THE BELKO EXPERIMENT (R)
Released by Blumhouse Productions/Orion Pictures
Review by Adam Mast
Leave it to colorful screenwriter James Gunn (writer and director of SLITHER, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, and the upcoming GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2) to add a bit of humor and likability to THE BELKO EXPERIMENT, a film that sort of plays like a nutty fusion of OFFICE SPACE and BATTLE ROYALE. This slice of dark comedy-tinged horror from WOLF CREEK director Greg McClean might have been drowned in a sea of relentless nihilism had it not been for Gunn’s humorous touch.
The set up in THE BELKO EXPERIMENT is pretty simple; Several employees at an American corporation located in Bogota, Columbia are locked in their corporate tower and forced by an unseen mastermind to murder one another until only one remains. Why? Well, in THE BELKO EXPERIMENT, the why doesn’t seem to be as important as the how, but rest assured, there is a bit of an explanation behind the mystery.
THE BELKO EXPERIMENT is one of those pictures where you know from the get-go, a lot of folks are going to die. At a brisk one hour and twenty minutes, there isn’t a lot of time for depth either, but most viewers aren’t coming into THE BELKO EXPERIMENT for any sort of deep meaning, so no harm, no foul. Having said that, credit Gunn and McClean for injecting a little humanity into the proceedings by way of a mostly warm and likable cast.
Fresh off his turn in the entertaining chamber thriller 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE affable John Gallagher Jr. plays the moral center in THE BELKO EXPERIMENT, a pacifist who refuses to listen to his captor when he’s told to kill. Instead, he does whatever he can to keep order in a chaotic (and undeniably deadly) situation. Granted, trying to maintain a level of righteousness ain’t easy when you have Tony Goldwyn (taking the kind of villainous character he played in GHOST and amping him up to murderous new heights) as your military-trained foe.
Elsewhere, THE BELKO EXPERIMENT is populated by familiar Gunn-universe supporting players like Michael Rooker and Gregg Henry, and terrific actors like “Scrubs” star John C. McGinley, in a role that sort of re-imagines his OFFICE SPACE character in a HOSTEL situation.
McClean and Gunn have as much sadistic, exploitative fun with this premise as they can. This is to say that with it’s perverse sense of humor, THE BELKO EXPERIMENT is more FINAL DESTINATION and THE RUNNING MAN then it is SAW and THE STRANGERS It should also be noted that with its jet black comedy, this film has more interest in exploring the dark humor-laced ugliness of Peter Berg’s VERY BAD THINGS than the moral conundrum and hopeful nature at the heart of the ferry boat sequence in Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT.
THE BELKO EXPERIMENT does attempt to give us a little more upstairs then you might be expecting by way of offering up a multi-cultural cast and by taking a few satirical jabs at corporate America. Having said that, if it’s horror with deep rooted subtext that you’re truly in to, this one has nothing on the recently released GET OUT. Still, the humor and likable character traits put this one a notch above the little seen and similarly themed Jonathon Liebsman-directed thriller, THE KILLING ROOM.
THE BELKO EXPERIMENT feels a bit rushed and moves at a quick clip. Perhaps too quick. It’s a nasty bit of B-movie business about how far some of us will go in the name of self preservation, and the entire movie is punctuated by appropriately disturbing humor and varying tones. From a technical standpoint, it should also be noted that the effects in this picture are solid, particularly the make-up and model work.
In the end, I’ll give THE BELKO EXPERIMENT this; It’s never boring. Furthermore, it’s pretty much over before you know it. The ending is a bit uneventful and happens far too quickly, but props to Gunn and McClean for at least attempting a resolve and not leaving things overly ambiguous. And, of course, THE BELKO EXPERIMENT can’t resist pulling back beyond the frame and suggesting a bigger picture. One that leaves the door wide open for a potential sequel. Is this movie worthy of a sequel? Not really, but then neither was THE PURGE and the follow-up to that overrated hit was actually stronger than it’s predecessor.
Side note: Loved the retro Orion Pictures logo that opened this film. It took me back to the days of ROBOCOP.
