ICanNeverThinkOfAGoodUsername This is a difficult film for me to review. I've never seen the original film that this is based on, so I can't comment on that. However, I have studied Reicher and Haslam's prison experiment in depth and know quite a lot about Zimbardo's study.Without any prior knowledge about any of the above. 'd rate it average. You don't particularly gain anything from watching this film. You just learn that everyone is capable of pretty much anything given the circumstances.This film is different to other films... It's interesting how money motivates them. All of them are free to leave at any point so that is never the issue unlike other films. But all of them need to stay because they all need the money.In terms of Reicher and Haslam and Zimbardo... It's interesting to see how the film makers have put the film together. One person taking charge and everyone listening even if they disagree. People being pushed to extremes.I've studied Zimbardo and Reicher and Haslam... So I know all of this. This isn't something I've learnt specifically from the film.The film itself has a clear meaning - people are capable of anything. I want to rate this film more... But it's not really that good. Maybe other people who haven't studied Psychology will find this film much better. For me, I didn't find this film anything new...Spoilers ahead!1. The prisoners were violent before, why did the red alarm not go off? 2. The researchers let someone die!3. Why did we never see the researchers?4. Why didn't we get any real backlog on the prisoners?

demo_derby_55 I thought this was a alright movie actually. I have just watched it again in fact. you have 2 main actors Adrian which is a prisoner and Forest which is a guard. they started out as friends in the beginning but turned enemies cause one got put on the guard side and the other a prisoner. Forest turned into the leader of the guards and Adrian the leader of the prisoners. I would have to say there was a couple weird spots where Forest pee's on Adrian and stuffs his head in the toilet but other then that the acting was great and I would have to say it was way better then the original. Thanks

lord woodburry This film is based loosely on (a) US sponsored psychological experiment in which a prominent psychiatrist ran amok creating a prison in the basement of a noted liberal University. It follows in the steps of a German film Das Experiment (2001), highlighting lack of originality in the US theatre.Very different from from the real life experiment in which the participants, recruited from students between semesters received rather chincy emoluments, the movie version claims that the test subjects, were offered stupendous incentives for their collaboration.The film correctly states that volunteers were assigned roles and that as the experiment went on the participants fell into the roles that were given them. Like the German film, the experiment devolves into ever increasing dosages of violence.In the US version, the feel good ending is even better than the German version. Travis (Adrien Brody) one of the prisoners has such a will to resist the torture and degradation that he busts out. Everyone follows him and they all receive their handsome checks.In real life, there was no busting out but there was some busting back in. Some who had under intimidation quit the experiment returned and applied to be re-instated. They had formed a camaraderie with the others in the project and wanted to see it through.In the film version the consequences for the authors of this fiendish experiment was severe. In an investigation that follows, the mad scientist, a rather small and squat gnomish sort behind the experiment, is indicted.In real life nothing of the kind occurred. Jocularly speaking of the escapade a quarter century later, the real life psychiatrist hosted a US sponsored college course on psychology.

stevekguy Somebody recommended this film to me. The 'straight to DVD' release should have rung alarm bells...What you have here is a really promising premise for a psychological, edgy drama and two great actors. This should have been so much better.The holes in the plot are so big you could drive the bus through them.The guards are told that if they use violence the experiment will end without them being paid. We are never told why after several sickening assaults this rule is not being enforced. Even after the guards' ringleader has clearly lost the plot, twenty men walk meekly back to their cells and do nothing (even the token 'previously convicted hard-case'). Apparently, you can grab a knife by the blade without cutting your hand at all! The script could have been written by schoolboys (actually, they may have done better). There should have been some real exploration of the psychology of the situation. Instead, the violence and depravity escalates with out any believability, while the characters remain stubbornly two dimensional.