Experiment (2005)

A reasonably good start that obscures a really stupid and lame plot, as soon as it starts explaining it you think "can't be serious, can't be SOOOOO absurd!" The story does not stand up a child's mind, the acting is horrendous, the dialog almost non existent, the localization really cheap... the only achievement is to show Prague as a really ugly city, something not so easy.Really, paying to see this crap seems to be a really nasty way to lose money.For me, the only possible explanation for all that positive comments is that the people involved in the making of the movie are trying to improve its ratings. Incredible.

I saw the promo DVD of this movie - it's not actually had any kind of showing outside of the festival circuit that I'm aware of. It's a pretty impressive outing - building up a strong atmosphere with intense performances that convey the dread of waking up as an amnesiac in a strange foreign city.The story features a family torn apart and transplanted to Prague, pawns in a shadowy mind control experiment. The mechanics of this process and the assassination plot that lies behind it, become subsidiary to the trials of the two leads to piece together their shattering experience. Can love overcome the naked exercise of power? One thing that the script does really well is to continually build up hope that it might...(all pretty Kafka-esquire really - must be a Prague thing).

The lowdown: The recipient of various festival awards, this classy British indie flick has yet to be made commercially available, but it's clearly only a matter of time. Best described as a hard thriller with elements of horror and sci-fi, it sees Anna (Georgina French) waking up in a foreign city. She has no idea who she is, or what she's meant to be doing. Should it be any consolation that there's a guy in town, Morgan (John Hopkins), who's suffering the same problems? As the film's title suggests, the reasons behind their plight are somewhat more sinister than having done a load of tequila shots the night before.Good points: Shot in Prague using the latest High Definition technology, Experiment looks great - especially given its low budget of $250,000. Setting the story in a foreign city cleverly emphasises the main characters' sense of isolation and confusion, and it's a bold move to include a great deal of on screen English subtitles in the first act. The cast attack their roles with considerable energy, except for David Gant as evil mastermind Walker, who achieves brilliant things by speakkkking verrrry slowwwwwly. Pure malevolence.Starting off at a fairly leisurely pace, while throwing in the odd deftly-timed jump to ensure you aren't sitting too comfortably (look out for the one in a hotel room - it puts all the tiresome Ring clones to shame), Experiment rarely stops entertaining - right up until the bitter end.Bad points: There's little to complain about. The script's only weakness is the way in which Anna and Morgan do a little too much agonising over not knowing who they are. After a while, it becomes tiring to watch. No big deal. Overall: Several notches about the average indie thriller, Experiment has a dark intensity which you'll want to check out. Now it's up to distributors to allow you that pleasure...

I saw this film at a recent screening in London. It was amazing! It starts off with a woman being thrown from a vehicle in Prague, not knowing who she is or what she is doing there. A man, is finds himself in a canal, and surprisingly is alive. Both have lost their memory. Real attention has been given to things that would be affected by the loss, not just superficial issues for the convenience of the film (as you often see. Its also carried through the whole film, not just an occasion which is instantly forgotten.I don't want to ruin the plot so I won't say too much, but this film really makes you think. The plot is revealed seemingly quite slowly but very thoughtfully. Unlike other films you can't just guess what is going to happen, it really is a thriller. As the issues are looked at the jigsaw comes together. The emotions I went through included fear, shock and at one point it was almost a touch sad, but then another surprise instantly changes the emotion.The film was shot well, the main character's (Morgan) acting was excellent and totally believable, as was Stephan's. In fact, I don't think I can criticise any of the characters. Its quite dark but this adds to feel of the film. What is scary, is that it could possibly happen one day.....Why not a score of 10? I couldn't forget about it afterwards!