of an easy way out there.

The acting is solid. The cast is largely recognizable faces, lead by a surprising addition of Nick Cannon who does a fine job.

Overall I enjoyed this movie because I could look beyond its many minor issues and enjoyed the overall premise.
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4/10
Runs out of ideas
GloriousGooner19 March 2010
Another film, based in one room, in which 4 people are eliminated to one, told from the perspective of a behavioural psychologist observing the experiment. The experimentees are promised $250 each for completing the 1 day 8 hour test but have no idea what the experiment is or who is behind it. The film starts out with a lot of promise - after the irony behind the traps in the Saw franchise the ingenuity bar has been set reasonably high already. Factor in the cult success of Cube and this film is branching into a cornered market. But then again that really is the problem: apart from 1 of 2 cheap jumps there is barely any glint of originality in either the script, performances or concept. The director has done OK with limited material yet even overlooking the often mumbled dialogue (really, why they whisper so much is utterly baffling) and the frequently massive jumps to conclusions that seem to be spontaneously materialising out of thin air, there is still nothing here to shout about. As other reviews point out, the walkie talkie commentary gets annoying quickly but thats not the biggest of the many flaws. Without the gore of Saw we need good three dimensional relatable characters whereas The Killing Room presents us with cardboard victims on the assumption that for some unknown reason we will guess who's going to survive and indeed, care. It's painfully obvious from the start who's going to win, what interested me was how the doctor would react to the unfolding events. Well, that plot line goes nowhere interesting - so that was a wasted mental effort on my part. The only positive from this film is that it's all over very quickly. There's a totally predictable twist ending and a wider social commentary element that falls flatter than Kansas.
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7/10
A bit familiar
gab-675996 April 2021
The movie Exam was a reminder of this movie, although this one was much better. A very good movie. Worth seeing, unlike the exam, which was stupid when you found out what it was really about. This movie should have been better since it was BC (Before Covid) but I was wrong. Good actors, with a good twist. Not a movie I would see twice. But definitely one I would at least see once.
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1/10
RIP Headphone users
hudsonda421 September 2014
Sorry but I use headphones and pretty much any movie like this one is impossible to watch.

The Actors whisper their lines as quiet as possible and then screaming blaring sound effects.

So if you want to watch this movie with headphones, you have to keep your finger on the volume and crank it from 25% to 100% back to 25% back to 100%. Stop, rewind crank the volume and hear what they said. Crank it back down to 25% because your eardrums are being blown.

After having to rip the headphones off three or four times because of it going from actors who are whispering to extremely loud sound effects I just gave up. Screw this movie.
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Lab Rats...
azathothpwiggins8 February 2022
In THE KILLING ROOM, four unsuspecting subjects are trapped in a white room with no exit, and forced to answer a series of questions. The wrong answer means certain death for one of them.

Meanwhile, the mysterious people (Peter Stormare and Chloe Sevigny) conducting this experiment observe and manipulate from their perch above the room. Trouble brews when Sevigny's character questions her role in this insane project.

In the end it's revealed that nothing is as it's appeared to be, and a very dark purpose is fulfilled.

Timothy Hutton and Clea DuVall are the standout test subjects.

This is bleak stuff...
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6/10
High suspense survival/escape thriller, but not that much action. Not the best of the genre but worth a watch.
Mivas_Greece9 March 2021
Psycological thriller movie. The film presents a hypothetical evolution of the secret US program, MK-Ultra, the MK-Patriot. MK-Ultra was a mind enslavement program, while MK-Patriot is trying to identify suitable candidates to become obedient pawns of the U.S. government in suicide missions. So we see 4 candidates who do not know the details of the psychological test they expect as volunteers and who finally find later that their lives are in danger. So how far could they go to survive? Particularly interesting idea, and while there is suspense, it didn't have enough action. There are much better films in a similar survival/escape style. Still, it's an interesting recommendation to everyone.
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6/10
Room For Improvement
dougmacdonaldburr20 December 2021
This could have been a really good movie, but, it doesn't quite deliver. It has a very good premise and the acting is good. Unfortunately it never quite comes together in the way that you want it to, there are better films of this genre, like Exam or Cube. You're not missing much by skipping this one.
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5/10
Good cast in an off beat thriller
dbborroughs1 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Four people are brought into a room for an unnamed experiment. What they don't know is that the experiment concerns the breaking point of of people and that there is a very good chance none of them will ever get out of the room alive. At the same time the doctor running the experiment is looking to certify a new assistant.

Okay thriller works, I think, more because its oblique, rather than because things make complete sense. I say this because there was a couple of times when I had questions about why somethings happened. I have to add that the cast is excellent and helps to make this worth trying. Honestly I'm kind of mixed about the film and I've been going back and forth about recommending it. I have no opinion other than you're on your own.
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7/10
Definitely worth watching
melissiti15 February 2015
The premise of the film is valid and worthy of exploration. The execution of the film is a mixture of brilliant voyeuristic witnessing of how humans can react to extreme circumstances and of clichéd (yet in the context of the plot) inappropriate Hollywood techniques (the most annoying of which are the ludicrously unnecessary 'lunar space mission' communications we hear as the experiment progresses. Overall though, a very worthwhile watching experience with a genuinely surprising twist at the end. I, like many, was on occasion reminded of the Saw films but this is definitely far enough removed from them to make it valid and justified. Overall, a good, clever and satisfying film and I'm definitely going to watch the sequel.
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4/10
Average idea horribly executed.
badoli10 April 2011
This movie is really bad. It starts out pretentious and ends horrible.

The best on this is the acting, but in a script this ridiculous it's hard to shine all too much. The actions of the examining scientists don't seem to really follow any experimentation plan, but appear to be constructed only to generate emotions from the audience. That's a cheap way of making movies and appears very fake. A pity, the cast could easily handle a more sophisticated script. The final conclusion is so ludicrous that i regret having spent this much time on it.

