Circle

This is a fairly simple movie, a bunch of people wake up in a strange room and are rapidly picked off one by one. However the kicker is that they get to vote off who dies next. I really enjoyed this, it felt like a reality show from hell.

The film gets going almost right away, there isn't really any build up or character development before people start dying. As the group gets smaller we slowly start to get to know some of the characters, but no one main character is ever really determined. I like that they did this, it made it so it was pretty unpredictable as to who would die next. The film is also pretty heavy on dialogue, I am pretty surprised that they were able to find a fairly unknown cast that was able to pull this off well. The majority of the characters are believable and deliver solid performances.

There are a few negatives that are worth mentioning though. One is that some of the kills were too random, it's pretty much like "Why would they randomly kill that person when they could have easily killed the person who is clearly giving them a reason to do so?" Not a huge complaint but just kind of took away from the film in my opinion. Also the ending was a bit stale, not so much to ruin the movie but wasn't exactly the payoff I was hoping for.

Overall this is a very entertaining film, it held my attention throughout and actually had me on the edge of my seat a few times. If you enjoyed films like Saw and Cube I would definitely suggest checking this out.

7/10

Held captive and faced with their imminent executions, fifty strangers are forced to choose the one person among them who deserves to live.

Before getting too far into the film, I was reminded of "12 Angry Men". Looking into it a bit more, it is not surprising to find that this was, in fact, the primary inspiration. Something of a modern take on how we judge other people.

As a horror or science fiction film, the material is pretty light. But as social commentary, the film is strong. A bit heavy-handed, maybe, or in some ways too obvious in its stereotypes, but still clever just the same. We are left to wonder if humanity was in such a situation, who would survive? (The film actually suggests an answer, but let us not get into the spoilers!)

First 3/4 of movie were pretty good even if it was somewhat flawed but nether the less kept me entertained. However the movies ending was rushed and poorly executed and raised more questions than it answered and left you thinking " Really is that it" but overall it is still a fun and tension filled movie.

Watching it felt like being robbed of my precious time. The dialogs and human interactions were meant to be good, but the acting is terrible. I hoped the 86 minutes will be payed-off with a theatrical ending. Unfortunately they did not and the gran-finale was something I've expected after the first 5-10 minutes. I would rather recommend the movie Exam (2009) or... The Cube (1997) if you don't mind some gore scenes.

Eerie? Yes. Smart? Kind of, yes. Interesting? Also, yes. Worth an oscar? No, definitely no. Worth your time? Maybe, if you are into weird movies like "the cube". 50 people in a circle, don't know how they got there and every 2 minutes someone gets zapped and dies. Talking seems to be the only way to get through this... So this sounds interesting and it actually is. It will keep your eyes and ears awake and luckily its not a long film, so it never becomes dull. If you are having a movie night and plan to watch 3 movies, then watch this one in the middle. 6/10