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Poster for The Experiment

The Experiment

Seen it?

2001 | 120 min | Drama, Thriller

Weeknight Watch

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With soft box office and little lasting buzz, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for anyone who likes to be kept guessing. If you loved The Silence of the Lambs or Kiss of the Spider Woman, start here.
The mood
Tense.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 2 hr.
What might put you off
It's in German, so expect subtitles (or a dub).

20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsSolid

    72% on Rotten Tomatoes, 59 on Metacritic

  • AudiencesSolid

    7.4 out of 10

  • AwardsWeak

    0 wins and 4 nominations from smaller awards and festivals

  • Box office & staying powerBelow par

    $14 million worldwide; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactBelow par

    About 28K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel

  • Moritz BleibtreuTarek Fahd, Prisoner Nr. 77
  • Christian BerkelRobert Steinhoff, Prisoner Nr. 38
  • Justus von DohnányiBerus
  • Maren EggertDora
  • Edgar SelgeProfessor Dr. Klaus Thon
  • Andrea SawatzkiDr. Jutta Grimm
  • Oliver StokowskiGünther Schütte, Prisoner Nr. 82
  • Wotan Wilke MöhringJoe Maier, Prisoner Nr. 69
  • Nicki von TempelhoffKamps
  • Timo DierkesEckert