While Spiderhead creates a world that would likely never exist in the bureaucracy and transparency of the United States, the sci-fi thriller isn’t too far off from what some may experience in the darkest corners of the globe.
Plot synopsis for Spiderhead
In a remote facility that serves as both a penitentiary and testing center, Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth) is the lead on an initiative that sees inmates voluntarily experimented on with a drug called N-40.
Jeff (Miles Teller), is an inmate who applied to the program to escape the harsh conditions of state prison after accidentally killing two of his friends in a car accident and undergoes daily trials of N-40 with other inmates.
The drug causes subjects to have sex with random people, no matter their gender or age, and Jeff is no exception. N-40 is supposedly in clinical trials and will “change the world,” with love, as Steve says, when in fact the program’s actual objective is to develop a compound that will make human beings obedient.
Things take a hard turn for the worse when Steve introduces a new drug, B-6, into the trials which causes paranoia and violence.
When Steve starts testing B-6 on inmates close to Jeff and forces him to administer the drug himself, Jeff plots to stop his jailer before he kills those closest to him.
Spiderhead, the thriller
Adapted from the 2013 story Escape from Spiderhead, Spiderhead the film manages to capture most of the intrigue from the original text, though showrunners may have leaned too heavily on their all-star cast to get the job done.
Chris Hemsworth certainly appears to be having a good time playing the obnoxious genius, and Miles Teller delivers a believable protagonist, but when all is said and done, you can’t help but feel like the film is over a bit too quick, or perhaps too much was revealed, too fast.
As a thriller, Spiderhead is subpar. At no point is there any doubt that Hemsworth is the big bad, but he never seems to be the “world-class nasty villain” that can define a great flick in the genre.
What makes a great thriller is an action-packed opening, a likable protagonist, cliffhangers, a ticking clock, character growth, a lesson, and an epic ending (not all in that order nor required, but some must be). Unfortunately, Spiderhead doesn’t give us any of that.
That isn’t to say that Spiderhead isn’t fun. It is, no doubt. But the film is a far cry from the page-turner it is based on with cliffhangers to spare.
Inmates participate voluntarily, and for the most part, appear to be enjoying the experiments and their living conditions. We only see character development when Steve asks Jeff to do the unthinkable, administer the deadly chemical on the one inmate he cares about, Lizzy (Julie Smollett), who isn’t developed as a character until the closing moments of the film, just before the “epic conclusion.”
And that’s the thing, the film’s ending isn’t epic, nor is there any apparent message we’re supposed to take away from it. Think day-in-the-life, with a bad guy who thinks he’s good.
Though it is saved by Hemsworth clearly enjoying the role, at the end of the day, the film may have given away too much too quickly, with a villain and ending that is predictable way too early to be a great thriller, which is a shame because there is certainly potential there. Still, in its entirety, it’s a fun ride.
Somehow.
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