User reviews

The Experiment is based on that very well known experiment that took place in Stanford University's basement where a mock prison was constructed and twenty-four applicants were divided up and given the vague roles of either a "guard" or a "prisoner." The motivation? A decent pay cut, around $15 a day (the film counterpart ups the pay to $1,000 a day). Guards were armed with intimidating, militaristic outfits, while the prisoners were ill-equipped with a smock and no underwear. Originally set to be a fourteen day test, the experiment ended after day six due to drastic measures taken by the inmates and guards that could've been fatal. Abuse was common, the issue of inferiority plagued the prisoners until they tried to force a rebellion, and borderline torturous acts were committed by the guards.

The film is the American remake of the German picture Das Experiment, as of now, unseen by me, but not totally written off. I'm not entirely sure if a film based on the prison experiment could effectively be made. This is one of those cases where history and facts overshadow fictionalization and dramatization. I believe a documentary would've been far more suited for this subject.

We are met with Adrien Brody, playing Travis, an Atheist softie who agrees to partake in a psychological experiment held by a local organization along with twenty-three other people. Early on, he meets Michael Barris (Whitaker) who seems to be a content and well-managed individual, but when he is given the title of a "guard" and Travis the title of a "prisoner," their true sides come out, and abandonment is quickly brought forth.

Much of what I explained above occurs in the film, but in a seemingly muted form. Nothing is ever very explicit or, for that matter, truly interesting. The cinematography is some to commend, perfectly personifying the prison as the one instigating the violence. The atmosphere is so gritty and real that we can see it takes a drastic effect on the people.

The whole event feels like Lord of the Flies come to life. Both Golding's timeless novel and Philip Zimbardo's 1971 experiment prove that when stripped of all things just and civil, humans will scram for security and the gray idea of "what is right?" before completely forgoing all the former rules, recognizing this is a new place, and furthermore, begin to act on their id, their desire to feed their consuming savagery. This is definitely taken into consideration in the film, and is the highest point this picture has to offer.

But as far as a worthy retelling of the events, it's pretty thin and underwhelming. The film was directed by Paul Scheuring, who directed some episodes of the FOX crime drama Prison Break, and that is exactly how it plays; like a Television crime drama. The performances, mainly by Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker, and the exceptional cinematography elevate the film to a passable status, but The Experiment lacks essential character development essential to furthering ones feelings towards its prisoners, and, instead of playing like an superbly intense film, it plays like what it is; an American remake.

Starring: Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker. Directed by: Paul Scheuring.

A group of people, looking to earn a quick buck, sign up for a behavior experiment. But that may have been a really, really bad idea. The experiment causes even the pacifists to turn violent, and there is no one to stop them.

This film could have been easily forgettable, but luckily they somehow secured a great cast, and I think that may have saved it from being just another American remake. Starring Adrien Brody as the pacifist (perhaps even hippie) Travis and Forest Whitaker as Barris, these two can carry the film on their own, with or without the ensemble cast.

I have to give a shout out to Fisher Stevens, who plays the professor Archaleta. I'm saddened that after some bigger hits (notably "Short Circuit") Stevens has been reduced to doing bit parts. But even more sad is the inclusion of Maggie Grace as the hippie Bay. Not that she does a poor job, but that the character is completely pointless, has no development, and her scenes only add another five or ten minutes on to the film -- which would have been more powerful without her.

The experiment shown in the film wouldn't hold up by standards today, as the safety of the people involved is now a top priority. This may have been indirectly addressed, though... I'm unsure. What I can say is that this was adapted from a 2001 German film, which was adapted from a book, which was loosely based on the Stanford Prison Experiment. I think it's safe to say that this film has nothing to do with the original experiment (it is very, very loosely based)... but I'm not sure how close it is to the other sources.

While you might be able to rent better films, this is not something to automatically pass up. If you're into survival, or enjoy these cast members, or like prison stories, you may really like this one. I was pleasantly surprised, and of all the films I see, it was one of the best in recent weeks.

