The Experiment

2001 · 120 min · DE · 7.4 (1,284 votes)

Dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel · Starring Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Justus von Dohnányi, Maren Eggert, Edgar Selge, Andrea Sawatzki · Music Alexander Bubenheim

“You are invited to participate”

DramaThriller

20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.

VIBE

A chilling descent into the heart of human darkness, this slow-burn psychological thriller is a visceral exploration of power and control. It's a dread-soaked, unsettling experience that meticulously dissects the brutal potential within us all, leaving a lasting, disturbing impression.

dread-soakeddisturbingintensepsychologicalbrutalunsettlingslow-burngritty realismclaustrophobic thrillerpsychological dramapower dynamicshuman crueltypsychological breakdownauthoritarianismmoral corruption

prisonjournalistrapeprisonerexperimentbased on novel or bookauthorityprison cellblackboxscientific studyaggressiontest personimprisonmentmanipulationtorturehumiliationangryabsurd