Spectra Film Review: THE BELKO EXPERIMENT

Blumhouse.+Rated%3A+R.+88+minutes.+Directed+by+Greg+McLean+

Blumhouse. Rated: R. 88 minutes. Directed by Greg McLean

“The Belko Experiment” is the latest shock-wave to come out of the Blumhouse warehouse, a film that is chopped full of malicious carnage and mayhem, but lacks substance to subdue the after effects. On the outskirts of Columbia there is a tall industrialized building that houses 80 employees for the Belko Corporation. Mostly happy go-lucky workers – made up of, John Gallagher Jr, Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, and John C. McGinley – that get a rude awakening when a loud voice comes over an intercom stating they have two hours to kill 30 people or 60 people die. At first, it seems like a joke, but a micro-tracking chip that was implemented inside all their heads upon their employment is not – and it explodes, blowing their heads off, on cue if the employees don’t comply. A spooky situation that begins to test the boundaries of all inside the confines of the office cubicles. What remains is a vicious bloodbath that makes “The Hunger Games” look like playtime. People get axes to the face, their arms chopped off, and bullets to the chest. You would think writer James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) and director Greg McLean (“Wolf Creek”) would stop and give a break between the massacre – but they don’t. Sometimes, relentless isn’t always the answer, and giving the audience something to chew on, rather than just meticulous violence that serves no purpose is. I suppose I must give style points for some gnarly on screen mutilations, but when you find out the crux of this experiment, nothing really changes for the better. Now that’s a shot in the foot. B-