The plot is relatively good. In fact, I can't say that I did not enjoy the film. It was, however, predictable. The film falls victim to the same pitfalls as "House of 9," and "The Belko Experiment." It is a good film in that vein.
Dr. Kasuma's character is manifestly sociopathic. You can tell that she is lying, the only question is how much. Her game is openly sadistic, however, and it's left ambiguous on what happens outside that room.
Ultimately, however, this otherwise good plot falls victim to a few tropes that, on their own, are excellent, but are misused here. Without spoiling the plotline, one begins to wonder if Kasuma is actually intending to keep her word, what lies on the other side of the door, and what really happens to the family members.
Without spoiling the ending too much, the film suffers from an overdose of good tropes: Lights off, Somebody Dies; Real Time; Race Against the Clock; and a few others. Ultimately, though, these tropes don't save the movie. They poison it like the gas that kills.
The ending does a good job of setting up a sort of schadenfreude, even incorporating some comedic elements in the last few seconds.
However, the film wastes its character development by killing the more interesting characters first, it kills the mystery of the lights going out by having it known in advance who, if any, will be the killer, etc. The results of the experiment: that if you make a movie with under-developed characters, and have too much narm, and spare the gore, you lose all the benefits of Saw, House of 9, and the other movies that you try to emulate.
If you just want to kill an hour and 20 before bed, watch, If not, look for one of the other movies I mentioned in the review.
Dr. Kasuma's character is manifestly sociopathic. You can tell that she is lying, the only question is how much. Her game is openly sadistic, however, and it's left ambiguous on what happens outside that room.
Ultimately, however, this otherwise good plot falls victim to a few tropes that, on their own, are excellent, but are misused here. Without spoiling the plotline, one begins to wonder if Kasuma is actually intending to keep her word, what lies on the other side of the door, and what really happens to the family members.
Without spoiling the ending too much, the film suffers from an overdose of good tropes: Lights off, Somebody Dies; Real Time; Race Against the Clock; and a few others. Ultimately, though, these tropes don't save the movie. They poison it like the gas that kills.
The ending does a good job of setting up a sort of schadenfreude, even incorporating some comedic elements in the last few seconds.
However, the film wastes its character development by killing the more interesting characters first, it kills the mystery of the lights going out by having it known in advance who, if any, will be the killer, etc. The results of the experiment: that if you make a movie with under-developed characters, and have too much narm, and spare the gore, you lose all the benefits of Saw, House of 9, and the other movies that you try to emulate.
If you just want to kill an hour and 20 before bed, watch, If not, look for one of the other movies I mentioned in the review.