There have been some recent Hollywood blockbusters that were fun and entertaining and what not, but in general, they've become too predictable. Sure, some of them claim to have "surprise" endings and "unexpected" twists in the plot and so on, but after having used the same "surprises" and same "unexpected" plot twists for several years and dozens of films, hardly any films I've watched recently had that wow-factor that a good film should have.

That is, until I saw "Das Experiment" ("The Experiment). A German film loosely based on a real experiment (known as the Stanford Prison Experiment) where ordinary volunteers were split into "prisoners" and "guards", and asked to play out their respective roles as realistically as possible. The aim of the original experiment was to investigate how people's behavior changes based on the role they are expected to play in society. The experiment itself was so "successful" that it hasn't been repeated since. That is, even after just 5 days, the "guards" began showing cruel and agressive behavior, while the "prisoners" began showing signs of mental breakdown.

Considering how shocking the real experiment was, it was certainly expected that the film version would be much more dramatic. But the movie kept me on the edge of my seat (quite literally) because as you watch things escalate, you keep thinking "it can't get much worse." And then it does. What's more, it makes you wonder how you would react in such a situation. As a guard, would you have the moral strength to be that one guard who maintains his conscience and consistently does the right thing? As a prisoner, would you selflessly stand up for others, and defy oppression to protect your individuality? We all hope so, but The Experiment reminds us how, in reality, very few can or will.

See also: Milgram Experiment