The Facility (2012)

"The Facility" has an eerie suspense in it, at least during the first half. Barnard, Coleman, Reid, Roberts et al are all capable performers and deserve much better scripts. Unfortunately I was able to see the direction the film was going by the time the first three "victims" had isolated themselves and gone bonkers as a result of the "pro-nine" drug they had been administered. It culminates in little more than a bloody mess, and a few brief follow-ups to signal that the 80-minute film is over - apparently it's based on an actual occurrence. I had been hoping for more of the eeriness, for example: when Katie discovers that Adam (Barnard) is actually one of the controls. The concept of people lured to a remote facility in order to earn money and finding out that they are being systematically tortured and left to their own devices is nothing new, but I thought that the first half-hour or so was very well done and suspenseful. Barnard is probably a star in the UK and is very expressive. He was also starred in "Citadel," which is even worse - louder and even less coherent and more gory than this ultimately disappointing thriller.

There was a very solid acting group here. Which I think is what draws you in from the beginning. But actors can only work with what they are given. Here it isn't much. You should recognize a familiar face in one of the actors as he just played a very decent agoraphobic father bent on saving his daughter. But there are too many moments in this film that leave you scratching your head and wondering "What? Why did this just happen?" Or worse, "Why didn't this just happen?" Those to questions haunt you through the film until it becomes a race to see if you can stand watching until the end. Honestly it was a good production team coupled with a great acting team wasted on a story that just wasn't there. I guess if you are one of those people that are literally obsessed with medical horror maybe. But even that is a stretch. Avoid this film but check out what else the cast has done. Because I can tell you it is better than this film.

The story is almost a cliché of many preceded movies. The paradigm of getting rid of a group one by one has been used excessively. Blood scenes were made with good taste without having violence that we used to see as a stereotype of this category.Disconnecting the internet and phones were an exaggerating idea since patients had access to the whole facility. Also the feasibility of leaving the facility but insisting on staying at it were unbelievable. Last, but not least, the medical background of volunteers is questionable. It requires lots of knowledge even for physicians to be aware of all that.The ending was good, but the whole experience was below satisfaction.

Seven people arrive at a remote clinic where they have volunteered to be guinea pigs for a new drug. They think it will be an easy ride but it turns out there are unexpected horrendous side-effects. The guinea pigs turn into homicidal lunatics.Featuring Aneurin Barnard who recently starred as David Bailey in We'll Take Manhattan, this is a picture that you cannot say doesn't do what you expect. I think that's the problem though. There isn't really anything unexpected in this flick, which wouldn't really matter but for the fact that a feature set solely in a clinic needs to bring something different to the table to stave off tedium. Guinea Pigs reminded me of last year's Stormhouse, which was another low-budget British horror film set within the confines of a secure building. That one was a military bunker and the threat was supernatural but the problems were the same, i.e. a lack of variety and a dull set-up. I can see how the limited sets allow for a cheap production with not much cost on set-design but the writers really need to be a bit more imaginative to make up for this. On the plus side, it's a movie that doesn't over-stay its welcome as it is pretty short. Brevity is a good thing. But, unfortunately, this one is a bit mediocre otherwise.