The Belko Experiment (2017)
Horror, Action, Thriller
Directed By: Greg McLean
Anyone who has followed James Gunn's career pre-Guardians knows that he has a knack for violence and dark humor, which is made quite apparent in his film Super. Team his writing up with the directorial style of Australian filmmaker Greg McLean (Wolf Creek), who is able to capture violence in a way few directors can, and you get a film that is incredibly bleak and painful, while also being a weirdly funny and entertaining genre romp.
The Belko Experiment keeps its plot simple and wastes absolutely no time getting into it. Belko Industries is an American company operating out of Colombia and its employee's, for the most part, are U.S. citizens that the company has set up comfortably in the country. Every day they go to work in an office building located on the outskirts of town, away from the mass population. These people lead a typical American life until one day a voice comes on the intercom, a voice instructing the employees of Belko to kill each other, or else they will do it for them.
We only have to wait about five minutes until the first announcement comes over the intercom and we are propelled right into the thick of the story. In that first five minutes, though, McLean is able to visually inform us of the relationships in this office, we clearly see who is friendly with who and how these are all normal people doing normal jobs. This is crucial because once the carnage begins we need to have some connections to these characters as well as some background information about their relationships.
Gunn and McLean aren't necessarily showing us any new ideas, this kind of story has clearly been done before, but they are giving it a new coat of paint. It's another exploration of just how far the human psyche can be pushed before even the best of us snap and do the worst things imaginable. Sure, plenty will no doubt panic and fall into the game they are merely just pieces of, but what about the one or two "good" people who refuse? Can they be broken? Are humans truly just animals that can only control themselves until a certain point?
As with most of these movies, it never truly answers these questions but it does take a side and in truly brutal fashion shows us the execution of that side. Initially, they won't even entertain the thought of cold-blooded murder but when bodies start to fall, all logic goes out the window. Once the floodgates are opened there is no going back, this is a movie about humans doing unspeakable things to other humans and they want you to feel that.
This movie is definitely not for the weak-stomached as the violence is made out to be authentic and brutal. This isn't glossy Hollywood killing, McLean doesn't do glossy, this is the same kind of reality we see in his other films like Wolf Creek. He wants us to feel the pain of these people, both the victims and the perpetrators and oh boy do we. I don't think I would say this movie revels in its own violence, but it doesn't shy away and it is purposely in your face with it every chance they get.
Though they ultimately achieve what they set out to do, there are some troubles with the tone of this movie which could confuse some people. I believe this just to be an after effect of the writer and directors differing styles coming together but nonetheless, it's hard to get a handle on what they want you to feel at times. For example, after a gut-wrenching death, the camera may pan over to a sign on the wall or a character reaction meant to pull a truly dark comedic moment out of nowhere. Sometimes the jokes land and other times it feels out of place and confusing, thankfully they never hang on any of them for too long.
The cast of this movie is insane from top to bottom and is at often times what holds this batshit crazy story together. John Gallagher Jr. stars as Mike Milch, the one seemingly good person at this company who wants nothing to do with this game. His stubborn performance carries us emotionally through most of the movie alongside Leana played by Adria Arjona. The remainder of the cast is filled out with all kinds of fantastic character actors like Tony Goldwyn, John C. McGinley, Melonie Diaz, and Michael Rooker. Sean Gunn also plays a bit part as a cafeteria worker and manages the steal just about every moment he is on screen.
Once it reaches its final act, Belko falls deep down a rabbit hole that it cannot ever emerge from, once it reaches that hole you are either in or you are out. At it's best this is a film that you won't soon forget as the brutality is super memorable, it has some issues with tone throughout but nothing so big that it will ruin your enjoyment of the film. This is sure to please the fans of these kinds of ultra-violent genre flicks while disgusting those with an aversion to this kind of violent reality depicted on screen. In the end I think we will all just breathe a sigh of relief that we don't work for Belko Industries.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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