The experiment
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The experiment |
| Original title | The experiment |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2010 |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Paul Scheuring |
| script | Paul Scheuring |
| production |
Marty Adelstein , Jeanette Buerling , Bill Johnson , Maggie Monteith , Scott Nemes , Dawn Parouse , Paul Scheuring |
| music | Graeme Revell |
| camera | Amy Vincent |
| cut | Peter S. Elliot |
| occupation | |
| |
The Experiment is an American thriller from 2010. The remake of the German film The Experiment is based, like the original, on the book Black Box by Mario Giordano and the Stanford Prison Experiment . The version by Paul Scheuring , however, has a slightly different plot and different characters.
action
Former geriatric nurse Travis meets his new girlfriend Kelly during a demonstration by peace activists. The couple, who have just fallen in love, want a trip to India . However, since they lack the money, Travis applies for an experiment in which volunteer test subjects simulate life in a prison . In a remote building, the investigator Archaleta divides the 26 candidates into prisoners and guards. The prisoners are instructed to eat three meals a day and follow the guards' instructions. The guards, on the other hand, must ensure order and sanction violations appropriately. If they hold out for two weeks, participants should each receive a reward of $ 14,000.
Travis is put in a cell with the graphic novel artist Benjy und Nix, who belongs to the radical Aryan Brotherhood . He is rebellious and provokes the guards. While his colleagues react increasingly brutally, Barris, who suffers from his dominant mother in real life, opts for psychological humiliation. Travis' head is shaved before the guards urinate on it. Since the test director does not intervene, Barris feels confirmed.
When Travis finds out that Benjy has diabetes , he persuades the weak guard Bosch to get the necessary insulin . Bosch, who previously could only be forced to continue participating through the financial reward, is caught by his colleagues. As a punishment, he is beaten up by the other guards and locked up with the prisoners. Barris gives Benjy the medicine, but humiliates Travis again, who has to clean the toilets with his shirt. For further provocation, the guards almost drown Travis in the toilet.
At a subsequent morning roll call , Travis calls for the experiment to be ended by taking off his shirt and speaking directly into the surveillance camera. The guards then beat him up. When Benjy tries to help him, the artist is severely hit by Barris' baton. While the other prisoners are chained up, Travis is locked in an old boiler. When he discovers the light of a camera in it, he can break free. He catches guard Chase raping a prisoner and releases the prisoners. After seeing the dying Benjy, the prisoners riot. Barris tries to calm the situation by pointing out the financial reward, but cannot prevent a violent fight.
Suddenly a red lamp signals the end of the experiment. The group goes outside in bright sunshine and waits for the bus. During the return journey, all participants are cleanly dressed. Barris looks at his check and Travis answers Nix's question about whether humans are higher in evolution than monkeys, pointing out that humans could change. The news reports that Archaleta is being charged with negligent homicide. Travis travels to India and meets Kelly there. His girlfriend notices the injuries to her ankles.
production
The film was produced in the US state of Iowa and India . The American locations were Alleman and Des Moines . The scenes that take place in India were made in Mumbai , New Delhi , Varanasi and Vindhyachal . Although initially planned for the cinema, the film was released as a direct-to-DVD production.
Reviews
The reviewers rate the US remake worse than the German original. The critic of cinema.de says that Scheuring “[makes] the exciting material for pure prison action. The flat 'psychology' could be pushed through under the cell door ”. Christoph Petersen at filmstarts.de comes to a similar conclusion. He accuses the director of not having understood the Stanford Prison Experiment and states: “Instead of psychological drama, 'The Experiment' is therefore a prison film that has been deprived of its pretension and that [despite the strong cast] is rather superfluous. “Dirk Hoffmann misses in his review on zelluloid.de“ the actually perfectly normal characters who mutated into violent psychopaths in the experimental situation. Unfortunately, the remake by Paul Scheuring does not have this frightening development, as the two guards who are least afraid to use violence have already suffered mentally in their 'normal' lives. "
Web links
- The experiment in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Experiment in the online movie database
- The Stanford Prison Experiment
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of Release for The Experiment . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , November 2012 (PDF; test number: 124 463 V).
- ^ Filming locations for The Experiment. IMDb, accessed April 1, 2013 .
- ^ The Experiment Trivia. IMDb, accessed April 1, 2013 .
- ^ The Experiment. cinema.de, accessed April 1, 2013 .
- ↑ Christoph Petersen: The Experiment. filmstarts.de, accessed April 1, 2013 .
- ↑ Dirk Hoffmann: The Experiment. zelluloid.de, December 1, 2010, archived from the original on April 28, 2016 ; accessed on September 29, 2018 .