Dorian Bell

Absolutely and thoroughly enjoyable. (mild spoilers ahead) If you are one for deeply intellectual psychological horror, maybe point yourself elsewhere. For those who want something fun to watch on a weekday afternoon, this is the movie for you. I love me some good surface level psychology in horror (not that this film was particularly psychological or horrifying). Thinking too hard is for the STEM graduates and men who take themselves too seriously. This was interesting, the concept (mood-altering drugs being tested on the incarcerated) is not a new one, but this iteration in Spiderhead was entertaining enough that it kept me watching. The relationships were fun to watch and the two main characters, played by Hemsworth and Teller, made for a very satisfying antag/protag dynamic. The twist was a little cheap and honestly not super satisfying but the last 15 minutes of genre-altering story resolution had me genuinely giggling with delight. If you have an hour and a half to spare and you like some dark psychological themes and exploration into human nature, this isn't a bad way to waste your time. If it was out of 10, it would be a solid 6.5. This all being said, there is absolutely no commentary on incarceration beyond "people in charge treat incarcerated people bad". If you're looking for a nuanced political position, this is not the movie to find it. It's a white guy as the main imprisoned protag and the only dark skinned black incarcerated person in the movie is one-dimensional and a janitor. So like... ehhhhhh....