Film Review | Spiderhead (2022)

Steve Abnesti (played by Chris Hemsworth) is the head of the facility and is in charge of conducting a series of drug tests on these inmates, to test their efficacy before they are released into the market. These drugs are chemicals that can be used to manipulate human emotions and behaviour. One of the inmates, Jeff (played by Miles Teller) is one of the primary testers.

Before administering the mood-altering substances, Abnesti requires his subjects to verbally utter the word 'acknowledge' before he does. These drugs force the inmates into compromising circumstances after Abnesti manipulates them. With Jeff's consent, when another inmate is administered a dose of the lethal Darkenfloxx that results in her death, he discovers that Abnesti does not have the inmates' interests at heart. Spiderhead is not all it pretends to be.

Review

The plot of this film is not bad —a futuristic setting where the populace can be controlled with the aid of certain drugs is scary yet fascinating. I wouldn't want to live this reality but watching it is tolerable. It begs the question of whether this is what some prisoners go through or some version similar to this.

I think this film's focus (and probably Abnesti's) is to better understand what drives certain human behaviour and how they can be manipulated into full obedience. The experiments—which become more and more manipulative—rather than yield the wanted results became a death trap. As I said, the plot is good and it begs for more action but we don't see it in the one hour, and forty-seven minutes of the viewing time.

It's initially interesting to see Hemsworth play a character that is manipulative because viewers are used to seeing him play the role of a mythical god of Asgard. I think he played the role of a cunny and manipulative scientist very well. His performance and that of Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett were impressive. They saved Spiderhead from being a total flop.

The cinematography, lighting and visuals were quite good and on point.

I had high expectations for this film given its impressive pedigree with direction by Joseph Kosinski, the mastermind behind Top Gun Maverick and screenplay by the talented duo behind the Deadpool films, and a star-studded cast of Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett. Despite these elements, I was ultimately left wanting more.

While I don't dislike the film, it fails to deliver on the potential for a dark and captivating twist that it had initially set up. The result is a rather unremarkable and forgettable movie experience. It's not a complete waste of time, but don't expect it to bring about a groundbreaking change in the sci-fi genre.

Despite the best efforts of Chris Hemsworth's magnetic personality and Miles Teller's powerful acting, the movie falls short and fails to capture the audience's attention due to its lack of excitement.

Overall, it is worth watching and those looking for a heart-pumping thriller may be let down if they have high expectations.

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^{Other images are screenshots from the movie}