Aquarium

surprised to see no ones discussing this on the forums or there isn't already a user comment. i got this on netflix after first finding it in a record store but i didn't buy it. it sounded cool. it kind of reminded me of cube or saw, six strangers wake up in a white room with no exit or memory of how or why they are there. all the while under a surveillance camera, they are told to participate in group activities almost like they're on 'Big Brother' and these are their challenges, only if they refuse to participate, sabotage, or lose a challenge/activity they will be executed and removed from the room. if a person survives all challenges, they will be released. one by one the prisoners are offed. more of a long episode of the twilight zone than a decent movie like cube or saw. its only an hour and ten minutes. evil game of simon says, Russian roulette. it all had me until the end, which tries to explain and justify everything but just seems "tacked on", as a netflix user b-independent.co puts it. it would have been better to just leave it a mystery. but still worth seeing, if you dig this type of genre.

Six strangers awake in a strange sealed off room. A surveillance camera constantly watches them, while, via a speaker, someone relays instructions to them. They are left in no uncertain terms that only one of them will survive this ordeal.

Aquarium is a pretty decent attempt at ultra low budget film-making. It's fairly compelling and intriguing, and makes the most of its limited setting. However, it does feel as if not enough was made of this basic premise. The characters never even discuss their last memories before they arrived in this situation, while the psychological games played upon the participants are never developed enough and mostly feel quite rushed. It really feels like a short movie stretched – just – to feature length. Its too under-played, it would have been better adopting the more in-your-face approach of the film it is most mimicking, Saw.

Still, I didn't think this was a bad film, just one that could've been much better.