Watch this movie only if you think "Cube" from 1997 was an extra-ordinary masterpiece. In that case you could get away with thinking this "the Killing Room" was good. At best.
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7/10
We (Government) Do Exactly The Same Things They Do, The Difference Is That We Keep It A Secret
Richard_Dominguez20 May 2017
This Is A Good But (Real Life) Scary Movie ... The Distinct Possibility That In Our Battle To Destroy The Evils Of The World We Become That Very Same Evil ... The Thing That Is Even Scarier Than That Is That We Make It OK By Saying Better Us Than Them ... Convincing Ourselves That Because We Are Trying To Save Ourselves From Them, The Evil We Do Is Just ... ***Can You Hear It, Can You Hear The Express Train Riding Us All To Hell In The Name Of Our Just Cause, Because I Sure As Hell Do ...
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4/10
Some potential, but doesn't do much with it
Sandcooler9 August 2011
Watching "The Killing Room" is sort of a frustrating experience, because there seems to be a missed opportunity behind every corner. You just know there's a good movie in there somewhere, at times even several good movies, but whatever great material is buried in the mix just can't find a way to get to the surface. For instance: this film really had a fighting chance to be a dark, gripping, claustrophobic masterpiece. The four characters in the titular room are all well-written and competently acted (even by the surprisingly good Nick Cannon), their disputes are believable, their mysteries are interesting enough, but whatever atmosphere their scenes create is completely neutralised by the ridiculous number of scenes set outside the room. These are just so bland, so needlessly explanatory, one tends to wonder why they're even there. Why not just set the entire movie in just that one room, would have been way more effective and mysterious. "The Killing Room" is like this compelling magical illusion that the magician starts explaining while he's still performing it. It's not like this suddenly makes the illusion any less great, but it doesn't matter, it sucks out all the fun anyway. Furthermore, the twist ending is just kinda silly, if not just moronic. It's a thing you don't see coming, but when it does come it's still pretty "meh". This movie didn't work for me at all.
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9/10
Great psychological thriller.
FioMnsfld2 August 2009
In this review I shall not go deeply into the plot, as I believe that the viewer will benefit from knowing as little of the narrative as possible, seeing as the script offers many twists and turns to any film-goer looking for thrills, and the film delivers on its dark premise, and then some.

While films where a group of characters are manipulated and tested upon in many a sadistic and calculated manner have been all the rage since the Saw series, (comparisons to the franchise wouldn't be completely unfounded) this movie has a somewhat different approach to all the torture porn of late by relying on mind-games to get its thrills. Thanks to the swift pace, taut direction and believable cast, this is pulled off tremendously well.

The plot concerns under-the-radar experiments by a government-tied group (the purpose of which not revealed to the viewer until later) on a group of random volunteers. It starts off innocently enough when they are asked to fill out a form of questions, but things take a sudden turn for the sinister, and the group starts acting upon instinct. However they are constantly being scrutinised by a team of psychologists, and through conversations with the leader of the project and a talented new employee, we learn that their every move is anticipated and prepared for. This creates a sense of impending doom, and brilliantly we, the viewer, feel like we are observing them along with their captors.

The performances are incredibly strong and plausible, and as we learn more about the characters and their motives, the suspense and drama feels all the more engaging. While the idea that experiments like this are still being carried out to this day (the film is based upon real experiments conducted by the CIA in the 60's and 70's) is completely impossible, the script makes it feel completely possible. The whole film twists and turns sharply, making for some genuine bite-your-nails, edge-of-your-seat stuff, something which has been missing from thrillers lately.

For fans of this sort of fare, I wholeheartedly recommend this as what is going to be one of the best thrillers of this year. Hell, even if you don't like the genre usually, I think that you should give this a watch. The film will grip you throughout the entirety of its running time until it twists the knife one last time and leaves on a brilliantly sinister note.
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7/10
Nidal Hassan ..meet Jared Loughner
exceldriver200215 September 2014
This is a pretty decent movie and is based on a lot of compelling psychological research. It is basically a sobering remake of the Manchurian Candidate.

I watched this on My Rabbit TV download, and for the most part, the majority of movies on Rabbit TV are average, save for the documentaries. This movie caught my eye and when you research the backgrounds of some of the most recent spree shooters, Hassan (Fort Hood), Jared Loughner and The Batman Shooter in Colorado, it's not difficult to come away with a point of view that, "yes...this type of stuff is going on". I believe that if you don't consider that, you might as well just keep watching Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The sound editing is for crap, which is really a shame. Otherwise, I would have given this film a higher rating. It's worth watching, if you have an open mind and you've "crawled down the rabbit hole" a few times.
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3/10
Say that again
dune_30016 July 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I wanted so much to like this film. The premise sounded great and it really is the kind of movie I usually enjoy. Unfortunately, the tag line was the best part of this, it all when downhill from there. The story was bland and unappealing and the "big" twist at the end just makes you wanna slap the screenwriter.

*Spoiler ahead* I guess they thought they were pretty clever by diverting expectations and showing the audience some stuff that doesn't actually happen. But instead it just makes the main character look like a heartless bitch. Which is even worse, as they previously showed her actually having a conscience.

And the absolute WORST of all this was the sound constantly shifting from "barely audible" to "ear drum shattering". What the hell?! i couldn't make out what they were saying half the time. For a movie that has intellectual pretences, that is bad. So, so bad.
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UNDERRATED
nikkiinwanderlust9 October 2021
This movie is so good, and was one if the first "trapped" or "game play" horror films that really stuck with me. Very underrated but more than worth watching.
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