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.

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

"Superhero" films are a dime a dozen, and the genre has grown so stale and life-less as to be a modern caricature of their former glory. This film takes a wholly unique approach to the "human with special powers" angle, and really runs with it. While being an entertaining film that will hold your interest for its entire run-time, it could have used so much more TLC in order to make it a classic in the sub-genre.

I knew this film was going to be interesting after the first power was "introduced". It was shocking, and came out of nowhere, and really sets the stage for the rest of the film. The SFX is low budget, and very poorly done in some instances, and the acting is disjointed and all over the place. Some actors are good, while others (like "Jizz") should never appear in a film ever again. The story is unique, with plenty of twists and turns, and the run time of one hour and 11 minutes makes it an easy watch, although not all of the pertinent questions are answered in the end.

Overall, this film varies too much in all departments to be given a proper score. The acting ranges from B-grade to less than F, as do the special effects, and the script. Ultimately, it's a very unbalanced film that does a lot of things well, but ruins it by doing so many things so unbelievably poorly, it's literally laughable. Had it been more consistent, it would have really been something special. But a low budget does not excuse such an unbalanced end result.

With more time, a better script, a more talented cast, and a better SFX budget, this film would have been a classic. As it stands, it's just another entertaining side dish to meatier and better made films. A solid C effort, especially considering the subject matter.

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,

This was an amazing low budget film!!

No big name actors but decent acting from the cast. The story was interesting. It moves right along with little to no unnecessary side scenes. The set was decent. The effects, for the most part, in my opinion, were nicely executed and avoided moments of super chessiness. My only problem was the sound. It may have just been the video I was viewing but the audio to picture sync fell apart halfway through the film.

I would recommend this. Check it out.

.....One other thing, one of the male characters sounded EXACTLY like Matthew McConaughey!!