MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller/Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett, Tess Haubrich, BeBe Bettencourt, Mark Paguio, Sam Delich, Joey Vieira, Daniel Reader, Ron Smyck, Stephen Tongun, Nathan Jones/Runtime: 107 minutes
I think it is safe to say that, besides serving the usual purpose of entertaining the heck out of an audience in one of its many forms, ever since its creation the realm known as the sci-fi genre has managed to also serve another function. Namely that this is a genre that, more than any other genre of fiction, is able to present us with situations that yes are otherworldly in nature, but which also can be seen as a note of caution to the audience that it is engaging. Indeed some of the finer examples of this in terms of cinema can be seen in the form of Jurassic Park using a theme park full of resurrected dinosaurs to warn us about the potential perils of genetic technology, On the Beach using a world torn apart by nuclear war as a way to speak out against the usage of nuclear weapons, the iconic story Frankenstein which utilizes its monster as a way to speak out against mankind playing God, and of course War of the Worlds which used an alien invasion as a chance to show that mankind’s hubris and superiority complex could (key word there) come back to bite us one day. Of course it is also this kind of cautionary saga which, in other pop culture avenues, is also the same kind of narrative that was an immense assist in making a little TV show known as The Twilight Zone become the long-admired and respected sensation that it is even to this very day. It is with that in mind therefore that we see that film helmer Joseph Kosinski, riding a pretty nice tail wind at the moment with Top Gun: Maverick, has decided to give us his own little cautionary narrative in the sci-fi genre with the newest Netflix movie, and slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today, Spiderhead which has Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller (also on cloud nine right now from Top Gun: Maverick’s immense success) in the lead roles. Tragically even though Top Gun: Maverick is easily a phenomenal film, this is one that is fun at points, but which sees its thematic concepts let alone the intriguing message it is trying to convey sucker punched by narrative tropes that are by no means fresh in any sense of the word. Yet even though this slice of cinema is not one that is on point every single step of the way, there is still just enough in terms of both thought-provoking as well as peculiarity located throughout this to say nothing of beautiful chemistry between Teller and Smollett as well as a wonderfully eccentric yet also slyly sinister turn from Chris Hemsworth to make this slice of cinema a good one time viewing, but sadly no more and no less.
The plot is as follows: An adaptation of a short story by George Saunders, Spiderhead takes us to a possible near future and drops us feet first in the titular location. A location that may seem like a futuristic island hostel for young people in many respects, but is actually something else. Namely this is an open prison that in a stark departure from the prisons of today doesn’t believe in bars or cells or even in closing the inmates off from one another. Instead, there’s arcade games, communal areas, rooms that feel more like luxury suites, and even snacks made for the “guests” to enjoy throughout the day. Of course, for all of these delightful perks the inmates do have to do something in return for their warden, a fairly updated Dr. Moreau-type yet seemingly affable enough figure who is running things for the higher-ups named Steve Abnesti. Namely that they have to serve as guinea pigs in experiments conducted by Steve and his assistant Mark. Experiments where the two give various narcotics to different resident pairings and then pit them against each other and see what ensues. As a result, we see that a session with one drug might result in a resident not being able to stop laughing even whilst hearing about some truly despicable stuff (like the script for the new Minions movie I’d imagine) whilst another session might see two residents who couldn’t be any less compatible with the other all of a sudden feeling the strange yet undeniable urge to jump each other’s bones if you’ll pardon the parlance. Thus it is in this genuinely topsy-turvy world that we are introduced to our main hero, a seemingly decent guy by the name of Jeff. Sure he may be here in Orange is the New Shangri-La because of a drunk driving incident that killed his brother. At the same time though, he is still the kind of guy who will leave his ex-girlfriend voice messages just to make sure she is doing ok to say nothing of just trying to be as much of a team player as he possibly can during his remaining tenure at Spiderhead. Oh and I guess there is one other thing I should mention about our friend Jeff here. Namely he also kinda sorta might have a thing for a fellow resident, and head cook at the facility, by the name of Lizzy. Yet despite Jeff’s team player attitude still being fairly intact when our story begins we see that this starts to change when things begin going down a slightly more insidious road. A road that takes the form of Abnesti deciding to resume tests on a particularly nasty drug known as Darkenfloxx. A drug that our hero is vehemently against being a part of trials for in any way, shape, or form since it is capable of triggering a fairly severe degree of potent agony on a physical and mental level. Yet when Abnesti decides to go ahead with trials and in the process inadvertently causes a horrific and quite gruesome tragedy to ensue, we see that our hero finally starts to get the feeling that perhaps maybe all is not as lovely in the wonderful ol’ land of Oz as the good doctor would like everyone there to think that it is….