The Experiment is a 2010 American thriller film directed by Paul Scheuring and starring Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker,Cam Gigandet and Maggie Grace.The film is also a remake of the 2001 German film Das Experiment, which was directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. The experiment begins when 26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control. $14,000 for two weeks, it is easy-earned money. The study examines aggressive behavior in an artificial prison setting. At first the tenants are divided randomly into prisoners and guards, but soon a spiral of violence begins.

I had some hope for this film because I remember seeing the original Das Experiment more then a year ago and enjoying it. Although brutal the film was brilliant in the way it explored human nature, human instincts, and one's moral compass. It's actually quite surprising that it took such a long time (9 years) for Hollywood to assassinate, pardon me, remake this very interesting story which is actually based on the Stanford prison experiment that took place in 1971 and was highly criticized afterwords. The problem with this remake is that, as in most things Hollywood, it's all about big name actors and big fights and nice camera angles. What's most important, the characterization and the character development which are the things that make this story, were completely thrown aside. One of the consequences of doing so is that the film felt extremely rushed and therefor the payoff wasn't that great. I didn't think there was real tension, and the film lacked that gritty look of the original, instead it looks sharp and polished.

Also, it's one thing to put your own spin into a story but this remake eliminated an entire dimension of the original film. I'm talking about the people behind the cameras, the scientists watching and conducting the experiment. They played a big part in the original and in this remake they are nowhere to be seen and it truly diminished the story. Regarding the acting, I thought Adrien Brody did a pretty good job and Cam Gigandet was delightfully nasty as he usually is. On the other hand, Forest Whitaker was absolutely awful. In almost every film that see him in, he acts like he has a speech impediment and to be honest, it adds nothing to his performance. Overall, The Experiment it's somewhat enjoyable but not nearly as good as the original.

6/10

Could've been done more with this one. Interesting story, slowly built, tensed, well portrayed characters (not just the main two), excellent acting (Brody and Whitaker especially), but in the end unfortunately fails to materialize all that in to something more. Apart from the plain ending and unnecessary undeveloped female character, everything else was done right and it is a gripping thriller indeed.

Probably the most important is that the movie succeeds in the main idea, catching the human nature and its transformation placed in certain conditions. As expected blinding of power and rebelling makes the violence slowly but surely spreads and the movie becomes more disturbing, answering my question why is it going straight to DVD.

The Stanford prison experiment was about group dynamics when people were assigned roles of prisoners and guards but the movie only revolves around the two main characters most of the time, with others being almost entirely absent. As group dynamics do not really get into play, they miss many opportunities for personality development, which is what made the actual experiment interesting in the first place.

Due to the complete lack of character development (with one exception) the movie feels rather dull and the behavior of the characters, as well as their backgrounds, suggest that the researchers had knowingly picked individuals who had mental or other problems in the past. Even though the plot is about as linear as it can get, it is still full of holes.

The German version is much better, not because The Experiment is a remake but because it is dumbed down way too much. A typical reality-watching simpleton may find the remake easier to follow, though.

Even with its flaws, I give it 7/10 because the basic premise is interesting and the movie is refreshingly different. The set and the cast were certainly good enough.

The Experiment has an intriguing premise. Human behavior, group dynamics; what will happen when you put a group of people (all with very different personalities) in a small, stressful environment for a long period of time. As this is a straight to DVD movie it surprisingly has a good cast and doesn't suffer from small budget diseases.

The Experiment has the potential of being a great movie but never reaches it's full potential. To me it felt like certain events were rushed. This could be by the lack of explanation of the motives and the background of certain characters. Ultimately, The Experiment is watchable but forgettable. 6/10

Wow, I loved this movie so much. So you know the storyline. I was interested the whole time. Usually I get bored while watching movies and will play on my laptop or iphone during the movie, but this held my interest completely. Towards the end, I was actually feeling really pumped and was obviously rooting for the "prisoners".

