The Story: A remake of Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2001 film Das Experiment based on the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment , 26 men are chosen to act the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study. Values are tested and lines are crossed when seemingly normal participants are pushed to the breaking point as the experiment spirals out of control.
Travis (Adrien Brody), a pacifist who just recently lost his job working at a retirement home. His girlfriend, Bay (Maggie Grace), is traveling to India for some good will work, giving Travis more of an incentive to find money fast on top of paying the rent. When a vague newspaper ad offers $10,000 to be part of a two-week research study, Travis leaps at the opportunity.
He's not alone in this. A timid, devout Catholic named Barris (Forest Whitaker) still lives with his mother and is taking part in this experiment to help pay for her recent hospital treatments. They and the other participants arrive at a prison furnished just for them and are given strict guidelines about how the experiment will work. Split into two groups, prisoners and wardens, they're warned that any failure to follow rules and keep order will result in termination of the whole project, and no one will receive their wages. As they spend more and more time in their location, the volunteers begin to slip into their roles a little too convincingly.
Starring:
Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Cam Gigandet, Ethan Cohn, Clifton Collins Jr., Jason Lew, David Banner, Maggie Grace
Directed By:
Paul Scheuring
Release:
2010
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