Rating of
3/4
"The Experiment" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 06/26/12
A group of volunteers with no history of violence or criminality are arbitrarily assigned the roles of prisoners and guards in a psychological experiment that spirals dangerously out of control. A remake of a German film, the most shocking aspect of The Experiment is the fact that it actually happened. Essentially showing how the civilised veneer of the human race can be so easily stripped away, these ordinary decent people become savage and twisted in a frighteningly short space of time when their only source of consequence to their actions is a faceless, anonymous but amoral authority figure. The director places the audience firmly in the place of the observer which detaches you somewhat from the situation and removes some of its intensity, but thanks to great performances from Forest Whitaker and Adrien Brody it's a gut wrenching and thought provoking story that makes you wonder just how far we have really evolved from the beast within.