I can't believe all the negative reviews, clearly they have no idea what makes a good movie, because this movie is amazing. I was literally drawn into the emotions of all the key players in the movie. Yea sure, they didn't devolve deep into the characters pasts, but it the movie shows reactions of the now and those reactions and emotions are acted beautifully. I could feel the pain the characters were feeling, I could also see the craziness some of the characters were showing.

The movie sends a clear message of, treat people like animals and they will act like animals.

The acting in this movie is wow, amazing. The script is well written. The camera angles, the lighting everything was great.

"The Experiment" is a very disturbing film because it purports to show the true nature of humans. A scientist gets together a bunch of men, all strangers, all attracted to the experiment by the $1000 a day payment. All these men had to do was to get through two weeks in a prison environment, or else they would not get paid.

At the onset, a few were selected to play roles of guards, while the rest became the prisoners. Within the next day, a power play among guards and prisoners ensues which then escalates into an uncontrollable "Lord of the Flies" scenario, a battle pitting the common good against individual needs.

The central characters were well essayed by the Oscar winner lead actors. Adrien Brody plays the most outspoken prisoner, Travis, in an effectively gritty manner. Forrest Whitaker plays the shy and lonely Barris, who discovers the repressed Idi Amin within him as he played guard. The rest of the cast were also okay, but were mostly playing caricatures.

I found out that this film was released direct to DVD, which was unusual for a film that features an Oscar winning cast. Maybe the producers were thinking that not many can sit through the difficult scenarios this film shows, and they may be right. I personally cannot believe that this experiment can turn out in this violent way in real life so quickly, but then again, we also know what people can do when desperately strapped for money. It would also be interesting to watch the original 2001 German movie about this same experiment.

It's as if the title 'The Experiment' refers to Hollywood finally trying to create a remake that surpasses the original.

It's a pale and poor remake of the brilliant German movie 'Das Experiment', which blew my mind first time I saw it.

None of that with 'The Experiment'... Even the presence of two gifted actors (Brody and Withaker) cannot rescue the poor cinematography and awful diluted script. I couldn't even properly empathise with the main character played by Brody. His actions seemed ridiculous put against the prison-experiment backdrop, so terribly written so that there isn't any true logic to his rebellion. It's also very obvious he's not doing half the acting that Moritz Bleibtreu performed in the original.

The casting was terrible, even before the experiment, I could immediately identify which characters were to become guards, and which ones prisoners. Mix this with the poor script-rewrite that put in unnecessary scenes and dialogues and that took out some of the most brilliant scenes in the original, and you get a straight-to-video production that will never be looked back on by movie fanatics anywhere, anytime.

If you have bought, borrowed or downloaded this copy, please burn or delete it. You will be much better off getting Das Experiment instead.

The Experiment has failed!

The German "Das Experiment" is one of the best and most powerful movies of the Twentieth-First Century. Tense, powerful, having a wonderful screenplay and outstanding direction and performances, it is another great example of how the absolute power corrupts. "Das Experiment" is a must-see movie, which will certainly provoke reactions on the viewer.

Hollywood, as usual, made a remake showing how to destroy the German masterpiece. The decadent Forest Whitaker is awful, and he should have paid more attention in the acting of Justus Von Dohnanyi in the original film, as the sadistic Berus, instead of using grimaces. The writer and director Paul Scheuring is ridiculous, using sexual premises and sadistic situations freely. I feel sorry for the ridiculous reviews from viewers that have not seen "Das Experiment" and are happy watching this silly American crap. My vote is one (awful).

Title (Brazil): "Detenção" ("Detention")

This looks like a shot for shot remake of the original film that came out of Germany in 2001. The original had tension and great dialogue but no American star so ''of course like, we had to redo it! ''

I just hate it when movie companies shell out the exact same story that we've already seen. Why? Cause now we got Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker? Come on...

a) Infernal Affairs (2002) = The Departed (2006) b) Ringu (1998) = The Ring(2002) c) Funny Games U.K (1997) = Funny Games U.S (2007) d) Das Experiment (2001) = The Experiment (2010)

Are you starting to get the picture? e) Let the right one in (2008) ( excellent movie that shouldn't have been altered ) = Let me in (2010). That's 2 years. Yes. Two years.

