Subject review.
A fantastic lead performance captivates your attention while you take part in a similar experiment to the main character.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Streaming on Screambox August 22
Subject
Directed by Tristan Barr
Written by Vincent Befi
Starring Stephen Phillips, Tristan Barr and Gaby Seow
Subject Review
The most impressive thing about Subject is also its greatest trick. Despite being a (largely) locked door story about one isolated character…the movie never feels slow. Providing a consistently entertaining story with so little “action” is no easy task. It requires an engaging lead performance and a story that finds ways to surprise. It needs to give you plenty to think about while creating anticipation for where the story is going. Subject has all these things. A deceptively simple movie that will have you joining its main character in wondering what is happening on the other side of the glass.
Willem Peters (Stephen Phillips) is on his way to prison when he receives an offer. If he agrees to take part in a secret experiment…he won’t have to go to jail. As he spends his days locked into solitude staring at a seemingly empty room…Willem begins to believe he’s made the wrong choice. Things go from bad to worse when the empty room gets a resident of its own.
Willem is in a different kind of prison. His only job is to record a video journal for at least ten minutes a day. This occurs in the observation room which is opposite another observation room. A large pane of glass separates them. He’s fed very little and is under constant observation through multiple cameras. A bedroom connects to the room. It contains a bed and a television that only has two channels. One plays old movies…the other a video feed of the second observation room. The purpose of the experiment initially appears to be driving Willem crazy.
Of course, we are in a similar situation to Willem. Observing him on the other side of a viewing screen of our own. What keeps us from joining Willem in his descent into madness is that our show is far more entertaining than his. We see moments of his life before the experiment interspersed throughout the story. This lets us understand more about our subject than Willem will ever be able to about…whatever it is that lives on the other side of his glass.
Willem’s backstory is given to us through a found footage aesthetic. It’s very well done. Comparing his life before this experiment to his downward spiral within it is interesting. There’s a full narrative on display to intercut what is essentially…watching a man sitting in a room. We have been given a much more exciting experiment than he has. At least…for a while. When the creature starts to appear in his dreams…his experiment becomes much more exciting. Or is it happening? Has Willem lost his mind completely?
Stephen Phillips is terrific in his role as our subject. He shows us a wide range of emotions as the days fly by. His subject gives him nothing. He comes to believe that the occupant of the adjacent room is a creature of some kind. The creature provides the catalyst for many of Willem’s emotional bursts. At times he’s fearful of the unknown. At times he finds himself identifying with it…even turning his anger towards his captors because no one seems to be caring for it. Other times he’s certain that it can see him through his side of the glass. That its purpose is to destroy him.
Subject gives us a simple story that not only has more beneath the surface, but often allows you to project your own interpretations onto what you see. The same is true for Willem’s time watching the creature. At times someone will enter Willem’s room and ask him a series of questions. These questions are often about his feelings. As the story unfolds and Willem’s mind becomes more and more lost…these scenes provide Phillips with an opportunity to shine. He spends most of the film alone on screen. Alone viewing something he doesn’t understand…while we observe him through a constantly clearer lens. The only thing missing was someone asking us a series of questions of our own.
Willem’s journey is well-written and performed even better. He’s escaped prison and found himself in hell. Watching him go through it, combined with the extra information we are provided, makes our experiment one worth partaking in. Some genuinely creepy moments heighten the fun.
Scare Value
You can’t help but read into the meaning of Subject. Particularly, the viewer’s role in the film’s experiment. Whether a commentary on watching movies is intended or not, Subject is an enjoyable experience thanks to Stephen Phillips performance. It manages to walk the fine line between showing a man’s slow descent into madness and providing a well-paced and entertaining film.
3.5/5
Subject Link
Streaming on Screambox August 22
