Gallery Review Room

• Actors: Madison Charap, Troy Taylor, Ryan Larson, Paul James Palmer, Tim Baldini
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) / Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
• Rated PG-13. Run Time: 79 minutes.

Inspired by a famous 1971 psychological experiment, Oliver Hirschbiegel's German-language movie The Experiment finds a group of 20 volunteers randomly divided into 12 prisoners and eight guards and asked to play out their roles for a fortnight while scientists study their reactions. A conflict arises between undercover reporter Fahd (Moritz Bleibtreu), a con with a hidden agenda, and the apparently mild-mannered Berus (Justus von Dohnanyi), a guard with a megalomaniac streak. The film begins as a psychological drama as ordinary people settle into the game, with jok! ing displays of resistance by the "prisoners" greeted with increasing brutality from the "guards," but detours into suspense and horror as Fahd, who needs the experiment to get out of hand in order to make his story more saleable, deliberately ratchets up the tension between the factions only to see the situation spiral nightmarishly out of control as various test subjects in both camps edge closer to snapping.

With a terrific display of ensemble acting and unforced use of the popular claustrophobic semi-documentary look, Hirschbiegel's movie takes its time to get underway, with apparently irrelevant cutaways to Fahd's outside girlfriend (Maren Eggert), but works up to a powerful second half that delivers a sustained symphony of psychological and physical anguish. --Kim NewmanOscar® winners Adrien Brody (Best Actor, The Piano, 2002) and Forest Whitaker (Best Actor, The Last King of Scotland, 2006) star in this mind-shattering psychological thrille! r from the creator of TV’s Prison Break. Selected to ! particip ate in a two-week research project, a group of men agree to play inmates and guards in a simulation of life within a state prison. But as the 24 volunteers slip deeper into their roles, power corrupts, fears escalate and the experiment spins horribly out of control. Cam Gigandet (Twilight), Clifton Collins Jr. (Crank: High Voltage) and Maggie Grace (TV’s Lost) co-star in this intensely shocking film. Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker star as ordinary men who find themselves transformed by strange circumstances in The Experiment. Tempted by a large paycheck, 26 men agree to be divided into prisoners and guards and placed in a mock prison for two weeks--but within a matter of days, these seemingly sane men have turned the mock prison into a sadistic pressure cooker. The Experiment is in part a remake of a German film, Das Experiment, which was inspired by a psychology experiment conducted at Stanford University in 1971--an experiment! sometimes cited as demonstrating an innate human capacity for sadism. But despite a strong cast--in addition to solid work from Brody and Whitaker, Clifton Collins Jr. (Capote) gives a typically strong performance--and some delving into several characters' back-stories, The Experiment never quite grabs hold. Still, there are compelling sequences and a creepily effective use of infrared cinematography. Also featuring Maggie Grace (Lost), Ethan Cohn (Gilmore Girls), Cam Gigandet (Twilight), and Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit). Directed by Paul Scheuring, the creator of Prison Break. --Bret FetzerInspired by a famous 1971 psychological experiment, Oliver Hirschbiegel's German-language movie The Experiment finds a group of 20 volunteers randomly divided into 12 prisoners and eight guards and asked to play out their roles for a fortnight while scientists study their reactions. A conflict arises between undercover rep! orter Fahd (Moritz Bleibtreu), a con with a hidden agenda, and! the app arently mild-mannered Berus (Justus von Dohnanyi), a guard with a megalomaniac streak. The film begins as a psychological drama as ordinary people settle into the game, with joking displays of resistance by the "prisoners" greeted with increasing brutality from the "guards," but detours into suspense and horror as Fahd, who needs the experiment to get out of hand in order to make his story more saleable, deliberately ratchets up the tension between the factions only to see the situation spiral nightmarishly out of control as various test subjects in both camps edge closer to snapping.