They don't even wait ten years nowadays, they can't wait to shove the same thing down your throat. Don't encourage them. Please.

Twenty six volunteers are chosen to participate in an experiment: twenty are to play guards and the other six wardens at a prison. The experiment will last two weeks. Among those selected is unemployed Travis who quickly discovers how the experiment explores the worst of human nature.

A remake of the German film Das Experiment (2001). This version is not anywhere near as good the original, but not too bad, nevertheless. Plot is intriguing and does pose some very interesting questions re us humans and our psyche. Adrien Brody is solid in the lead role. Forest Whitaker is not initially very convincing but gets better as his character changes.

Overall - good, but watch the German original instead.

Exploring the dark side of human beings is never a pleasant task. A group of scientists, however, decided to take on the challenge. They offered every participant a daily wage of 1000 dollars, and divided them into 2 groups, who would be playing roles of inmates and wardens respectively. The seemingly innocuous beginning was soon followed by chaotic incidents, in which the personalities, mostly on the negative sides, of all participants gave themselves free vent. Naturally, we were witnessing some ugly behaviors from those who conducted themselves in their daily lives. The film serves as an admonition against our dangerous inclination to fall for the evil forces and lose our true aspirations in life.

Don't mind the bad review up there, whether you've seen or not the German original version, The Experiment still remains an excellent movie with two great actors (and a great plot): Forrest Whitaker and Adrien Brody. Interesting movie that shows that even if we all pretend to have some kind of moral, we all still remain animals that will bite to defend our pack. Sometimes you watch a 96mn movie and it feels like you were watching The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston (don't mean this is a bad film, it's just very long), but this one is the total opposite! you'll be annoyed when the credits will appear at the end. Also, if like me you're a bit sick and tired of the current Hollywood buzz which consists to make many spy movies with a huge budget, you will enjoy that film, because it's quite simple, only few rooms needed at location. So the question is: are you a prisoner?

This film is based loosely on (a) US sponsored psychological experiment in which a prominent psychiatrist ran amok creating a prison in the basement of a noted liberal University. It follows in the steps of a German film Das Experiment (2001), highlighting lack of originality in the US theatre.

Very different from from the real life experiment in which the participants, recruited from students between semesters received rather chincy emoluments, the movie version claims that the test subjects, were offered stupendous incentives for their collaboration.

The film correctly states that volunteers were assigned roles and that as the experiment went on the participants fell into the roles that were given them. Like the German film, the experiment devolves into ever increasing dosages of violence.

In the US version, the feel good ending is even better than the German version. Travis (Adrien Brody) one of the prisoners has such a will to resist the torture and degradation that he busts out. Everyone follows him and they all receive their handsome checks.

In real life, there was no busting out but there was some busting back in. Some who had under intimidation quit the experiment returned and applied to be re-instated. They had formed a camaraderie with the others in the project and wanted to see it through.

In the film version the consequences for the authors of this fiendish experiment was severe. In an investigation that follows, the mad scientist, a rather small and squat gnomish sort behind the experiment, is indicted.

In real life nothing of the kind occurred. Jocularly speaking of the escapade a quarter century later, the real life psychiatrist hosted a US sponsored college course on psychology.

'This was a surprisingly intense film that I'm so glad I watched. The concept was great and this was even before I found out it was based on a true story.'

Like the sound of the above? Well don't bother watching this awful American Remake , watch the original German award winning film 'DAS EXPERIMENT' which this snippet of a IDMB review was taken from. 'The Experiment' lacks the intensity of the original. I found myself caring very little about the characters. Don't be fooled by the employ of fantastic actors such as Forest Whitaker and Adrien Brody. There inclusion was a bit like employing Tiger Woods to play in the FIFA Football World Cup, sounds good on paper but awful to watch. The story has massive holes in the plot which remain unexplained and an ending that is about as satisfying as a chicken nugget. Overall the rewriting of such an intense drama and fantastic story has completely ruined it.