The Platform

Starring: Ivan Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Antonia San Juan, Emilio Buale, Alexandra Masangkay

Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

Goreng (Ivan Massagué) awakens to find himself on floor 48 of a mysterious vertical prison with an unknown number of floors. His cellmate Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor) informs him that once a day a tray carrying food will be lowered into their floor for a short amount of time. They eat what they can before it goes down to the next floor. The lower numbered floors eat well while the higher numbered floors often get nothing. Each month, they will wake up on a new floor, which is often worse, and must suffer the consequences depending on where they end up. For Goreng, this is a shock. He thought he was signing up for a program to help him quit smoking in five months. He was allowed to bring one item of his choosing (a book) and at the end of his five months he would get to leave with an accredited diploma. Trimigasi's case is different, sentenced to a year for accidental manslaughter and he brought a self sharpening knife he saw advertised on the TV. Over the course of the first month, while he and Trimigasi don't get much food to eat they start to bond over their situation and Goreng begins to read to Trimigasi. The next month, they wake up on floor 171 and Trimigasi has tied him down, telling him it's for his own good as he might not like the person he has to become to survive. Will Goreng make it out of floor 171 and fulfill his five month sentence or will madness overtake him?

This sinister Spanish film isn't for everyone. Not only does it get a little gruesome, it goes out of its way to show the depravity of people and it is very unpleasant and off-putting to see people stuff their face with food. What it does offer is an incredibly relevant and philosophical story that becomes the ultimate quarantine film. There is no way the film makers were able to predict what was going to be happening all over the world, but lots of things ring true, especially after seeing how people have raided grocery stores. It was very socially relevant before the quarantine, with questions about the haves and the have-nots and what happens when those roles are reversed. And after everything Goreng goes through, it ultimately ends on a tiny sliver of hope that the film desperately needed.

Goreng is a very relatable character and Ivan Massagué delivers an incredible performance, often hitting on a wide variety of reactions and emotions. He begins calm and collected, switches to terrified, murderous, cannibalistic, resigned, and ends ultimately determined and hopeful. Zorion Eguileor is also stellar because he is always able to give off a vibe that you shouldn't trust him. He may be telling the truth, but his tone and eyes often have Goreng and the audience questioning his motives. Even once Goreng gets new cell mates, they help shape his path to survival in memorable ways, either through optimism or feelings of resignation. There are other characters Goreng meets along the way who shape Goreng's journey; the weary yet well intentioned Imoguiri (Antonia San Juan) who wants the previous floor to portion food so everyone can have something, the optimistic and escape-minded Baharat (Emilio Buale) and the murderous Miharu (Alexandra Masangkay) who is searching for her lost child who is on one of the floors and will kill anyone who tries to get in her way.

Kudos to director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, who created a low budget yet high concept horror film that looks as good or at times better than a big studio production. The budget on the film couldn't have been much, but its prison setting is so cold and bare bones that it adds to the uncomfortable feeling of not only the characters, but us watching as well.

As I said, this film won't be for everyone. I did end up having some logistics questions about the prison itself and Goreng's ultimate escape plan. But the movie does a good job of keeping the audience in the dark, like Goreng himself. If you give the film a chance, you will be rewarded with a thought provoking and thrilling horror film that will be remembered for years to come.

Grade: A-

The Platform is available to stream on Netflix