Saturday 31 May 2008

Das Experiment (The Experiment) [2001]



Undoubtedly one of the most intense, disturbing and unsettling movies that I’ve seen, the bleak psychological thriller Das Experiment is a nihilistic study on paranoia, voyeurism, violence and the unleashing of the inherent darkness in human psyche. The movie focuses on a mock prison simulation to study the characters of inmates and guards – all chosen from different walks of life. However, as might have been expected, things soon start spiraling out of control as the situation gets horribly wrong and murky. The alter-egos and suppressed identities get released with even seemingly docile people getting converted to sociopaths. Sadism, brutality, rape, torture and murder abound, and an edge-of-the-seat cat-and-mouse game ensues as the extreme, volatile thriller heads towards an explosive climax. However as a footnote, I would strongly suggest viewing discretion as this movie is certainly not for the squeamish or the weak-hearted.










Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Prison Drama
Language: German
Country: Germany

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