A young woman, Anna, walks the streets of a foreign city.
Her mind full of pain. No Memory of who she is, and plagued
by nightmarish visions. The she meets Morgan, a man who also
has no memory. Forced to trust each other, the two feel a
mysterious connection. A strong powerful feeling that bonds
the two together. Unknown to them their every action is being
guided by unseen forces from the dark underground shadows
of the city. Anna and Morgan are part of a frightening experiment
with a terrifying and shocking conclusion...
Experiment
is
a bit of a shock to the system. A British sci-fi movie that
is not only original, but is also actually pretty damn good.
The basic plot is simple enough - a woman and man are separately
found wandering around a foreign environment. Both uncertain
of who they are or what they are doing there, but they both
find instructions about their person that leads them to seek
each other out.
But
what sets this apart from other movies is that at every turn
the director toys with the audience and then stamps all over
them. Dan Turner is one twisted guy. How can he make us feel
for these characters and then led us down a path were the
unexpected is the norm? Ultimately, this is what makes Experiment
into a movie that you'll go away talking about. In short,
it's what makes this movie a must see film.
The
finished film actually looks like one person's vision - instead
of the usual mismatch of ideas that can result when the large
studios become involved. As a result, the film flows incredibly
smoothly. This seems to be one of the largest stumbling
blocks of any modern movie - that creative talent is dropped
to make way for populist instantly forgettable fare. In the
current environment, if Hitchcock were alive today he would
have struggled to make a better film.
You
really wouldn't think that Experiment was the product
of that low a budget. Hiding this fact is not an easy process,
and the director of photography deserves some serious recognition
here. Moody, low lit shots hide a multitude of sins... but
they also look damn sexy. This movie is proof, if proof
were needed, that we Brits can still commit works of art to
celluloid without spending a small fortune in the process.
The photography is beautiful, the writing is fantastic and
the acting is first rate.
I
say the acting is first rate, but to be honest not a fantastic
amount of acting ability is required for the two main roles
of Anna and Morgan. What I mean by that is that they don't
have that many lines, it's more about looking and physically
acting the part. Again it was down to the director to ensure
that they didn't overplay their roles. It's David Grant, as
Walker, and Nick Simons, as Joseph, that steal the limelight.
Grant portrays a believable villain - not your usual tough
and shallow character. When he's backed into a corner he looks
scared. Yes, at long last a villain that acts human! And Simons
is incredibly moving as the scientist who has been lied to
- a rather naive pawn in the establishment's plans.
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Setting
the movie in Prague was also inspired. This really helps to
make the audience feel apart of the confusion. At the start
of the movie, like Anna, you are not entirely sure where you
are. The street signs and building constructions are familiar
but you know that you are not in the United Kingdom. Not only
does it help to give the movie a more intense atmosphere,
but It also ensures that there is no poor acting. If this
had been shot in the UK, with English speaking actors, you
can almost bet your life that some of the lesser roles wouldn't
have worked so well. To be honest, it didn't have to be set
in a foreign environment. Anna has trouble remembering her
native tongue in the opening scenes and it would have played
almost the same if set in the UK. But, as I mentioned before,
this is used well to make to viewer feel confused too.
The
only real let down, to my mind, was the gratuitous naked scene.
Don't get me wrong, I quite liked the fact that we got to
see Georgina French in the buff - she's incredibly beautiful.
It's just that it's almost a given that a nude scene has to
be thrown in to sell a film these days. And I felt that it
served no real purpose other than cheap titillation. The almost
obligatory sex scene could have been cut too, although to
be honest this was fairly well handled and at least it was
quick (like in real life - or is that just me?)
Without
insulting this picture, I also thought that it had fantastic
potential as an interactive video game. In a time when movie
producers are buying up the rights to fantastic games and
turning them in to terrible movies (Alone
in the Dark and the Tomb Raider films
springs to mind). Reversing that trend Experiment is
a fantastic movie and would make for a very intense gaming
experience.
Those
looking for clichés should search elsewhere. Even the
formulaic confrontation with the main villain in the final
act is refreshing. There's no James Bond style fight sequence
that kills off our villain, only to have him reappear because
he wasn't quite dead. Turner took a huge gamble meddling with
the audience expectations of a movie's general plot... and
it's one experiment (excuse the pun) that paid off. The Experiment
is a complete success!
This
film is not to be missed. Without
a doubt, one of the best British Sci-Fi movies to be released...
ever!
Darren
Rea
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