Spiderhead

Starring: Miles Teller, Chris Hemsworth, Jurnee Smollett, Tess Haubrich, Charles Parnell, Nathan Jones, BeBe Bettencourt

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Based on the short story "Escape from Spiderhead" by George Saunders

At the Spiderhead Penitentiary and Research Facility, which is viewed as a privilege as there are no guards and employs an open door policy, Steve Abnesti (Hemsworth) tests experimental drugs on the inmates. These tests include drugs that increase aggression as well as sex drive. As the experiments get more intense, one of the inmates, Jeff (Teller), begins to suspect there is more to the experiments than Abnesti is letting on. As his feelings for his fellow inmate Lizzy (Smollett) increase, he begins a plot to expose the truth about Abnesti and the prison so that they can escape.

I love this kind of sci-fi and Saunder’s short story feels ripe for a horrific and satirical big-screen adaptation.

I haven’t read it myself but I feel like it is more disturbing than what we get on screen. While there are scenes that do express the horror I was looking for, I was ultimately left disappointed as I felt the film could have pushed the envelope more. The only scene that really worked on a visceral level for me was when Heather was dosed with a drug called Darkenfloxx and things quickly go awry. And even that scene felt like it pumped the brakes.

It’s hard to tell where things went wrong. Director Joseph Kosinski, hot off the success of Top Gun: Maverick, certainly has the visual flair to bring the story to life. Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick know how to bring humor to any situation as they successfully adapted Deadpool to the big screen. And yet it fails to cohesively gel into a movie that fully works and is able to genuinely create any sort of tension.

This being said, the soundtrack absolutely slaps. Abnesti listens to classic surf rock and usually, the action is set to whatever he listening to at the moment. Say what you will about the man’s morals but he’s got great taste in music.

This might be my favorite Chris Hemsworth performance, giving the film a fantastic villain. Abnesti is given a kindness and likability that makes your skin crawl and Hemsworth uses that to his advantage. While Teller and Smollett are good as well, they aren’t given as much development (especially Smollett) and the film actually suffers when Hemsworth isn’t on screen.

With such an intriguing premise and great cast, it’s hard not to be disappointed in the result.

Grade: C-

Spiderhead is available to stream on Netflix