The Belko Experiment

In my teenage years, i tried working at an NCC Office building. I remember it being the most boring job ever. My job was to help a guy, trying to sort out papers, with order numbers, that had to be written down on a computer. I still remember how bored i was with this job. The man i worked with was nice, but i never understood why he loved writing down order numbers so much. It was like it was his favourite thing to do in life. If we talked about something else, he would fall right back into the numbers. Not the easiest co worker, but hey, at least it was an experience to try a different job. Office work have never made me interested. Sitting in the same building all day long, writing on a computer, having meetings, this is not my kind of thing. I am simply not fit to be an office guy. Speaking about offices, how many of you have seen the tv series The Office ? I have not seen many episodes of the BBC version, but i have seen many episodes of the american tv series. Now this is a great comedy tv series. Steve Carell and his co workers, who are clearly insane, will make your day feel better at any time. One of the reasons The Office worked so well, was because they knew how to make fun of ordinary day life situations, and turn the comedy volume up to an insane level. If you have not seen any of the seasons so far, i suggest you log in online to HBO and watch the seasons. I guarantee you will enjoy yourself. Maybe some of you remember the classic 1999 film Office Space, by director Mike Judge ? A classic comedy if you ask me, with lots of funny characters and some really funny scenes. Especially one scene, where an job interview is being done, and it is very important that you love singer Michael Bolton, if you want to work at this office ( just simply brilliant ). Last year, i think it must have been around september, i was reading about upcoming films, and came across an interesting title. A film called The Belko Experiment. As i started reading more about the film, i became more curious about the content. This seemed to be a completely different take on office films, and i do like films that tries to go a different way. After hearing some positive feedback from the cinema release earlier this year in America, i got a chance to experience The Belko Experiment. Is this one of the most original horror films of this year, or does this film fail to deliver what we were hoping for ?

A new day have just begun at the Belko Industries office building. All the employees are ready to work, and conversations are going around about all the latest gossip. But suddenly, an unknown voice in the building speaker, tell everyone to follow certain rules. To get out of the office building, as many as possible needs to be killed, and the office workers need to do this themselves. At first it seems as a bad joke, but when steel doors block every window, and people´s heads begin to explode, the people inside the building realise that this is not a joke. They have no chance, kill anyone you can, or you will be killed. Who is behind this insane game ? Is there any way out of this madness ?

If you loved the classic cult film Battle Royale, then you might actually be interested in seeing The Belko Experiment. This is sort of another version of Battle Royale, except in an office building, instead on an island. And i like the concept of this film. How far are you willing to go, to make sure you survive ? I would not say this is an original film in any way, but the positive surprise is that this is actually a intelligent film. It would have been easy, just to have people killing each other just to survive. But when you found out some more details, throughout the film, the story becomes more interesting. Director Greg McLean, ( who most horror fans know for his classic Australian horror film Wolf Creek ), combines different ideas and make The Belko Experiment feel like a roller coaster ride, within the walls of an office building. The film works effective as a psychological view on how we handle extremely difficult situations, when we are forced to do whatever it takes to think about ourselves. The cast is one of the highlights of this film. You have John C. McGinley ( who also were in Office Space ), Michael Rooker ( who is perhaps most known for his character Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead, including a number of classic films ), Melonie Diaz ( who were brilliant in the film Fruitvale Station ), Tony Goldwyn ( known for many films, including The Last Samurai ). The cast list is very long, but i think most actors does a good job with their performances. The dialogue between the characters also works well. Perhaps it would have been interesting with an unexpected twist, considering this film have a very interesting idea behind the plot. And this is where i wish The Belko Experiment could have explored some more, and perhaps taken some daring moves.  The hunt itself does include some cliches, we have seen before. A part from this, i will recommend that you watch The Belko Excperiment. It is not often you see a film like this one, that actually tries to do something different in the horror genre these days. One thing is clear from now on, if i ever find myself in an office building again, i will look where the axe is hanging on the wall. I no longer trust office workers after watching The Belko Experiment. Maybe something good comes out of this after all ?

Rating: DDD