The Experiment (Blu-ray)

A few years ago a little known German film called Das Experiment emerged. An electrifying thriller based on a real life experiment (which was also later the subject of a BBC documentary), the film followed a bunch of ordinary folk as they took part in a study where they were split into guards and inmates and slung in (fake) clink in order to monitor their behaviour. While the film was a critical success, unfortunately the bold and shocking tale went under the mainstream radar.

While in many cases English language remakes of foreign films are often little more than a shameless cash-in, thankfully The Experiment has been crafted with enough care, consideration and respect for the original to make it a truly worthwhile film in its own right. On top of that, it also delivers a thrilling story to a wider audience - namely the casual film fan.

The Experiment sees Adrien Brody play Travis - a guy who’s down on his luck having just lost his job. Without two pennies to rub together he answers an ad (along with 25 other men) for a psychological experiment that will see him $14,000 better off if he spends a fortnight in a prison. As the subjects are split into guards and inmates, things are initially light-hearted and fun. However the harmony is short lived as things soon take a turn for the sinister, with the “guards” soon starting to abuse their power. As the situation swiftly spirals into chaos, it isn’t long before even the most mild-mannered of subjects descend into a battle of violence and cruelty that will push everyone to their limits.

Directed by Paul Scheuring (the guy that created Prison Break) and starring a pretty amazing cast that includes the ever-awesome Forest Whitaker, everything about the film is constructed brilliantly. So much so in fact that it’s a bit of a pisser that this has skipped a theatrical release and snuck onto shelves as a straight to DVD title in the UK. Still, hopefully it’ll at least get a minor cult following.

In terms of high definition, the picture is beautifully crisp – in fact it’s so clear that it verges on annoying, as a grittier transfer would have probably been a better suit for the whole prison atmosphere. Still, it’s nice and detailed and the only real problem is that the many deep black shades all merge into one.

As for the audio, nothing about the DTS track will do much to push your surround sound to its limits. However, it does pick up on the clunks and clicks of cell doors and the little echoes that add a real sense of claustrophobia. With the track also rendering the unsettling, bassy score with crystalline clarity as well, the audio is pretty much as good as you could get.

The only real downside is that the extras aren’t much cop. There are no HD exclusive features and elsewhere all we get is a trailer, cast and crew interviews, a crappy B-roll and a featurette that serves as a behind-the-scenes piece as opposed to a decent exploration of the real-life experiment on which the film was based – which would have been infinitely better viewing.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t stop The Experiment from being a pretty impressive Blu-ray that’s unlikely to get as much attention as it actually deserves.     

Overall Verdict: An edgy, fast-paced thriller that doesn’t fail to entertain. Nice looking high definition transfer too.

Special Features:
Trailer
Cast and crew interviews
B-roll Footage
Featurette

Reviewer: Jordan Brown