The Experiment
IDP Distribution | Release Date: September 18, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
New Times (L.A.)Bill Gallo
En route, we also get a chance to examine the nature of the self and the responsibilities of science. Das Experiment has all this and more, excitingly packaged as a prison movie featuring superb performances and high emotional tension. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Because the confrontations between power and powerlessness are so dramatic and because Hirschbiegel's editing is so emphatic, Das Experiment is practically over before you realize that you don't know what its point is, exactly. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
What impressed me is how effective the movie was, even though the outcome is a foregone conclusion. That's a tribute to the director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, and the actors, who have been chosen with the same kind of typecasting that perhaps occurs in life. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Curiel
Disturbing film. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Ray Conlogue
This is a grimly thrilling movie that falls somewhere between clear-eyed realism and the improbabilities of an action flick. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
There's not enough insight to the social phenomenon presented onscreen, but that doesn't make the utterly human horror of this thriller any less unsettling. Read full review
75
New York PostMegan Lehmann
One of those all-too-rare cases in which a riveting premise is expertly executed. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
As an exploitation picture, Das Experiment is mindlessly potent; subtitles are no guarantee of sophistication and subtlety. Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
A solid slice of entertainment without reaching the psychological depths promised by the subject matter. Read full review
70
Village VoiceEd Halter
After the film's ultraviolent finale (set to the tacky beats of synth-pop volksmusik), one wonders whether this sharp bit of fascinating fascism provides a true analysis of television's new mean streak, or simply an engaging indulgence in same. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Doesn't tell you anything about human nature you probably haven't already suspected, but then again it's good to be reminded of these dark things from time to time. Especially these days. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJanice Page
This cacophonous ending may serve to reinforce the filmmakers' cynical themes, but it leaves viewers trying desperately to remember the part of the film that had brains, wit, and so much promise. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
It's empty calories trying to trumpet its bogus nutritional value, and the strain for social importance undermines the picture. Read full review
60
Washington PostStaff (Not credited)
The film's hysterically pitched action overshadows its more subtle psychological points. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
First-time feature filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel maintains a riveting sense of simmering brutality. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneLoren King
For all its slickness, is an R-rated version of "Survivor," "Big Brother" or any number of reality-TV shows that present voyeurism as entertainment and exploitation as insight. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Eventually any serious statement is lost in a sea of sadism, as he forces us to watch scene after scene of gruesome, humiliating torture. Read full review
50
SlateBryan Curtis
A halfway-smart thriller. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Rigid, airless, and browbeatingly repetitive, Das Experiment is an overly didactic piece of thesis hectoring; it's like ''Lord of the Flies'' set in a Skinner box. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
Too much of a mess to say anything with assurance, pieced together as it is from mismatched institutional movies such as "Cool Hand Luke" and "Shock Corridor" -- with "Lord of the Flies" thrown in for good measure -- and turning on plot points that simply don't wash. Read full review
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