Tarek Fahd (Moritz Bleibtreu) is a reporter that has taken a leave of absence to relieve the stress of his occupation. Driving a taxi must be less stressful. When Fahd sees an advertisement for a scientific study in a synthetic prison environment, he sees the opportunity for a story, and a return to his former occupation. The study pays 4,000 Marks, which is a tidy sum of money for fourteen days work.
The study draws twenty men from various walks of life, most motivated by the payoff. Others point to the opportunity to experience something different and a variety of other motivations. Fahd secures the promise of 10,000 marks for his story, so he better make it good. The men undergo a battery of tests, which ultimately assist the computer in delegating them as guards or prisoners. Fahd ends up as Prisoner #77. The experiment does not start until the following day. In the meantime, Fahd has a chance encounter (traffic accident) with Dora (Maren Eggert). Dora, whose father has just died, engages in a one-night-stand that somehow translates into a close relationship later in the story.
The men enter the experiment, which is being conducted by Dr. Jutta Grimm (Andrea Sawatzki) and Dr. Thon (Edgar Selge). The experiment includes numerous cameras intended to capture the escalating stress of the simulated environment. The guards quickly go from apprehensive to abusive as the prisoners realize that they may have volunteered for something beyond their ability to cope. The rules are intended to create additional stress. But the psychological profiles of Fahd and a guard named Berus (Justus von Dohnanyi) were intentionally selected to create an additional dynamic. Berus begins interpreting the rules through a warped perspective that causes the entire experiment to spiral out of control. Prison suddenly becomes very real to the captives.
The most amazing thing about this film lies in the inspiration for it. This film was based on an actual experiment conducted in 1971 called The Stanford Prison Experiment. The details of that experiment can be found at www.prisonexp.org. It is chilling to read the accounts of this controlled investigation, which had to be terminated after just six days due to escalation. The experiment aspect of this story was incredible. What hurt the film was the inclusion of a romantic element that lacked credibility. The relationship between Dora and Fahd becomes somewhat central to the story, so we are forced to believe that this bond evolved from a one-night-stand. Dora's character in this film lacks realism. Her actions make no sense, other than to push the story forward.
The acting was pretty good. Bleibtreu wasn't exceptional, but delivered a strong enough performance to keep me interested. Eggert was okay, although her character made it difficult for her to give a convincing performance. Von Dohnanyi was excellent. His performance helped sell the story and was closest to the source material. His character deteriorates with the study, escalating violence and adding a psychological element to the story (which is based in fact). The cast was solid enough to be convincing.
The Experiment received an R rating from the MPAA. The film has nudity, sexual encounters and an attempted rape. The film included bloody violence, murder and graphic imagery. Strong language, smoking and some intense scenes round out the objectionable material. This film is intended as a suspense film. The graphic elements would concern me enough to limit the viewing of this film to more mature teen audiences. Mid-teen and above. The film has an even two hour run time.
There were a few consistency issues that I had problems with. Aside from the instant love affair aspect, which made little sense, the film had some other glitches. If you pay attention to the numbers on the prison clothes, they do not remain consistent. While they are careful with the number on the main character, that is not true with the others. The numbers were a central part of the story. Additionally, when Fahd is preparing to record the experiment, he purchases a set of eyeglasses that contain a camera and a Walkman-type receiver. We see the glasses later in the film, but never the receiver. Additionally, I thought it would be odd that he would suddenly need glasses after undergoing a battery of tests without them. That seemed suspect to me. I also never figured out what a military pilot would be doing in the experiment (especially without those conducting the experiment knowing it). The film is not perfect, but judging from the ratings, it is superior to the 2010 remake.
The Experiment intrigues me for two reasons. It is an interesting study of human behavior, and it is based on an actual study. While liberties were taken with the study to turn this experiment into a thriller, the underlying concept is brilliant. The script was constructed fairly well, but included some elements that just didn't fit with the overall story. The relationship between Fahd and Dora should have been fleshed out better and with a more convincing back-story. That set-up for the story was a bit slow, as well. The pacing picks up as the story progresses, so that wasn't a major problem for me. Overall, this film was better than the remake and worthy of seeking out. 7.5/10.
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