Horror Movie Mini-Reviews: Trapped in a Room Edition Part 1

I watched a lot of films in the last month or so where a group of people are stuck in a room (or building). After Saw, this horror film trope has gotten way out of hand. Some of the films are excellent and some are just awful.

* Exam

Eight people vying for the same desirable corporate job have made it to the last round of selection. They are placed in the same room and asked to answer one question. There are a few rules: don't talk to the armed guard or the Invigilator; don't leave the room; and don't spoil their paper. The paper, however, is blank except for their candidate number. The entire film takes place in one room as the nameless candidates try to figure out what the question is. This world is an alternate history where a viral pandemic ravaged the world and this company produced a cure for the disease. I like that there is still a sense of the world inside this one room. These candidates try everything they can think of to find the question in addition to trying to get others out of the competition. The characters range from the most ruthless to the compassionate in their decisions to move forward. The answer is so simple that it's overlooked. I enjoyed this film and felt it was the best of this list.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins

* Nine Dead

Nine strangers find themselves chained up in a room. A masked man tells them to figure out how they are all connected or die. Every ten minutes, he will ask why they are here and someone will die if they can't answer. The people range from a high powered lawyer to petty criminals and have seemingly nothing in common at all. They have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to survive. . Everyone there was guilty and did something wrong, whether it be big or small, that led to a tragic event they barely noticed. At first, it's all screaming at each other and hurling insults, but after a couple people die, they start to confess the horrible things they have done. I really liked this film because it was an interesting mystery that kept my attention throughout. The ending was awful and kind of ruined the film even though it was only the last 5 minutes. I removed a whole fishmuffin because it was so unbelievably bad.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

* Vile

A group of friends give a hitchhiker a ride to her car, only to get gassed and kidnapped. They wake up in a room with tubes installed leading from their brains to vials at the base of their necks. A scientist needs fluids from their brains that are only produced by being in extreme pain. They have 22 hours to produce the amount she needs or they will all die. Then torture, backstabbing, and lots of pain ensues. I wasn't a huge fan of this movie. It had a lot of logistical problems. Pain isn't just one initial sensation. It continues after the initial injury especially if it's a burn and should thus produce the fluid the psycho scientist needs. The film was really just to show a lot of torture for no real reason. Not the best.

My rating: 2/5 fishmuffins