As always, searching through Netflix’s titles for something
I’ve never seen before, I came across The Belko Experiment as it had a
very high rating average from other members.
Seeing that it was categorized as being in the horror genre, it piqued
my interest enough for me to look it up and to read up on it.
The first name that caught my eye was the name of James
Gunn. Many of you may know that name of
the man who brought a little-known Marvel Comics property to the screen in a
film called Guardians of the Galaxy,
but I also remember him as the director for a pretty good throwback horror
flick—Slither. Gunn has also been a very successful writer
of screenplays, such as Scooby-Doo, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Super, as well as the two—soon to be
three—Guardians of the Galaxy
films. After seeing him attached to this
title, I figured it’d be somewhat entertaining.
Although Greg McLean’s name didn’t ring a bell when I saw
his name attached as director, I soon found out he was the director of a couple
of Aussie horror flicks that I thoroughly enjoyed—Wolf Creek and Wolf Creek 2.
Along with a few familiar names in the cast, I decided to
have this disc sent to me to watch, and so I added The Belko Experiment to
my queue and awaited its arrival.
Let me synopsize the film with the help of IMDb’s plot
summary…
In a twisted social experiment, eighty Americans are locked
in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia, and ordered by an
unknown voice coming from the company’s intercom system to participate in a
deadly game of kill or be killed.
From the start of this film, it had me interested, having
all the characters introduced as exposition is given about how they all—as most
of them are Americans—took this awesome job in South America, working for this
American governmental building in the middle of nowhere. But that’s when the uneasiness begins,
especially when they notice there is a bit more security on this particular day
as they’re all being checked in systematically upon entering the company’s
grounds.
Of course, this movie comes with the understanding that
you’re going to need to suspend disbelief a bit—as most films of this
caliber. Certain features of the film
might make you laugh at how absurd it is, but some aspects might make you ask
yourself would you do the same if you were in the position of the characters on
screen. I’d give an example, but I
really don’t want to ruin any of the surprises or shocks this movie will
present to you upon first viewing. All
in all, as the synopsis above will tell you, this is a story about a deadly
group test to see who has the best survival instinct.
So…what can I tell you?
Although most of the characters are cookie-cutter and
run-of-the-mill clichés of your average good guy/bad guys, they still give you
faces to root for and others to jeer.
Even though the subject matter is pretty serious, there’s always room
for the comic relief which is brought forth in the shape of Sean Gunn as he
plays Marty, the stoner employee of the Belko Corporation. Some of the dialogue he delivers is pretty
funny and alleviates the tension in some of the scenes.
Now the main character of Mike, John Gallagher Jr., was
someone who I didn’t know at all and wondered why they’d have an unrecognizable
actor in the lead. When reading up on
him, I realized that I did see him in a couple of other films—Hush and 10 Cloverfield Lane—but he really wasn’t the center of attention in
any of those movies, so he never really left an impression on me. But as the film went along, it became clear
that the story needed him to be the regular-everyday-good-guy that felt a moral
obligation to save whoever he can rather than taking the easy way out.
In watching this movie, it basically asks you a theoretical
question: What would you do in this situation?
You’re stuck in this building, with no way out, and you’re given a
choice to kill other people to save yourself.
It’s a tough dilemma, that’s for sure.
Now, Tony Goldwyn plays Barry, the manager of the employees
and, at first, plays it as the protagonist, trying to have everybody remain
calm and to reassure them that they’ll all make it through this. Seeing him in this capacity surprised me as I
can’t help but remember him as the antagonist in Ghost opposite Patrick Swayze.
Sure enough, however, after it’s apparent that the only means of escape
is to do what the voice over the intercom tells them to do, he turns into the
nemesis we all know he’s destined to be. Also along for the ride in the bad guy
train is John C. McGinley as Wendell.
Both men are portrayed as former military and have an edge over
everybody else in their experience with combat and taking the offensive.
You’ll see Michael Rooker in this as Bud the maintenance guy
and although he really doesn’t play into the plot, it’s good to see a James
Gunn alum involved here.
What’s my final “bit” on The Belko Experiment?
Overall, the movie is a lot of fun and will hold your
interest throughout, especially to see what will be the outcome of all
this. I guess this film can be
categorized as a thriller—not really a horror film, but it does have it’s
bloody moments. When the gore hits, it’s
pretty wild and shocking, coming out of left field and upping the ante. The few main characters go through quite a
bit in this film and you can totally understand what they’re all going through,
wondering if you’d have the audacity to do the unthinkable or the moral
obligation to do what’s right. The
Belko Experiment will definitely make you think twice if you’re ever
offered a government job in a country outside of the United States. Check this one out, you’ll really enjoy it.
Thanks for reading!