With a terrific display of ensemble acting and unforced use of the popular claustrophobic semi-documentary look, Hirschbiegel's movie takes its time to get underway, with apparently irrelevant cutaways to Fahd's outside girlfriend (Maren Eggert), but works up to a powerful second half that delivers a sustained symphony of psychological and physical anguish. --Kim NewmanInspired by a! famous 1971 psychological experiment, Oliver Hirschbiegel's German-language movie The Experiment finds a group of 20 volunteers randomly divided into 12 prisoners and eight guards and asked to play out their roles for a fortnight while scientists study their reactions. A conflict arises between undercover reporter Fahd (Moritz Bleibtreu), a con with a hidden agenda, and the apparently mild-mannered Berus (Justus von Dohnanyi), a guard with a megalomaniac streak. The film begins as a psychological drama as ordinary people settle into the game, with joking displays of resistance by the "prisoners" greeted with increasing brutality from the "guards," but detours into suspense and horror as Fahd, who needs the experiment to get out of hand in order to make his story more saleable, deliberately ratchets up the tension between the factions only to see the situation spiral nightmarishly out of control as various test subjects in both camps edge closer to snapping.

Wit! h a terrific display of ensemble acting and unforced use of th! e popula r claustrophobic semi-documentary look, Hirschbiegel's movie takes its time to get underway, with apparently irrelevant cutaways to Fahd's outside girlfriend (Maren Eggert), but works up to a powerful second half that delivers a sustained symphony of psychological and physical anguish. --Kim NewmanUnited Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The movie is based on the infamous "Stanford Prison Experiment" conducted in 1971. A makeshift prison is set up in a research lab, complete with cells, bars and surveillance cameras. For two weeks 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards. The 'prisoners' are locked up and have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the 'guards' are told simply to retain! order without using physical violence. Everybody is free to quit at any time, thereby forfeiting payment. In the beginning the mood between both groups is insecure and rather emphatic. But soon quarrels arise and the wardens employ ever more drastic sanctions to confirm their authority. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: European Film Awards, Fantasporto Awards, ...The Experiment ( Das Experiment ) ( Black Box )United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The movie is based on the infamous "Stanford Prison Experiment" conducted in 1971. A makeshift prison is set up in a research lab, complete with cells, bars and surveillance cameras. For two weeks 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards. The 'prisoners' ! are locked up and have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the! 'guards ' are told simply to retain order without using physical violence. Everybody is free to quit at any time, thereby forfeiting payment. In the beginning the mood between both groups is insecure and rather emphatic. But soon quarrels arise and the wardens employ ever more drastic sanctions to confirm their authority. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: European Film Awards, Fantasporto Awards, ...The Experiment ( Das Experiment ) ( Black Box )Ihr Name ist Maximum Ride, kurz Max. Doch Max ist nicht nur ein Mensch. Zwei Prozent ihrer Gene sind die eines Vogels. Man hat sie ihr vor der Geburt in einem geheimen Forschungslabor eingepflanzt, ebenso wie ihren fünf Geschwistern. Siesind Vogelmenschen. Doch nun sind sie geflohen und werden gnadenlos gejagt. Sie müssen um ihr Überleben kämpfen, während sie zugleich alles daransetzen, das Rätsel ihrer Herkunft zu lösen. Doch ist ihre Flucht vielleicht ein Teil desgrausamen Experiments? "Patterson [...] ist der erfolgreichste Autor unserer Zeit."! Die ZeitIhr Name ist Maximum Ride, kurz Max. Doch Max ist nicht nur ein Mensch. Zwei Prozent ihrer Gene sind die eines Vogels. Man hat sie ihr vor der Geburt in einem geheimen Forschungslabor eingepflanzt, ebenso wie ihren fünf Geschwistern. Siesind Vogelmenschen. Doch nun sind sie geflohen und werden gnadenlos gejagt. Sie müssen um ihr Überleben kämpfen, während sie zugleich alles daransetzen, das Rätsel ihrer Herkunft zu lösen. Doch ist ihre Flucht vielleicht ein Teil desgrausamen Experiments? "Patterson [...] ist der erfolgreichste Autor unserer Zeit." Die ZeitAs of June 2000, experts had documented two hundred twenty five haunted houses in the United States. Almost half can be found... in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

Deep in the heart of the south, at the end of a long, dark road, stands a very old house... shrouded in mystery and veiled in secrets. When the door opens, you will be sent back by the stench of death. On dark stormy nights, you can hear a yo! ung girl screaming in the courtyard. You always heard the rumo! rs, but you never knew if they were true.

Now, four strangers will spend an entire night in that very house. What you will hear is true. What you will see is real. What you will feel is absolute terror.