The Subjects

First off. This is my first review. I've been an IMDb member since 2006, and the main reason (besides laziness) for not writing a review earlier, has been the language barrier. I'm Swedish, and my English vocabulary is somewhat limited.

The reason why I chose to review this movie isn't because it's so good that it changed my religion, nor so bad it made me change my underwear. It's just because of the obvious studio-affiliated reviews. We really need honest reviews here on IMDb- or else the site will eventually implode, by studios applauding themselves.

Right. Now the review.

It's the basic "diverse group of people stuck in a room" concept. This time, the twist is that they're a focus group, trying out a pill. It soon becomes apparent that the pill gives the group different superpowers.

The actors are OK. Some more annoying than others. The archetypes are all there. But hey. What fun is a room full of like minded people, right? So I'll let that one slide. The script is the weakest point. The movie is short, clocking in at roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes- but they were clearly struggling to fill that little time. The godawful "debate" about whether to take the pill or not, at the very beginning of the movie is a prime example of that.

So it's not aces. It's not groundbreaking. It's not even very original although it tries so hard to be. But. Was i bored watching it? Nope. It was OK for the duration. It was OK for what it was.

So if you like the setup- group stuck in room, or like seeing superpowers emerging in regular people, then yeah. This will be OK for a Sunday afternoon. Don't worry too much about some characters that seem to have the superpower to be super annoying- because thankfully this movie has a high body count.

So in summary: -some annoying characters -Weak dialogue -Low budget special effects -Entertaining story (if you like superheroes/villains) -Doesn't take itself too serious (the end credits makes this abundantly clear)

As a superpowers fan, I rate The Subjects 6/10.

The Subjects has a good plot line, filled with humour as well as interesting concepts and drama. Although the movie is clearly not produced by a company with heaps of money, the film still offers viewers an intriguing take on superpowers in an exciting manner. The actors in the movie engaged me, and made me believe what the movie was about; which after all is the role of a good actor. Particularly I think Charlotte Nicdao was a highlight, as she makes her character easy to identify with. Particularly considering the hipster-crowd which generally populate the indie films. Overall I think the movie was a great example of films created by indie film makers, and should be seen by all :)

The movie in and of itself is just OK and nothing special or out of the ordinary. It's touted as a movie about people with "super powers" and the truth of the matter is it has nothing to do with that at all. Just because a person has a weird ability out of the ordinary that has no benefit for mankind is not a super power. It's just that, an odd useless ability.

The script is a mess and full of holes. It leaves too many unanswered questions and there is very little character development. But what can you expect from a movie that is barely over an hour..?

The quality of the special effects were about par with the budget: nothing special. The acting seemed forced and some of the lines were actually kind of funny.

You may like it if you don't mind movies of what I've described above, otherwise you won't be impressed.

There are those who make movies and those who watch movies.

In the former group, there is a mission, a Holy Grail of moviedom if you like, to attempt to make the best movie you can with the least resources.

Imagine a movie done in on a single set with a half dozen or so unknown actors ... minimal resources ... could you make it work? Director/Writer Mond gave it a try with THE SUBJECTS and this reviewer thinks he succeeded.

The gold standard for these sorts of films -- there have been dozens -- is THE CUBE, a Canadian film done in 1999.

To make these films work you need good acting, yes, but above all you need a killer script, a script that just keeps the attention of the viewer. Keeps you glued.

I think THE SUBJECTS has such a script. I recommend the film and hope it gets the following it deserves.

And for those sincere reviewers who keep insisting this is some sort of "anti-superhero" flick, a riff off our modern obsession with superpowers, some kind of "message movie," you are missing the point entirely,

So I'm a little disappointed that studios feel like us IMDb users are so stupid that we would fall for reviews that are made by people who just joined IMDb and only have 1 review of said material. Please stop!

That being said, this movie wasn't too awfully bad. Yes there are a few poorly acted scenes (British guy being the worst offender) and some scenes that were unnecessary (the debate over whether to take the pill), but I still have to say that I was entertained throughout.

The movie really takes off after the first person has the first reaction to the pill (burp). While the CGI was definitely sub-par, it got the job done and I didn't laugh too much about it. We've all seen worse, believe me. Once the movie gets going it's a wild ride all the way through to the end. I do not feel anyone would be wasting their time seeing it; especially Sci-Fi/Superhero movie fans.

In conclusion, while the movie does reach the "cheesy" level quite a few times, I was left smiling and would actually recommend it to my geek friends. Totally worth a rent!

6/10