Now I am definitely convinced that perhaps the biggest (and arguably most problematic) dilemma that is facing this slice of cinema from a creative point of view is the fact that if the creative powers that be had decided to make and subsequently bring this slice of cinema into the world say in 2009 or 2010, this slice of cinema would actually have not been too bad as a fairly affecting tale dealing with the perils that we as people have to deal with thanks to the machinations of the pharmaceutical industry. Heck even if this had been made in 2012 or 2013, I definitely feel like a viewer could watch this slice of cinema and see it as a word of caution about the opioid epidemic that the United States has found itself sadly stricken with. Unfortunately this is not 2013 nor is it 2010. Rather it is 2022 and the world around us has changed quite drastically since both the story was written and shooting for the film probably got underway. As a result, we see that by choosing coming out at this point in time, this slice of cinema’s narrative does manage to veer perilously near a lot of the more fringe drug company conspiracy theories of the day and age we now live in since the dilemmas that this film attempts to address do look eerily familiar to statements by certain viewpoints. Indeed with people not really holding the major drug companies in a whole lot of esteem or regard at this point in time to say nothing of the fact that quite a few people on a certain side of the political aisle in this country are wanting nothing to do with a certain vaccination for a certain illness because, among other reasons, they have this suspicion that it is meant to operate as a government tracker of sorts, a fairly strange cloud really is hanging over this slice of cinema’s head sadly. Yes I know this might have a fair bit to convey about those “radical elements” (open to everyone’s interpretation if said elements are truly radical of course) as well as the types of theories that manage to acquire a pretty significant degree of attention online, but there is still no denying that for all of their good and noble intentions, the creative team behind the camera did just manage to trip into a story that could be seen as having a very distinct anti-vax bent to it. Thankfully, there are elements behind the camera that help to make up for this. This starts with the fact that this slice of cinema is given a rather novel vibe to its narrative proceedings courtesy of a rollicking soundtrack of both typical West Coast sound as well as present day hits respectively that definitely had me rocking out throughout the course of the film. It’s also worth pointing out that film helmer Kosinski’s skill with the camera does a wonderful job of contributing a quite shiny purity to the setting of the film thus significantly reinforcing the very Ex Machina-style like energy the film is operating with cinematography work that may be simplistic, but is also quite effective as well. As a result we see that this skilled camerawork, when blended together with the easy-going soundtrack, is effectively able to lure you into thinking this slice of cinema is a lot more tranquil than it is. A feat that, although not entirely nuanced by any stretch, does accomplish the task of showcasing the director’s thought process behind every shot in this slice of cinema. Finally, it is also worth noting that the creative team does operate the quirky comedy beats that pop now and again in this film with finesse. As such we see that, other than an oddly repeating fecal matter joke, a lot of the comedy in this is successful in landing where it is supposed to. Suffice it to say that it may have issues in regards to its story, but this slice of cinema is still more fairly well made than you might have been anticipating.
Now despite the fair degree of flaws this slice of cinema is dealing with from departments behind the camera, I also nevertheless also feel that the performances in this film still manage to do a fairly admirable job of working to the best of their ability with the material that they are given. This starts with Chris Hemsworth in the role of Steve Abnesti and he is honestly fantastic in this. Indeed, as previously mentioned, take the classic literary character Doctor Moreau, update him to feel more in synch with someone akin to Steve Jobs especially in terms of arrogance, give him the deadly charm of a cult leader like Jim Jones, and this is what you get. Indeed the difficult thing about a character like this is that you have to thread the needle between being a seemingly decent guy who is only doing these things because his bosses want him to and every so often slipping and showing that this guy might just be an arrogant mad scientist who has no qualms about the effects his experiments are having on his subjects. Yet despite having to nail such a fine line, Hemsworth not only nails it, but also looks like he is having an absolute blast with this character. Suffice it to say I know he’s great as Thor, but I really do wish he would take on more villain roles like this and like his role in Bad Times at the El Royale. Now in the role of Jeff, we get a really good performance from Miles Teller who, even though he isn’t in synch with Hemsworth’s ecstatic mad scientist, does bring a gravitas to his part. Indeed make no mistake there may be people who think this is just going to be the same character he played here recently in his other 2022 collaboration with Kosinski known as Top Gun: Maverick, but I can promise you that is most definitely not the case. Sure there may be some who have an issue with how Teller is a lot more serious and solemn as compared to Hemsworth who is just playing his character as giddily as possible. At the same time however, this contrast between the two does also permit the film to really examine them as individual characters rather than waste valuable time trying to discern between the two. Finally, even though Teller and Hemsworth are given the lion’s share of material to work with for the majority of this slice of cinema, I still feel praise must be given to Jurnee Smollett who, in the role of Lizzy, does a pretty good job with the pathos-driven arc she is given in this film. Yes this slice of cinema’s screenplay does in all fairness let her down by not giving her a whole lot to work with in constructing this particular character. At the same time however, the film’s helmer has figured out that this performance is one that can be quite emotionally gripping even with the character not having as much screen time as the two other arguable main characters in this. As a result, we see that Kosinski makes the wonderful creative choice to permit scenes with this character to be widened to the point that, despite her narrative arc in this being shown through two men’s distinct points of view, Smollett is able inserts in a wonderful degree of nuance so that the character is expanded on past the distinct perceptive lenses at play.
All in all be they taking place in the distant future, a few days from where we are currently, or even in a twisted take on humanity’s past, I still think the quirkiest and bleakest sci-fi sagas can be reflections on us as a species. Indeed Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 showed us a world where the barriers between man and android had dangerously dissolved away, the 1987 RoboCop used a robotic police officer to take aim at the possible militarization of a city’s police force as well as examined if there was any bit of the man still inside the machine, and Star Wars dealt with what could happen if a dark and scary helmet-wearing enforcer for a totalitarian regime tried time and time again to murder you and your friends. Like I said: completely relatable. Jokes aside, I think we can now Spiderhead to that list as well. Sure it’s nowhere even close to be on the level of the aforementioned films, but with decent work behind and in front of the camera joining forces, we see that together both groups are able to sculpt for us a morality saga that is both fairly engaging and has a fairly punctual (if a bit ill-advised) message to boot. Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give Spiderhead “2022” a solid 3 out of 5.
