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[TIFF Review] ‘The Belko Experiment’ is a Cocktail of Murder and Laughs!

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If there was one film purposefully designed for Midnight Madness, it might just be The Belko Experiment. Equal parts The Cabin in the Woods and Battle Royale, the “kill your co-worker” flick is tailor-made for horror audiences looking for a rocking good time.

Written by James Gunn and directed by Australian director Greg McLean, The Belko Experiment concerns a murderous experiment at the secluded Belko company building in Bogota, Colombia. The film opens as the local employees are turned away by a new security team outside of the compound, but no one notices anything strange until a threatening announcement over the PA system demands that two employees are killed in the next thirty minutes. The building then immediately goes into full- lockdown and panic begins to set in. Despite the protests that it is only a joke from COO Barry Norris (Tony Goldwyn, smarmy as ever), attitudes change when time expires and four peoples’ heads explode. From there the tension and violence escalate through the two remaining phases of the experiment as co-workers, friends and lovers turn on each other in order to survive.

The combination of Gunn and McLean is a marriage made in heaven for horror fans. Gunn’s script is clever, moves quickly and, most importantly, is funny enough to balance out the morally depraved behaviour of the characters. McLean, the director best known for the sweeping Australian landscapes of Wolf Creek and Rogue, proves surprisingly adept at reinforcing the claustrophobic enclosures of the Belko building. One standout scene occurs at the end of the second phase when 30 murders are demanded by the disembodied voice or 60 will be executed at random. Naturally the request divides the group: most want to find an alternative such as hanging signs off the roof, but a small contingency rationalizes that killing 30 will buy the survivors more time. Things come to a head when the smaller, more powerful group (including a deranged John C. McGinley and a remorseful Owain Yeoman) take control. McLean stages the ensuing conflict masterfully, ratcheting up the tension as victims are divided into groups, then plucked randomly from the crowd of cowering employees. Just as the antagonists begin to execute the row of kneeling victims, the room is plunged into darkness, prompting everyone to scatter. The only light comes from the gunfire as Mclean cuts from hallways, to the cafeteria, to stairwells as people are brutally massacred. It’s a frantic, dizzying bloodbath that kicks the film into high gear through to its conclusion.

One of The Belko Experiment’s greatest assets is its cast, which is populated with genre vets and character actors. Although nearly all of the roles are tropes (hero and heroine, plus the new employee, the gay, the stoner, the psycho, etc) the film never feels reductive. Gunn’s script follows some familiar beats, but the humour keep things fresh and several of the deaths are legitimately surprising. A favourite goes out early and one late in the film death was so unexpected that the audience groaned with disappointment and surprise. One small complaint it is that The Belko Experiment relies too heavily on gun battles to winnow down the ranks, especially heading into the finale. Considering that the setting naturally provides a variety of office-related weapons, several of which – including a tape dispenser, metal rebars in the basement and a moving elevator – deliver some of the most creative deaths of the film, the reliance on guns is mildly disappointing.

Still, it’s a small gripe for such a rollicking crowd-pleaser. Conventional audiences may grapple with the dark view of humanity that the film adopts, but Gunn’s script ensures the film never reaches the grim darkness of, say, Xavier Gens’ The Divide. Horror fans, the film’s obvious intended audience, on the other hand, will find plenty to cheer about in this near perfect cocktail of murder and laughs. It’s one hell of a ride.

[Related] All Toronto International Film Festival coverage on Bloody Disgusting

The Belko Experiment

Joe is a TV addict with a background in Film Studies. He co-created TV/Film Fest blog QueerHorrorMovies and writes for Bloody Disgusting, Anatomy of a Scream, That Shelf, The Spool and Grim Magazine. He enjoys graphic novels, dark beer and plays multiple sports (adequately, never exceptionally). While he loves all horror, if given a choice, Joe always opts for slashers and creature features.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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